I have been running a pfSense router for years, and I think there are a lot of good reasons to do so. In fact, pfSense is better than most consumer routers out there. One of the best things about pfSense is that you get to pick the hardware you want to match your needs. I’ve previously written about the best pfSense hardware. But, some of you are looking to upgrade your entire network to 2.5GbE speeds, including your router. In this article, I’m going to give you five great 2.5GbE pfSense router hardware options that should meet your needs.
Editor’s Note: This article was last updated 9/20/2023.
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A note about these 2.5GbE pfSense hardware options
All of these options are compatible with pfSense software. They all also have multiple 2.5GbE ports that you can use with WAN and LAN connections. Additionally, these will also work with other good router software like OPNSense.
MOGINSOK 4x 2.5GbE Mini PC
- 【CPU&Ports】MOGINSOK Firewall PC with Gemini Lake 10th Gen Intel Celeron J4125 Quad cores Four threads 2.0GHz up to 2.7GHz 4MB cache with Intel UHD Graphics 600,supported AES-NI . Support HDMI+VGA Dual Display,2xUSB 3.0
- 【Intel Ethernet I225-V 2.5GbE】This PFsense Firewall Router with 4*Intel I225 Network card Suppot 2.5GbE, bring you more faster and professional network usage(some system suppliers maybe have not released compatible driver to match yet, suggest to install newest version of following systems: pfSense CE 2.6.0/plus 23.01, OPNsense 22.1, OpenWrt, ROS7, ESXI, Proxmox, CentOS etc).
This box, featuring four Intel 2.5GbE ports is a reader favorite that many have been happy with. It features a 10th Gen Intel Celeron J4125 processor, AES-NI, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB SSD that should make it plenty powerful and ready for pfSense right out of the box.
If you want to save money and supply your own RAM and hard drive you can get the barebones version. You can upgrade if you want to beef up the machine with more RAM and a bigger hard drive out of the box for a little more $$.
HUNSN Micro Firewall Appliance
- HUNSN RS34g equipped with intel celeron 4 cores j4125 processor, compatible with many freebsd based router systems, linux distros, or win.os supported, easy configuration and management, support intel aes new instructions
- Compatibility, firewalls tested with pfsense plus, opnsense and other popular open-source software solutions
This box features similar hardware to the MOGINSOK hardware and is just as highly rated by Amazon purchasers. However, it has many more RAM and hard drive configuration options. It also features a barebones model.
Beelink Dual 2.5 GbE Mini PC
- 👍【N100 Intel 12th Alder Lake Mini PC】mini pc EQ12 N100 equipped with the innovative and Low-Power Intel 12Th Alder Lake Processor CPU up to 3.4Ghz, 4C/4T 6MB cache. Beelink EQ12 mini desktop computer is one of the newest CPU, which means a giant leap in your experience of office working, home theater, and mall advertising. You can use EQ12 Mini PC to do PS, PR C4D, DAW.etc.
- 👍【 4K Triple Screen Display KODI Plex Support AV1 Decoding】Beelinl mini computers EQ12 revolutionarily equips with Intel UHD Graphics Support AV1 Decoding, and innovatively support 4K and Triple screen display. The output of excellent high definition photos and videos by our machine gives you immersive entertainment beyond anything you can imagine.
Beelink is a popular brand option sporting a more powerful process than other options above hardware to the options above. Below are a few other Beelink dual 2.5 GbE models you might be interested in:
VNOPN Micro Firewall Appliance
This option has an N3700 quad-core processor, making it a little different than other options on the list. This processor is older and a little slower than the Celeron J4125, but it does consume less power. The VNOPN comes in multiple configurations as well and features Intel NICs.
- Processor & OS: This 4 nic mini pc uses Intel N3700 Processor Quad core 4 threads 2M Cache at 1.6GHz (Burst up to 2.4GHz), supports AES NI; The performance of CPU and GPU are better than J3160/N2940. It supports windows 10, linux ubuntu and more open-source firewall systems, etc. Support Auto Power On, Wake on LAN, RTC wake and PXE boot (“DEL” key to enter BIOS)
- 4x Intel 2.5Gigabit Ethernet ports: This fanless mini pcs all use Intel i225 network card chips, supports 4x 2.5gigabit ethernet to keep stable and high speed. It has a good compatibility for soft routing, firewall and other network applications. This compact pc has more I/O Interface to meet your more needs: 1x HDMI, 1x VGA, 4x RJ45 LAN, 2x USB3.0, 1x DC IN
Hamsing Jasper Lake Micro Appliance
- Fanless box PC with four intel Nic, Intel Celeron N5105 Quad Core processor
- Suitable for Network Security Application. Support AES PXE
This choice features a more modern and powerful processor in the Intel Celeron N5105. Overall, it has slightly newer hardware than the other options while remaining in the same price range.
Bonus! Additional options
This is probably overkill for a pfSense box, but I’ll mention it here nonetheless. The DeskMini TH50 Mini PC is powered by an 11th Gen Intel Core i5-11320H and has 16GB Ram and a 512GB hard drive to go along with its dual 2.5GbE ports. This box also could serve well as a Proxmox host.
- 【Excellent performance】 NAB5 is equipped with Intel Core i5 12450H processor (8 cores/12 threads/12M Cache/up to 4.4GHz), Intel UHD Graphics (Graphics Frequency 1.2 GHz), widely used in light gaming, streaming media playback, photo editing, etc, in-home and business It performs well in home and business work.
- 【Dual 2.5G Ethernet Ports】Sleek design dual 2.5-gigabit ethernet port design provides more applications, such as firewalls, multichannel aggregation, file storage servers, etc. At the same time, dual-band Wi-Fi6, BT5.2 with more substantial resisting disturbance and more stable wireless signal. No matter how complicated your environment, NAB5 mini desktop computers can provide a relatively stable and smooth network.
You also may want to check out my article about 2.5GbE small form factor Proxmox hardware for even more options (including a listing of 2.5GbE USB NICs) Here are some other options you may want to consider. These are all highly-rated bestsellers on Amazon.
Final thoughts
If you’re making the upgrade to a 2.5GbE network or planning to in the near future, then your router is probably a good place to start. Hopefully, these great 2.5GbE pfSense options will get you started!
Do you have a 2.5GbE pfSense router? What hardware are you using? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter.
