Relation between the X-ray excess variance σ_NXS and the λ_Edd. Blue stars represent averaged bins in the Eddington ratio and are shown to guide the eye. Left: Fit performed for the whole sample, where 102 objects out of 134 have black hole masses estimated using the virial equation and 32 have RM estimates. Despite the reduced fraction of upper limits and increased precision of the λ_Edd estimates compared with other studies, there is still no significant relation between X-ray variability and the λ_Edd. Right: Same analysis for the subsample of objects with black hole masses derived from RM (N = 32). There is an anti-correlation, but it is only slightly significant.