NICGIGA S25-0801 8x 2.5GbE 1x 10GbE Switch Performance
In terms of the overall 2.5GbE performance, we were able to get fairly normal 2.5GbE speeds from each of the eight ports.
Performance was good, in the range of the other switches we reviewed looking at the average transfer rates when loaded. So far, we have been within 3% or so on all of the switches in this class so it does not feel like performance should be the key buying criterion in this price range.
One item we were able to test was we hooked up the A Quick Look at the Asustor Flashstor 6 FS6706T NAS to this unit and run SMB3 multichannel from the NAS over the switch and to a 10GbE client using a SFP+ to 10Gbase-T adapter. It was awesome to see that this worked so easily and is a good type of use case for a switch like this.
The performance was the same as the other three internally similar switches based on the Realtek chips.
NICGIGA S25-0801 and Management Capabilities
Since we are going to be doing this as part of a series, we will note that this is an unmanaged switch. Also, we did not find PoE capabilities when testing this switch.
NICGIGA S25-0801 Power Consumption
Here is a quick shot of the 12V 2A power adapter. This is not a huge adapter by any means and is a relatively cheap one. The switch may have been sold on Amazon, but neither the switch nor the power adapter has FCC or UL markings. A fun bit is that this one is not a power adapter but instead a “ADAPTER POWER” due to the translation.
At idle, we saw 1.6W which is lower than many of the 3.8W-4.4W switches we have reviewed previously in the 5-8 port range, but in line with other three switches in this class.
Plugging in a port at 2.5GbE speeds we saw an incremental 1.1W of power consumption. With the other switches, this was usually a 0.7W increment to 2.3W. We are not entirely sure why we kept seeing this on the NICGIGA.
Plugging in a 10Gbase-T to SFP+ adapter, that immediately starts to suck power, we got a different result. While on the MokerLink and Horaco switches, this was often more like 3.3W, on this one it is only 3.0W. That 3.0W was more similar to the Sodola.
Still, these are low-power switches and we are talking about 0.3-0.4W deltas here which may just be sample variations.
Final Words
Months after starting this series, the switches are perhaps not perfect, nor the fanciest out there. At the same time, they are perhaps the best-value 8-port 2.5GbE switches since they have the additional 10GbE SFP+ port and are usually under $100. Since the four switches share a common internal architecture, we have a simple recommendation: purchase based on price.
When we first started reviewing these switches they were in the $119-129 range. Now, the Amazon prices often are at under $100 with rotating coupons and discounts. That makes these switches much more affordable and very competitive with the cheapest 8-port unmanaged 2.5GbE switches out there.
If you want to learn more about this versus the other rebrands, feel free to take a look at the video while the reviews go online over the next few weeks.
Until the next-generation of these switches launches sometime next year (or later) we expect these to be the best value around in this class.
Where to Buy
We purchased our unit on Amazon. Here is the affiliate link for this model.
Ultimate Fanless 2.5GbE Switch Roundup
You may have seen that we published the Ultimate Cheap Fanless 2.5GbE Switch Mega Round-Up. Here is the video for that one where this switch appeared.
We decided to do the round-up first and will be filling in with reviews that we had not published at that point, including this one. We are trying to keep everything in a single resource for folks there.
Nice review.
I think the manufacturers keep missing the obvious market niche for small businesses =: the need for a cheap 2.5GbE switch with PoE to add faster access points to a network.
I recently purchased both the Sodola and Nicgiga versions of this switch, and both came with an identical UL-listed Winna power supply that measure at the wall slightly more power efficient that what this article already impressively found. This isn’t necessarily surprising given the change in power supply, though a few welcome positives.
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NICGIGA, please.
What SFP+ to 10G did you use by chance?
Also did you test any SFP+ brands so we don’t have to go through trial and error?
@George – businesses would need a managed switch for that to support vlans for the different SSIDs.
As a white man, I can’t be calling anything NICGIGA around here.
That being said, the font used for the logo on the bottom…that’s straight up Netgear font.
I’d like to know this also:
Richie August 13, 2023 At 9:16 am
What SFP+ to 10G did you use by chance?
Also did you test any SFP+ brands so we don’t have to go through trial and error?
This is a managed (via browser) switch no?