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USB 3.0 card that actually works for early 2008 3,1 Mac Pro

K

kudukudu

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 24, 2007
198
4
okay yes I see there are a lot of thread on the subject of USB 3.0, but it seems like a lot of these cards are quirky, don't have updated drivers, etc. Just got a D800 camera and man transferring those 40 MB RAW files are slooooooow. I need to pimp my ride with a USB 3.0 card that actually works and doesn't have any negative side effects, works with mountain lion & mavericks, etc.

Can anyone recommend a good solid USB 3.0 card for my aging work horse?
 
kudukudu said:
okay yes I see there are a lot of thread on the subject of USB 3.0, but it seems like a lot of these cards are quirky, don't have updated drivers, etc. Just got a D800 camera and man transferring those 40 MB RAW files are slooooooow. I need to pimp my ride with a USB 3.0 card that actually works and doesn't have any negative side effects, works with mountain lion & mavericks, etc.

Can anyone recommend a good solid USB 3.0 card for my aging work horse?
Click to expand...

Yes!... There's a new one... the down side is that it costs $2999, but the good news is that it includes a brand new multi-core CPU, DDR3 RAM, Dual GPUs, Thunderbolt, and PCIe SSD. :p :D

Seriously though, it's upgrade woes like this that made me chuck my old 2009 Mac Pro in favour of a new one. They just aren't easily upgraded without a lot of compromise.
 
Killerbob said:
I installed the CalDigit FASTA-6GU3 PRO USB3/eSATA card in my MP3,1 and it worked just fine. Never had any problems.

Connecting a USB card reader to that was the solution for me to transfer Nikon D800 RAW files to my Mac:)

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/CalDigit/FASTA6GU3PRO/

No compromise necessary...
Click to expand...

I can also recommend this exact model. I've been using it for the past year for my XQD card readers with no issues. Plug and play.

Unfortunately, I have to get rid of it since I'm adding in another pcie card to the machine I have it installed in.
 
kudukudu said:
okay yes I see there are a lot of thread on the subject of USB 3.0, but it seems like a lot of these cards are quirky, don't have updated drivers, etc. Just got a D800 camera and man transferring those 40 MB RAW files are slooooooow. I need to pimp my ride with a USB 3.0 card that actually works and doesn't have any negative side effects, works with mountain lion & mavericks, etc.

Can anyone recommend a good solid USB 3.0 card for my aging work horse?
Click to expand...

What OS version are you on?

If you have at least 10.8.2, I recommend this card

You can get it at Amazon for about $25.
 
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This card appears from pictures on the vendor's site to be the KTU3FR-4PA. This card does indeed work perfectly well in my MP 3.1, but there are two issues I have found. It does not eject properly when the MP sleeps, resulting in an irritating message when awakening. Also, I have not been successful in booting from an external HD connected to the card, presumably because drivers are not loaded early enough in the boot sequence.

Otherwise the card seems fine. It provides enough power to operate a WD My Passport 1Tb disk. For me it provides around 2x the speed of the internal USB 2 ports.
 
kudukudu said:
okay yes I see there are a lot of thread on the subject of USB 3.0, but it seems like a lot of these cards are quirky, don't have updated drivers, etc. Just got a D800 camera and man transferring those 40 MB RAW files are slooooooow. I need to pimp my ride with a USB 3.0 card that actually works and doesn't have any negative side effects, works with mountain lion & mavericks, etc.

Can anyone recommend a good solid USB 3.0 card for my aging work horse?
Click to expand...

Probably best to get a USB 3.0 card that Supports other USB Peripherals so the card detects your card reader. Because some USB 3 cards only supports ext HDs. Inateck KT4004 USB 3 would suit you well at a small investment at $29. This video may help too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdTlQEs2Caw

You can also check out RocketU 1144C USB 3 as it may also support your card reader but it's price is higher at around $109 : http://www.amazon.com/HighPoint-Roc...1-spell&keywords=highpoint+rockutu+usb+3+card
 
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badlight said:
This card appears from pictures on the vendor's site to be the KTU3FR-4PA. This card does indeed work perfectly well in my MP 3.1, but there are two issues I have found. It does not eject properly when the MP sleeps, resulting in an irritating message when awakening. Also, I have not been successful in booting from an external HD connected to the card, presumably because drivers are not loaded early enough in the boot sequence.

Otherwise the card seems fine. It provides enough power to operate a WD My Passport 1Tb disk. For me it provides around 2x the speed of the internal USB 2 ports.
Click to expand...

Both of these issues are Mac issues, not an issue with the card. The Mac Pro 1,1 - 5,1 does not have the firmware needed to boot from a USB 3.0 device.

The "irritating message when awakening" is an OSX bug. It even happens on systems that have Apple's own USB 3.0 ports.
 
I can attest to both the above statements. I also have an MBA with USB 3.0 and I have the same disc not ejected properly message appearing on that machine as I do when using the Inatek Card on my Mac Pro.

BTW, it has not yet been corrected in Yosemite. I have reported it.

Lou
 
thx for all the replies folks. Inateck for $30 sounds like a winner, but it means I need to wait until I can get it shipped to my parent/in-law snow birds when they are at their US addresses. Oh well, at $30 I can wait a few months.
 
kudukudu said:
thx for all the replies folks. Inateck for $30 sounds like a winner, but it means I need to wait until I can get it shipped to my parent/in-law snow birds when they are at their US addresses. Oh well, at $30 I can wait a few months.
Click to expand...

I also have the Inatek in my MP 2009. Works great. You can get it on Amazon if that helps with your shipping issue. You're not in the US I take it?

Also, tired of always reaching around the back to plug in my USB 3.0 thumb drives, I bought one of these to make it easier to get to my ports. I used sticky tape to stick it to the side of my Mac Pro. I wish it had a longer cable, but it works. Easy access (plus more ports!).
 
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I have 2 of these. They work well but aren't powered of course.
 
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This is how I setup my USB 3 hub. Quite match the ACD. At a convenience place, and have plenty of ports to use. This hub comes with a long cable, it makes me easy to setup the hub even though my Mac Pro is under my desk.

IMG_9612.jpg
 
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For anyone using the Inateck KT4004, be aware that Inateck currently say that it is incompatible with Yosemite!!

I am making further inquiries.

Apart from the device not registering, symptoms include the Ethernet port not working and some programs not shutting down when shutting down the machine.
 
^^^^There have been reports on this forum that the Inateck KT4004 works fine in Yosemite. I had one, I now have the RocketU 1144C. Both worked fine for me in Yosemite.

Lou
 
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Kt4004

Thanks Loy,

Did you have the KT4004 installed when you upgraded to Yosemite?

I upgraded and then installed the KT4004. It never worked.

As i said in my earlier post, Inateck not state on their website that the KT 4004 is not compatible with Yosemite.

It would be great if I can get it too work but I am not holding my breath.

Chris
 
Yes I did. I never used it on the final release, however. I used on the PBs, and sometime during the PB cycle I changed it for the RocketU card.

However there are posts like these:

crjackson2134 said:
They both work fine with Yosemite. I have both cards, fully populated running 8 drives at the same time. No issues. Amazon is wrong! Have a look at the bolded Red in This Review.
Click to expand...

Earl Urley said:
Maybe mention that the Inateck card works fine on Yosemite? But for some reason Inateck is disavowing any Yosemite support on their Amazon pages?

There also seem to be issues at the core of the USB 3.0 stack in Mavericks, where certain devices will randomly decide to disconnect on their own. Don't know if it's a driver issue or chipset issue.

It might have been fixed in Yosemite as I've not seen any random disconnects since upgrading.
Click to expand...

Lou
 
OK thanks Lou,

Unfortunately that has not been my experience so far.

When I have the KT4004 installed the Ethernet connection fails, programs fail to close when shutting down and I cannot see the USB3 port or anything connected to it.

I have pulled out every other card in the system (except for the Video card) and have tried the KT4004 in several slots x16 & x4. I even sent the card back to the supplier and got another one. Still no joy, exactly the same symptoms.

I am at a loss as to how others have made it work.

I am open to suggestions.

Chris.
 
I have this Orico card from Newegg in my 5,1. Working fine in Yosemite. I was more worried about my Apricorn Pcie SSD adapter but it was fine also.

My old technique of target disk on the MP to my MBP checking updates is bust with Yosemite, I suppose it's the encryption. Make sure you have a backup of anything important before trying it. I lost all my settings, internet accounts, mail, etc.
 
Thanks Drewsof07,

Does the Orico card allow connection of hubs? I was previously running a CalDigit card which worked well enough but would only allow connection of drives (which I had conveniently forgotten because I had been using it for so long). I crashed my operating system when I tried to plug in a hub and had to reinstall the OS. Fortunately I keep my User Data on a separate drive so it wasn't too painful.

I bought the KT4004 because it is supposed to run hubs (or any device really) and I hadn't seen a bad review.

But there does seem to be an issue with Yosemite. I have a MP 3.1 8 core so its getting a bit long in the tooth but with a 1TB SSHD and 32GB of RAM it runs plenty fast enough for me and I have had few problems over the years.

Chris
 
I am now using the Orico card with Yosemite, no problem at all, I connect two USB3.0 hubs to it, and lots of devices to the hubs, all works fine.

However, my computer is a 4,1 (flashed 5,1), can't tell if the 3,1 will perform the same or not.
 
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Have the orico in my macpro 1,1 which i intend to take out with my upgrade to my recently acquired macpro 3,1. Also have a apricot pci-e ssd card. Hope they all work together.
 
I have the Inateck 2I2O in my 4,1 (5,1FW). My upgraded WiFi/BT card is plugged into it internally through a 20 pin to 2xUSB3 dongle and the external ports work great. No drivers required.
 
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