Rivet Networks launches Killer E3100 2.5GbE USB adapter

Gigabit Ethernet has reigned supreme in the home for a long time, but this year, we’ve started to see 2.5 Gbps Ethernet (2.5GbE) solutions with ODROID-H2+ SBC with 2.5GbE ports, the first consumer-grade 2.5 Gbps Ethernet switch, as well as some NAS, mini PCs, and SoM‘s features the faster Ethernet interface.

But if you’ve decided to upgrade your local network to 2.5 Gbps it’s not exactly cost-effective to replace all your computers, boards, etc..  So USB dongles can help here, and Rivet Networks has launched Killer E3100 USB-C 3.1 to RJ-45 2.5Gbps Ethernet adapter sold on Amazon for $49.99.

Killer E3100 2.5GbE USB adapter technical specifications:

• Ethernet
  • 10/100/1000Mbps/2.5Gbps Ethernet
  • Compatible with 2.5GBASE-T Alliance PHY Specification
  • Supports 2.5 Gbps with Cat 5e and above
  • Supports jumbo frame to 16K bytes
  • Supports Wake Up Frame or Magic Packet
  • Automatic speed reduction on faulty cable
  • Supports 2.5G Lite (1G data rate) mode
• USB –  USB-C 3.1 make port
• Supported Standards
  • IEEE 802.1P Layer 2 Priority Encoding
  • IEEE 802.1Q VLAN tagging
  • IEEE 802.3az (Energy Efficient Ethernet)
  • IEEE 802.3bz (2.5GBASE-T)
  • Full-Duplex flow control (IEEE 802.3x)
  • Microsoft NDIS5, NDIS6 checksum, and segmentation task-offload features

To the surprise of no one, Rivet Networks claims its 2.5GbE USB adapter is better than the competition with up to 33% lower system latency, an improvement of 3 times the latency while multitasking, and the ability to process 75% more packets per second.

Some of the improvements are achieved via the “Killer Prioritization Engine”  that detects popular games, applications, and websites to leverage Lag and Latency Reduction Technology in order to prioritize the packets based on the application, as well as “GameFast Technology” that automatically pause processes that are not needed while gaming, and frees up both the CPU and memory of your system and the “Killer Intelligence Engine” that makes adjustments to your network to improve the overall online experience…  The USB adapter can also be used with Killer Wi-Fi products to use both wired and wireless network interfaces at the same using the company’s DoubleShot Pro.

There’s also Killer Control Center 2.0 graphical user interface to let users monitor which applications and websites are using bandwidth, and adjust priorities and set bandwidth limits to optimize their network. I went to the download page to have a look and all software packages are available for Windows 7 to 10. I suppose it should be possible to use the 2.5GbE USB adapter in Linux and macOS as well, and maybe Android, but you would not have the “fancy” features listed above if you ever wanted them.

Via NotebookCheck.net

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