Review: PEG34m offers fast, affordable Gigabit Ethernet ExpressCard
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Nov 27, 2006 at 4:36am
Small Tree Communications has introduced what it says is the first Gigabit Ethernet 34mm ExpressCard for the MacBook Pro. And I can’t find any reason to doubt that claim. But whether it’s the first or not, the US$79 Small Tree PEG34m offers throughput and connectivity at gigabit speeds up to 1000 Mbps (1Gbps) raw bandwidth.
That’s up to 100 times faster than the original Ethernet, yet is compatible with existing Ethernets. It works in conjunction with the built-in Gigabit Ethernet port and supports 802.3ad link aggregation and Jumbo frames up to 9000MTU. If you feel the need for (Ethernet) speed, well, here ya go.
The PEG34m has a foldable RJ-45 connector, a nice touch considering it’s already one of the thinnest ExpressCards around (it’s half the height of regular RJ-45 connectors). You can easily slip it in your pocket or a purse when you’re not using it.
So why would you want one? The PEG34m provides a second port for file transfers or connecting to various ‘storage over Ethernet’ devices such as iSCSI or AoE. Working in conjunction with the MacBook Pro’s built-in Gigabit Ethernet port the PEG34m supports 802.3ad link aggregation and Jumbo frames up to 9000MTU. It draws power from the ExpressCard slot directly, so no external power supply is required. Among its other features are: an Express interface with 2.5 GHz signaling; automatic MDI/MDIX crossover at all speeds; active state power management (L0s) support; 10/100/1000M data rate auto-negotiation; and a full duplex mode that doubles the network connection speed
The PEG34m is compatible with Mac OS X 10.4.7 or later. If you need additional Gigabit Ethernet connectivity and performance for your MacBook Pro at a reasonable price, you’ll want to check out Small Tree’s product.
Macsimum rating: 10 out of 10
Article Information
Comment on this Article Print this Article Email this Article Digg This
Contributor
Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
Recent Articles
