I’ve been spending some time lately testing out high-speed Ethernet adapters, and the latest one to land on my desk is a 10-gigabit model from a company called Maiwo. It connects over Thunderbolt or USB 4, and is plug and play on the Mac and Linux. Windows users may want to approach with caution due to the sketchy nature of the driver installation process. More on that below or in my latest video review.
At around $139, it’s priced similarly to the OWC 10-gig adapter, (compensated affiliate link) which is from a more well-known brand. That model has been my go-to for years—quiet, fanless, and consistently reliable. By comparison, the Maiwo unit feels more like a standard, lower-cost alternative. It does have a fan, which only spins up when the adapter is under load, but when it does kick on, it’s noticeably loud. During testing, it was even louder than the mini PC I had it hooked up to.
Performance-wise, it holds its own. I tested it on a Mac with a 10-gig internet connection from Comcast. The download speeds were in line with what you’d expect from a 10-gig setup. Uploads were a bit slower, likely due to network variables, but local network tests using iPerf showed solid speeds in both directions, close to the full 10 gigs.
It runs a Marvell AQC113 chipset, also known as the Aquantia chipset. For Windows, the only way the manufacturer offers to obtain the required driver is through messaging them via Amazon. The link takes you to a non-secure site in Chinese, and even then, the download often fails. The error translates to a simple timeout, but frankly, I’m not sure I’d be comfortable installing a driver from that source anyway.
Fortunately, the official Marvell site hosts the proper drivers, and installing from there got everything working on Windows with expected performance.
Usually, if a product doesn’t impress, I skip making a video altogether. But in this case, the way the driver distribution is handled for Windows users is problematic enough that I felt it warranted a closer look—and a warning. If you’re on Mac or Linux, it might be a workable budget option. For Windows users, though, it’s probably best to look elsewhere.
Disclosure: Maiwo sent me the adapter free of charge, however they did not review or approve this content before uploading and no other content was received. All opinions are my own.