Nicgiga S250501 Management
Since this is an unmanaged switch, we do not get a web management interface, but there are other options we have tested with basic management functions.
Nicgiga S250501 Performance
In terms of performance, this seems to be a decent performer.
This switch performed similarly to the other 5-port 2.5GbE and single SFP+ port switches we have reviewed.
Nicgiga S250501 Power Consumption
This switch comes with a small 12V 1A power adapter. Some of the others we have seen in this class come with 12V 1.5A power supplies.
At idle, we got around 1.3W which is about what we have seen from other switches if not 0.3W higher.
With a single 2.5GbE port plugged in, we added 0.3W for 1.6W total. 1.6W is right about what we would expect for this connectivity.
We used a 10Gbase-T SFP+ pluggable to add a good amount of power consumption in an SFP+ port, and we got 2.6W. Again, that is spot on what we would expect at about 1W more than just a 2.5GbE port connected.
Overall the power consumption of the Nicgiga switch was right about what we would expect it to be. These switches tend to use a common platform so we generally expect them to fall within about 0.5W of each other, and this was right in the middle of the pack.
Final Words
Overall, this switch is a decent option. As we are writing this it is $45 with two 10% off coupons making it sub $40. If you do not need the extra three ports from the 8+1 port switches, then this is much less expensive and slightly lower power.
While we get the idea behind taking NIC and Giga and putting those two together for a brand, it somehow feels like there were better options out there. GigaNIC would have been much better. Still, the strange thing about the Nicgiga switches is that they tend to get between mid and mid-high marks compared to other cheap switches based on the same chipsets for their construction.
Of course, these switches mostly differentiate on price, so we suggest looking at that when shipping. That is why we have them all in our guide.
Where to Buy
We purchased our unit on Amazon. Here is the affiliate link for this model.
Ultimate Fanless 2.5GbE Switch Buyer’s Guide
You may have seen that we published the Ultimate Cheap Fanless 2.5GbE Switch Buyer’s Guide. Here is the video for that one:
You can see more switches in this class in that video.
Could we possibly have some chart or diagram showing how all these 4-8×2.5GBe with 1 or 10 cages compare? Maybe even some sort of index figure for easy comparision. With a little luck that index could ‘reach’ beyond the STH universe. Sorry, just thinking out loud here.
Hm, that was supposed to say ‘with 1 or 2 10GbE SPF+ cages’. Sorry!
@Arneby, i agree. We see reviews of a myriad of switches. More or less all based on the same platform/reference design. Mostly unmanaged, some with POE some not. Some sort of comparision chart would be handy.
“We have come a long way from original Ultimate Cheap 2.5GbE Switch video.”
Show us how far!
*nicgiga* what a funny name x)
I bought one of these recently and it died soon as I plugged it in. Got it from eBay so nothing to be done to fix anything or get my money back. Plugged in the included PSU and saw a spark and that was it. Company was no help either.