TechSpot – Realtek may finally bring 2.5G networking to the masses

Why it matters: Gigabit ethernet has become a ubiquitous standard, but little has changed over the past several years. Realtek may finally break the chicken or the egg problem of not having enough customers with faster hardware, which stops OEMs from building faster networking equipment that is affordable for consumers.

Going back to Computex 2018, Realtek unveiled a line of single-chip 2.5G ethernet controllers. These are the first of their kind that do not require firmware, external flash memory, or a heat sink. Three different variants have interfaces specific to use on motherboards, dongles, and within routers and switches. Read more here.