QNAP has trimmed the fat on its multi-gig ambitions with the launch of QSW-1108-8T-R2, a compact, fanless 2.5GbE switch that packs eight high-speed ports into a tidy desktop-friendly footprint. Designed for creators, gamers, and anyone fed up with Gigabit bottlenecks, this sleek unmanaged switch makes upgrading your home or studio network faster, cleaner, and cheaper.
Compared to its predecessor, the new R2 model is 30% smaller yet retains the full-fat feature set. All eight ports support 2.5GbE, with backwards compatibility for 1GbE and 100MbE devices thanks to NBASE-T support. That’s up to 40Gbps of total switching capacity, ready to handle massive file transfers, buttery-smooth 4K streaming, and latency-sensitive gaming without breaking a sweat.
Silent by design, the QSW-1108-8T-R2 ditches the fan in favour of efficient metal-based passive cooling. It sits quietly on your desk, with rear-facing ports to keep cables tucked away and clear LED indicators on the front to show link status and speed at a glance. As an unmanaged switch, it’s pure plug-and-play – no setup, no fuss, just faster speeds all around.
QNAP hasn’t overlooked network reliability, either. Loop detection and blocking features help prevent accidental disruptions, while support for 12KB Jumbo Frames and IEEE 802.3x flow control keeps performance smooth when transferring the chonkiest files. Whether you’re backing up terabytes to your NAS or bouncing high-res media between systems, QSW-1108-8T-R2 is built to keep up.
It’s a no-nonsense upgrade for anyone stuck on ageing Gigabit. With 2.5GbE slowly becoming the new baseline, particularly with WiFi 6/6E routers, modern motherboards, and NAS devices adopting it by default, QNAP’s latest switch helps bridge the gap with zero noise and zero configuration.
So far, QNAP hasn’t unveiled the price of QSW-1108-8T-R2 and it’s yet to hit digital shelves, but Ronald Hsu, Product Manager at QNAP, calls it “an affordable option for upgrading to 2.5GbE.” Given the original debuted at around £180 but has since plummeted below the £142-mark, I’d hazard a guess that this new R2 model will rack up a similar £180 price point.
Follow Club386 on Google News to find out just how much this will save on your budget when its MSRP reveals to the world. And don’t forget to enter our QNAP TS-432X-4G giveaway, where you could walk away with a 16TB NAS!
