StarTech.com 2-Port 10GbE PCIe Network Adapter Card, Network Card for PCs/Servers, Six-Speed PCIe Ethernet Card with Jumbo Frame Support, NIC/LAN Interface Card, 10GBASE-T and NBASE-T

Product Overview

AI-generated summary

For £130 ex-VAT, this StarTech 2‑port 10GbE card is a decent “get into 10GbE without going mad” option—especially if you’re upgrading a server, NAS box, or a lab PC and you want two copper 10GbE links with low fuss. In day-to-day use, the value is in practical connectivity: reliable throughput for backups, iSCSI/NFS traffic, virtualization hosts, and faster file transfers where 1GbE just feels sluggish. StarTech tends to be pretty solid on compatibility for common Windows/Linux environments, and the fact it’s an actual PCIe NIC (not USB) helps with sustained performance and lower CPU overhead.

That said, I wouldn’t buy it if you’re expecting “plug and play” into a random older workstation without checking PCIe generation/slot power and network driver support—10GbE can be picky depending on OS and how your hardware behaves. Also, if you only need one 10GbE port, you might feel this is slightly more expensive than necessary versus single-port alternatives. Finally, remember copper 10GbE comes with cable/plant considerations: it can be great, but you’ll still want decent cabling and planning for the distance and stability you expect.

**Who should buy:** small IT teams, resellers’ customers, and power users upgrading storage/backup/virtualization that need two 10GbE copper ports for a reasonable price. **Who shouldn’t:** anyone aiming for the cheapest possible 10GbE, people with uncertain compatibility on legacy systems, or environments where you’d be better served by SFP+ optics instead of copper.