HP Flex IO V2 10Gbase T Module 56Q71AA for 1L PCs

HP has a new module out for its 1L PCs that many STH readers will be interested in. The HP Flex IO V2 10Gbase T Module (56Q71AA) is a small module designed to fit in HP’s 1L business desktop PC line. This is an upgrade over the HP EliteDesk Mini 2.5GbE Flex IO V2 NIC that we looked at in 2022.

HP Flex IO V2 10Gbase T Module 56Q71A for 1L PCs

We first showed this off in Perfect Project TinyMiniMicro Pushing a 1L PC as a Server Concept. If you want to see this in action, including the installation of the module, you can find it here:

The module itself is a proprietary HP form factor that you can see here.

Here is the back side of the module. This is not a full-size PCIe card by any means.

The Marvell AQction AQC113C uses a fairly decent heatsink. We do not have maximum power specs on this, but other units we have seen based on this chip are sub-3W.

Here is the same Flex IO V2 system but with the 2.5GbE NIC. One can see that the 10GbE one is much larger.

Final Words

Overall installation time is around 1-2 minutes and requires only a screwdriver. The benefit is that this gives a second NIC to the HP EliteDesk G6 and newer systems with the Flex IO V2 slot.

We purchased ours for around $129 each, so they are about $100 more than the 2.5GbE NIC. They are also less expensive than getting a Thunderbolt 3 NIC for a USB 4 port (but that Thunderbolt 10GbE adapter is portable.)

Hopefully, this helps our readers in their Project TinyMiniMicro pursuits.

Where to Buy

Since there are a lot of components here, we are going to give you a few links. These may be affiliate links where we can potentially earn a small commission (we have to pay for this hardware somehow):

• HP Flex IO V2 10GbE – Our fastest source to get these has been through B&H Photo. They tend to have one of, if not the best prices around and drop ship them.
• HP Flex IO V2 2.5GbE – Newegg

via servethehome