Adding USB 3.0

[Reverend]

I want to add a USB 3.0 PCI card to my Asus P6T mobo (normal one not the deluxe). Will ANY USB 3.0 PCI card be ok? I tried to ask Asus Support but their online form won't let you proceed until you've entered your 932 digit serial number...

Thanks - rev

[Midknyte]

It would be a PCIe card, not a PCI card.

Most of the USB 3.0 cards I've dealt with have used the Renesas/NEC chipset. They seem to work pretty well, but other VDR members might have a different opinion.

[Reverend]

After browsing on the web quite a lot, I've yet to see any mention of compatibility so maybe it's pretty generic in most cases.

[Midknyte]

Like I mentioned, check which chipset the card has. The Renesas/NEC cards seem to work well. Not sure about the VIA or other chipsets. I haven't seen too many of those.

Make sure to download the latest drivers too.

[SpywareDr]

I've had good luck with a Koutech 4-Port SuperSpeed USB 3.0 PCI Express (x1) card. You can get them with either a 4-pin Molex or 15-pin SATA power connector.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...20Express%20x1

[Derp]

HighPoint makes some great PCI-e USB 3.0 cards. They're enterprise grade though and not cheap but have the fastest transfer speeds.

[SpywareDr]

When I plug in a "SanDisk Extreme 16GB" (USB 3.0 flash drive) into a USB 2.0 port I get an Average of 31.4 MB/sec


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And when I plug that same device a USB 3.0 port, I get an Average of 175.3 MB/sec


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That's over 5-1/2 times as fast. Zoom, zoom.

[Derp]

I've had burst rates over 600 mb/sec and sustained rates over 330 mb/s using a Mushkin 240GB Ventura Ultra USB 3.0 in an ASRock Z87 Extreme6 using the latest Intel USB 3.0 3.0.0.34 drivers.

[Reverend]

>HighPoint makes some great PCI-e USB 3.0 cards.
Too late, I think mine is in transit but if it doesn't work for any reason, I'll sell it and get a HighPoint, thanks for the tip. I didn't know that performance was so varied from brand to brand.

[Derp]

This is the HighPoint one I use, not cheap but allegedly the fastest add-in card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-144-_-Product

[SpywareDr]

I've had burst rates over 600 mb/sec and sustained rates over 330 mb/s using a Mushkin 240GB Ventura Ultra USB 3.0 in an ASRock Z87 Extreme6 using the latest Intel USB 3.0 3.0.0.34 drivers.

Wow.

Can't wait to try USB 3.1. It's supposed to be twice as fast as USB 3.0 at 10 Gbit/s. Initial tests demonstrated usable xfer speeds of 7.2 Gbit/s.

Now that I think about it, don't know what the hold up might be. The 3.1 spec for it was released last July.

[Reverend]

Derp: That card is really worth the money, I bought a $22 one

I'll probably be happy with it as long as it doesn't have any compatibility issues because it's still going to be a big improvement over 2.0.

[Midknyte]

Note that the device connected to the USB3.0 port makes a big impact on performance. Derp's Mushkin drive is not your run of the mill flash drive. Just having 3.0 over 2.0 should give you quite a boost.

[Reverend]

Yeah, I agree.