USB3 PCI adaptor card ~ choices of?

Messages
15,657
Edit My Images
No
Hi all

I posted in a discussion forum about the above card for when using USB 3 connected external drives.......but my post may have gotten lost in the talk on that thread.

So posting here to reprise it and ask for any insights about these PCI cards as below:-

I have been re-reviewing the possible options to add USB3 to my older PC which has PCI Express2.0 Standard slots.

I have found that some cards say the chipset is supported natively under W10 so a big tick for that to reduce the potential for poor compatibility of drivers!

All are reduced 'short' connectors but my next fastest PCI slot after the x16 used by the GPU is the x8 slot and both those slots are the longer ones. So the question is, is the PCI slot wiring suitable for using such shorter connection 'sets' such that most of the x8 slot would be unused or are these sort of cards obligated to utilise the minimal x1 PCI slots???

PS I am well aware that PCI 2.0 standard is slower than PCI 3.0 standard...................but provided the card will deliver faster USB than 2.0 I would be content, though the closer to USB 3 speed the better :)

PPS here is scan of the manual page showing the PCI slots to illustrate what I meant about the slot sizes
View attachment 318004

And this for clarity is one example of the type of card I am referring to re: short connector.
View attachment 318005
 
Last edited:
Correct the card you’ve shown has a x1 connector and therefore if placed in a x8 slot will run at x1. It will fit and work just fine in any pci-e slot.
The slots are backwards compatible and that card will give an improvement over usb 2.0

Many thanks for the reply and insights. especially in regard to fitting any PCI slot and even with the restriction of only being PCI version 2.0 that the USB speed will be higher than USB2.0 :)

I just need to find the card I saw that spoke of using the FL100 chipset = W10 native drivers???
 
@toohuge

Just to say, I have identified a card that is x2 PCI-E though it only has 1 off USB - A and 1 off USB - C ports but for my needs that should be fine. I have some USB3 rated USB-A to USB-A extenders.................so for added versatility I need to look for a USB-C to USB-A (female) extender?

Reading the specs it looks like I should potentially get 5Gbps/sec speed with USB3 devices :)
 
@toohuge

Just to say, I have identified a card that is x2 PCI-E though it only has 1 off USB - A and 1 off USB - C ports but for my needs that should be fine. I have some USB3 rated USB-A to USB-A extenders.................so for added versatility I need to look for a USB-C to USB-A (female) extender?

Reading the specs it looks like I should potentially get 5Gbps/sec speed with USB3 devices :)
Do you need usb c?
 
Do you need usb c?

@toohuge
A good question..........the only device I have to date that uses a USB-C connection is my Logitech MX keys keyboard.

What I did find was this model Silverstone ECU05
Of which the spec says:-
PRODUCT INFORMATION:ECU05 USB 3.1 AND USB 3.0 PCIE EXPANSION CARD
The SilverStone ECU05 is a PCI-E 2.0 x2 expansion card with reversible USB 3.1 Type-C and USB 3.0 ports. Its single USB 3.1 Type-C port is capable of fully utilizing PCI-E 2.0 x2 slot for up to 10Gbps bandwidth, which is twice the USB 3.0 performance for offering excellent stability when multiple external USB devices are in use simultaneously. ECU05 also has additional two external USB 3.0 Type-A ports and an internal 19pin USB 3.0 connector to provide your system with five total added USB ports. For fast charging, one of the Type-A ports (black) meets USB Battery Charging (BC) 1.2 standard to deliver quick and safe charging to your mobile devices. Finally, the ECU05 supports UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol) for enhanced performance, so operating systems with XHCI (eXtensible Host Controller Interface) can easily detect and install ECU05 without the need for any drivers.

Features:
- Includes SuperSpeed USB 3.1 external USB Type-C connector
- Includes USB 3.0 internal 19pin connector and two external USB Type-A connectors
- Dedicated fast charging port, compliant with USB Battery Charging (BC) 1.2
- Support PCI-E 2.0 x2 with throughput up to 10Gbps
- Compliant with eXtensible Host Controller Interface (XHCI) specification Revision 1.1
- Compliant with USB Attached SCSI Protocol (UASP) Revision 1.0
- Includes optional low profile slot cover for supporting low profile cases

Specification:
- Model No: SST-ECU05
- Power requirement: 5V via SATA 15-pin power connector
- Form factor: Low profile - PCI-E 2.0 x2 (10Gbps)
- USB 3.0 controller: VIA Lab VL812
- USB Ports: USB 3.1 Type-C x 1, DFP with Rp=10KO and up to 5V 3A
- USB 3.0 Type-A x 1
- USB 3.0 Type-A with charging downstream port x 1, up to 5V 1.5A
- Internal 19pin connector x 1, for up to two USB 3.0 ports
- USB 3.1 controller: ASMedia ASM1142
- Transmitting Speed: USB 3.1 Gen 2.0 (10Gbps), USB 3.1 Gen 1.0 / USB 3.0 (5Gbps), USB 2.0 (480Mbps), USB 1.1 (12Mbps)
- Power Management: Support USB 3.1 / USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 link power management
- Current protection: Support over current detection and protection
- Operating system support: Windows 7 (32bit/64bit)*, 8/8.1/10 (32bit/64bit)**, Ubuntu/Linux/Mac OS***


Possibly that bit more versatile though the USB -A are USB 3 compliant rather that on the ECU03 where both the USB-C and the USB-A are USB3.1. And the ECU05 has two controllers ~ the USB 3 has a the VIA Lab VL812 and the USB3.1 is controlled by the ASmedia1142 which on the 2 port model ECU03

PS in either case they run should both 'run' on W10 without the need for additional drivers!
 
Last edited:
Hi @toohuge

I bought the one above ECO05 and it installed AOK...............I also bought an "internal USB Cable extension" that has two ports on a PC backplane plate.

Before I fitted it I did a Benchmark of sorts:-

USB2 port
132 image files @ total 1.10GB size
Took 36.30 seconds to transfer from the SD to the folder on the PC

USB3 port
132 image files @ total 1.10GB size
Took 15.94s to for the same transfer.

This mini upgrade may not have given me full USB speeds...................but approx 2.27 x quicker I am happy i.e. transfers will take a little better than 1/2 the time :D

PS under the Device Manager I now see added the following
ASMedia USB 3.1 eXtensible Host Controller - 1.10(Microsoft)
Generic SuperSpeed USB Hub
USB xHCI Compliant Host Controller but this one has a Yellow Exclamation Mark against and when I view the Properties I see:-
"This device cannot start. (Code 10)"
and in the Device Status box it says "An invalid parameter was passed to a service or function"

I am none too sure what to make of that latter element and it Yellow status NB W10 did not ask me to install any drivers nor does it appear that I should have to :thinking: :thinking:
 
Last edited:
Back
Top