USB 3.x PCIe Cards for Classic Mac Pro

[joevt]

The CMP tower will not support 3.0 or 3.1 Booting from external devices. The necessary USB drivers only get loaded after the machine has Booted. Theres no card out there that can do this! The Startech you mentioned to my knowledge is not supportive of current Mac OS, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra.

He said bootable esata. All the Fasta USB + esata cards were bootable from sata.

Can I boot from FASTA-6GU3 Plus card? – CalDigit

The FASTA-6GU3 Plus does support bootable function on the eSATA ports but not the USB ports.

www.caldigit.com

Other cards may also work.

 

[flygbuss]

He said bootable esata. All the Fasta USB + esata cards were bootable from sata.

Can I boot from FASTA-6GU3 Plus card? – CalDigit

The FASTA-6GU3 Plus does support bootable function on the eSATA ports but not the USB ports.

www.caldigit.com

Other cards may also work.

Exactly, I'm looking for a card like the Caldigit since it's no longer available.
The Startech should be delivered today and I'll give it a try.

According to the first page of this thread the Startech should be similar to the Ableconn PU31A-ESA.

Ableconn PU31A-ESA (untested) PCIe x2. eSATA is provided by a USB to eSATA chip, not a eSATA controller so there is only one USB port, no PCIe switch, and therefore only PCIe x2 upstream like the others.

So I'm not holding my breath..

 

[joevt]

So I'm not holding my breath..

Oh right. I got confused about what "native SATA" means. The Startech PEXUSB311A1E is USB only, so what Sg335man said applies - it will not be bootable even from the SATA port (because the SATA port is just a USB to SATA adapter - not native SATA).

 

[flygbuss]

Oh right. I got confused about what "native SATA" means. The Startech PEXUSB311A1E is USB only, so what Sg335man said applies - it will not be bootable even from the SATA port (because the SATA port is just a USB to SATA adapter - not native SATA).

yes, I read that after I ordered the card.. Any suggestions what card I could get to be able to boot via esata?

thank you!

 

[DearthnVader]

yes, I read that after I ordered the card.. Any suggestions what card I could get to be able to boot via esata?

thank you!

It is conceivably possible to boot from USB3 PCI-E cards in a cMP, it's just that the UsbBus.efi driver in the 5,1's firmware is not compatible with XHCI.

You can add the XHCI driver to the 5,1's firmware, or better via an EFI bootlaoder, however, the system will freeze as soon as you plug in a USB device to the XHCI bus.

It should be possible to replace the UsbBus.efi driver in the 5,1's firmware with one that is compatible, but we need someone with a MATT card to test that............

 

[flygbuss]

It is conceivably possible to boot from USB3 PCI-E cards in a cMP, it's just that the UsbBus.efi driver in the 5,1's firmware is not compatible with XHCI.

You can add the XHCI driver to the 5,1's firmware, or better via an EFI bootlaoder, however, the system will freeze as soon as you plug in a USB device to the XHCI bus.

It should be possible to replace the UsbBus.efi driver in the 5,1's firmware with one that is compatible, but we need someone with a MATT card to test that............

A combined USB 3.1/3.0 and esata card with a discrete SATA controller would be just fine. But I guess there is no option besides the Caldigit card.

Unfortunately I don’t have a free PCIe slot available for a separate esata only card.

 

[DearthnVader]

A combined USB 3.1/3.0 and esata card with a discrete SATA controller would be just fine. But I guess there is no option besides the Caldigit card.

Unfortunately I don’t have a free PCIe slot available for a separate esata only card.

Sometimes a bird in the hand...

I mean, you already bought the Startech card, I'm just putting it out there for everyone that such cards should be made able to be bootable, tho firmware modifications can be scary, and we need someone with a MATT card for testing.

I was able to boot from a USB3/XHCI card on a USB3 to SATA on the 3,1, so I have no reason to think the Startech card's USB3 to SATA chip wouldn't also work for booting.

Bootable XHCI PCI-E for the 3,1.( Experimental).

I've had success making a USB3.0( FL1100 chipset) bootable on my MP3,1. I've also been able to boot from USB2.0 flash drives connected to the USB3.0 card, but I still have some issues to sort out there, as some 2.0 Flashdrives are only bootable with the USB3 to SATA drive I have connected to...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[flygbuss]

Oh right. I got confused about what "native SATA" means. The Startech PEXUSB311A1E is USB only, so what Sg335man said applies - it will not be bootable even from the SATA port (because the SATA port is just a USB to SATA adapter - not native SATA).

As expected, booting via esata with the Startech card doesn't work.

I did some testing with the card though.

(Samsung 970 EVO 1TB inside a inateck SA01004 NVMe m.2 enclosure, cMP 5,1)


Startech PEXUSB311A1E:



Sonnet Allegro Pro Type A USB 3.2 Gen 2:



CalDigit FASTA-6GU3 Plus:


Aukey DS-E5:


Don't know what's wrong with this setup, tried three different cables and tried different PCIe slots as well.
With other drives this card usually performs well.

 

[joevt]

Don't know what's wrong with this setup, tried three different cables and tried different PCIe slots as well.
With other drives this card usually performs well.

Check the connection speed in System Information.app. It appears to be connecting at USB 2.0 speed (Up to 480 Mb/s). You may need to try connecting it multiple times before it connects at USB 3.1 gen 2 speed (Up to 10 Gb/s). Actually, if it uses the Asmedia ASM1142, then it will probably report Up to 5 Gb/s even if it connects at 10 Gb/s (the > 700 MB/s results prove it is connecting faster than 5 Gb/s). Try switch ports, try reversing the USB-C connector - flip it upside down, etc.

All of those cards appear to use the Asmedia 1142. There are cards then can give another 200 MB/s as mentioned in the first post.

 

[flygbuss]

Check the connection speed in System Information.app. It appears to be connecting at USB 2.0 speed (Up to 480 Mb/s). You may need to try connecting it multiple times before it connects at USB 3.1 gen 2 speed (Up to 10 Gb/s). Actually, if it uses the Asmedia ASM1142, then it will probably report Up to 5 Gb/s even if it connects at 10 Gb/s (the > 700 MB/s results prove it is connecting faster than 5 Gb/s). Try switch ports, try reversing the USB-C connector - flip it upside down, etc.

All of those cards appear to use the Asmedia 1142. There are cards then can give another 200 MB/s as mentioned in the first post.

The StarTech PEXUSB311A1E I tested should be ASM2142 chipset, according to the first post.

 

[joevt]

The StarTech PEXUSB311A1E I tested should be ASM2142 chipset, according to the first post.

Doesn't matter unless you have a PCIe 3.0 slot to put it in. Otherwise it's limited to PCIe 2.0 x2 - the same speed as the ASM1142. The ASM2142 might have some useful features (more efficient? properly reports "Up to 10 Gb/s" in System Information.app?) - but they don't speed up the card beyond what you saw.

Actually, I would like to know if the ASM2142 and 3142 properly report the USB 3.1 gen 2 speed instead of reporting "Up to 5 Gb/s".

 

[flygbuss]

Doesn't matter unless you have a PCIe 3.0 slot to put it in. Otherwise it's limited to PCIe 2.0 x2 - the same speed as the ASM1142. The ASM2142 might have some useful features (more efficient? properly reports "Up to 10 Gb/s" in System Information.app?) - but they don't speed up the card beyond what you saw.

Actually, I would like to know if the ASM2142 and 3142 properly report the USB 3.1 gen 2 speed instead of reporting "Up to 5 Gb/s".

This is how the PEXUSB311A1E is shown:

 

[joevt]

This is how the PEXUSB311A1E is shown:

That is what it should say - but you're looking at the USB to SATA device. You need to select the USB 3.1 Bus device to see what the ASM2142 reports. The ASM1142 usually reports "Up to 5 Gb/sec" even when it is connected at gen 2 speed.

 

[flygbuss]

That is what it should say - but you're looking at the USB to SATA device. You need to select the USB 3.1 Bus device to see what the ASM2142 reports. The ASM1142 usually reports "Up to 5 Gb/sec" even when it is connected at gen 2 speed.

My mistake. I wasn't sure what you meant.

 

[joevt]

My mistake. I wasn't sure what you meant.

The mistake was mine. Both devices are reporting correct gen 2 speed and selecting either is sufficient for testing that gen 2 speed is reported properly (you've already determined that they are faster than gen 1 speed with the benchmarks).

Selecting the "USB 3.1 Bus" does not show speed since speed is a property that differs for each connected device. For upstream speed, you have to find the controller in the PCI list and look at PCI Link Width and Link Speed which in your case should be x2 5 GT/s (which translates to 8 Gb/s which is why your benchmark shows ≈750 MB/s instead of ≈950 MB/s).

Selecting the "USB 3.1 Bus" does show the USB controller vendor and product ID which is useful for identifying the controller. It should say 0x2142 for the ASM2142 or the ASM3142 (the ASM1142 is actually 0x1242). It also shows both devices that are connected to the Bus so you can get all info for all 3 items (bus and two devices) with one screenshot.

Hubs have an upstream USB speed since they are connected by USB. Each device connected to a hub has it's own speed (like devices/hubs connected to a bus).

 

[flygbuss]

The mistake was mine. Both devices are reporting correct gen 2 speed and selecting either is sufficient for testing that gen 2 speed is reported properly (you've already determined that they are faster than gen 1 speed with the benchmarks).

Selecting the "USB 3.1 Bus" does not show speed since speed is a property that differs for each connected device. For upstream speed, you have to find the controller in the PCI list and look at PCI Link Width and Link Speed which in your case should be x2 5 GT/s (which translates to 8 Gb/s which is why your benchmark shows ≈750 MB/s instead of ≈950 MB/s).

Selecting the "USB 3.1 Bus" does show the USB controller vendor and product ID which is useful for identifying the controller. It should say 0x2142 for the ASM2142 or the ASM3142 (the ASM1142 is actually 0x1242). It also shows both devices that are connected to the Bus so you can get all info for all 3 items (bus and two devices) with one screenshot.

Hubs have an upstream USB speed since they are connected by USB. Each device connected to a hub has it's own speed (like devices/hubs connected to a bus).

This is the same drive connected to the Sonnet Allegro Pro Type A USB 3.2 Gen 2:


Since it's the ASM1142, reported speed is 5Gb/s

The PCI list with the Sonnet and StarTech card installed looks like this:


The StarTech is selected, the Sonnet shows two x2 controllers (like the CalDigit FASTA-6GU3 Plus and other x4 cards)
I ordered an ASM3142 card and it should arrive today or next week.
It's a pity the CalDigit CalDigit FASTA-6GU3 Plus is no longer for sale and nowhere available in Europe.

 

[MIKX]

My ASM3142 2 x Type A ports USB 3.1 card arrived quite quickly ( one week ) from AliExpress.
Total cost inc. shipping = US$ 17. Apparently made by "Padarsey " made & sold by a Chinese company called h111z.

=========================

Aliexpress link US$12.37 + shipping

USB 3.1 PCI Express Card 2-Ports Superspeed USB 3.1 10Gbps Raiser Adapter PCIE PCI-E 3.0 X4 ASMedia ASM3142 Chipset for Desktop - AliExpress 7

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

Amazon link US$28 + shipping

Padarsey U3102A PCI-EX2 to USB3.1 Expansion Adapter Card PCI-Express2 to USB 3.1 High Speed ASM3142 Chip for PC Desktop Computer

Padarsey U3102A PCI-EX2 to USB3.1 Expansion Adapter Card PCI-Express2 to USB 3.1 High Speed ASM3142 Chip for PC Desktop Computer

www.amazon.com

==========================

At present I only have a 1.5tb Samsung spinner HDD connected which will be replaced by a 1Tb Samsung 860 SSD this month. I will post benchmarks after it arrives.

After I shut down & installed the card & cold booted .. my fans were running at full speed !
Somehow I managed to fix this and in fact my cMP " feels " to be snappier.
The ASM3142 3.1 card is SATA connected ( I only use SATA powered 3.0 / 3.1 cards ) and is performing as advertised.

The heatsink is a nice touch. but I have a copper one that is exactly the same which I will fit tomorrow.

US$17 inc. shipping to Japan from Aliexpress.

 

[aacemyan]

I know this has probably been discussed elsewhere but i cannot find the post for the life of me. If my PCIE USB card requires SATA power (Ableconn PU31-AC-2), and i want to either grab power from the unused SATA port at optical drive bay or pull from an unused drive bay on the motherboard, can i just use this cable? Essentially a 15 pin SATA power extension cable (male to female)

 

[MIKX]

You can mount the SATA bay 4 HDD/ SSD in the optical bay cage and plug a SHORTER SATA cable into the SATA Bay 4 SATA socket. I do this, it's much neater than having a cable running all the way from your optical bay,

Using normal SATA to SATA cables you have to snip off one of the retaining lugs on one side of the SATA MALE cable. The cable shown in your post looks OK but get a shorter one. 15cm should be plenty.

I put a small sticker on top of the end going into the cMP's SATA socket to indicate which way to plug it in.

 

[aacemyan]

Actually follow up question....do i even need to connect SATA power cable even in a worse case scenario? From my understanding the PCIE slot provides 25 Watts of power to the card. The Ableconn PU31-AC-2 card (ASM2142) has 1xUSB type-c with 15W power (5v/3A) and 1xUSB type-A with 10W power (5v/2A). Wouldn't this be sufficient to power 2 bus powered devices at once without needing SATA power?

 

[MIKX]

It depends what you want to connect to the card. Google it.
I SATA power my Padarsey ASM 3142 3.1 card as insurance. I have had one Inateck card die on me.

PS : When you insert the SATA cable into the cMP bay 4 SATA socket . . . double check to make sure that it is firmly inserted ( give it a push with a finger ) as a final check prior to booting up.

My new Padarsey ASM 3142 3.1 from Aliexpress is SATA powered & cost about $17 inc. shipping to Japan and is working very well. I'm happy.

 

[joevt]

I know this has probably been discussed elsewhere but i cannot find the post for the life of me. If my PCIE USB card requires SATA power (Ableconn PU31-AC-2), and i want to either grab power from the unused SATA port at optical drive bay or pull from an unused drive bay on the motherboard, can i just use this cable? Essentially a 15 pin SATA power extension cable (male to female)

I use the following to get power from the Mac Pro drive bay:

SATA 22 Pin Male to SATA 7 Pin and 2 X 15 Pin SATA Female Connectors - 6

This is a splitter cable allowing the cable to split off power from an existing SATA 22 Pin Power and DATA connection. Perfect for adding an addition SSD drive with limited power sources.

www.microsatacables.com

 

[MIKX]

I use the following to get power from the Mac Pro drive bay:

SATA 22 Pin Male to SATA 7 Pin and 2 X 15 Pin SATA Female Connectors - 6

This is a splitter cable allowing the cable to split off power from an existing SATA 22 Pin Power and DATA connection. Perfect for adding an addition SSD drive with limited power sources.

www.microsatacables.com

A short version ( 15cm ) of this cable in ( an empty ) cMP Bay ONE would be ideal as it will securely lock to the SATA socket but will still need a short SATA extension cable to go to the card's SATA socket.

I got into the habit of checking that my PCIe 3.1 cards SATA cable is securely connected prior to every cold boot with a gentle push to the connection at the SATA Bay 4 socket.. ?.

Old habits die hard.

 

[flygbuss]

My ASM3142 2 x Type A ports USB 3.1 card arrived quite quickly ( one week ) from AliExpress.
Total cost inc. shipping = US$ 17. Apparently made by "Padarsey " made & sold by a Chinese company called h111z.

=========================

Aliexpress link US$12.37 + shipping

USB 3.1 PCI Express Card 2-Ports Superspeed USB 3.1 10Gbps Raiser Adapter PCIE PCI-E 3.0 X4 ASMedia ASM3142 Chipset for Desktop - AliExpress 7

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

Amazon link US$28 + shipping

Padarsey U3102A PCI-EX2 to USB3.1 Expansion Adapter Card PCI-Express2 to USB 3.1 High Speed ASM3142 Chip for PC Desktop Computer

Padarsey U3102A PCI-EX2 to USB3.1 Expansion Adapter Card PCI-Express2 to USB 3.1 High Speed ASM3142 Chip for PC Desktop Computer

www.amazon.com

==========================

At present I only have a 1.5tb Samsung spinner HDD connected which will be replaced by a 1Tb Samsung 860 SSD this month. I will post benchmarks after it arrives.

After I shut down & installed the card & cold booted .. my fans were running at full speed !
Somehow I managed to fix this and in fact my cMP " feels " to be snappier.
The ASM3142 3.1 card is SATA connected ( I only use SATA powered 3.0 / 3.1 cards ) and is performing as advertised.

View attachment 887638
The heatsink is a nice touch. but I have a copper one that is exactly the same which I will fit tomorrow.

View attachment 887639


View attachment 887642


US$17 inc. shipping to Japan from Aliexpress.

I bought the same card via amazon. It is a x4 card but it's only recognized as x2. Seems to be the same case for you.
Is there a solution for this?
So even though its a ASM3142 card, the speed is about 700-740 MB/s.

10 Gb/s is reported correctly:



Another huge advantage is that finally my Lindy USB 3.1 Hub is not topping out at USB 3.0 speed.
With my other ASM1142 and ASM2142 cards it was always recognized at 5 Gb/s.

ASM3142:

ASM2142:

 

[MIKX]

I bought the same card via amazon. It is a x4 card but it's only recognized as x2. Seems to be the same case for you.
Is there a solution for this?
So even though its a ASM3142 card, the speed is about 700-740 MB/s.

10 Gb/s is reported correctly:

View attachment 888395

Mine says 480Mb/sec also a different version No.

more later, working now.