A hands-on review of the WisdPi 10G Ethernet Expansion Card for Framework laptops reveals significant USB-C bandwidth complexity. The Realtek RTL8159 chip requires USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) to achieve full 10 Gbps speeds, but many Framework laptops don't deliver that bandwidth on all ports, capping real-world throughput well below 8 Gbps. Linux performance is worse than Windows without the proprietary Realtek driver, and the driver failed to compile on Ubuntu 26.04 with kernel 7.x. Even under ideal conditions with the Realtek driver on Windows, speeds top out around 9.4 Gbps. A notable thermal issue was also found — the module surface reaches nearly 70°C under load, making lap use inadvisable. For most users, the $40 2.5 Gbps Ethernet card is recommended; the $99 10G card is only worth it for specific high-bandwidth use cases.
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