This 5-Port 2.5G Network Switch Just Hit Its All-Time Low on Amazon, 177,000 Reviews Don't Lie

This article features deals sourced directly by Gizmodo and produced independently of the editorial team. We may earn a commission when you buy through links on the site. Network switches are not exciting purchases until you realize that a standard Gigabit switch is the bottleneck between your router and everything connected to it. The TP-Link TL-SG105S-M2 puts five 2.5 Gigabit ports on your desk for a fraction of what multi-gig switching cost two years ago, and it just dropped to $39, off its $59 typical price and at its all-time low on Amazon. The number one best seller in network switches on Amazon, no Prime membership required. Gigabit ethernet was the ceiling for home networking for over a decade, and for most users it still seemed fast enough. That changed when Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E routers started shipping with 2.5G uplink ports, NAS devices added 2.5G interfaces, and gaming PCs began including 2.5G ethernet adapters on their motherboards. A standard Gigabit switch between a 2.5G router and a 2.5G NAS caps every transfer at 1Gbps regardless of what the endpoints can handle, and that limitation becomes visible the moment you start moving large files, streaming 4K locally, or r