USB 3.x PCIe Cards for Classic Mac Pro

[MIKX]

This card is apparently manufactured as "Pardasey" on Amazon

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

and on AliExpress

11.25US $ 33% OFF|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 - Add On Cards & Controller Panels - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

On both sites it is advertised as x 4 Link Width.

I pulled all my PCI cards out except my RX 580 8gb GPU

I installed this Pardasey ASM3142 3,1 card in PCIe slots 4, 3 & 2 with nothing connected to it for cold bootup tests.

In ALL tests it still showed as Link Width x 2.

I have since removed it and replaced it with my previous ASM1142 card.

I worry that there maybe manufacturing defects that could cause damage.

Better safe than sorry.

I will be contacting AliExpress today, I'm not worried about the US$17 I paid for it inc. shipping but any refund is always nice unless of course I would have to pay US$17 to ship it back . .. ?


EDIT : As mentioned in a previous post here; after I had shut down and installed this USB3.1 card and connected an external 3.1 2 bay dock and restarted. . . my fans were running at full speed ! and my RX 580 8gb GPU was running at Link Speed 2.5 GT/sec.

I managed to fix this with a shutdown plus changing my GPU for a flashed 5770 and a triple chime NVRAM reset-cold boot. Then another shutdown and RX 580 re-installation.

Even though the Pardesy 3.1 ASM 3142 behaved itself and mounted all connected drives it still showed Link Width as x 2. It won't be going back in my cMP.

If anyone who has this card and has a Win machine it would be interesting to see if it runs at x 4 in it.

Definitely not industry standard.





There is definitely something wrong with this Pardasey card.

[automerge]1578966844[/automerge]

 

[Kaspin]

It's probably labeled that way to indicate the physical size of the slot, since x2 slots and cards don't really exist. I don't think you should be worried about defects as that controller is a x2 device.

 

[MIKX]

It's probably labeled that way to indicate the physical size of the slot, since x2 slots and cards don't really exist. I don't think you should be worried about defects as that controller is a x2 device.

I see what you mean but " X 4" in the Aliexpress & Amazon.com advertising is still quite misleading as well as my " out of the blue " fans speeding up etc. after the initial installation. I don't trust the Pardesy card.

I'll go for the ASM3142 Startech 3.1 despite the extra cost.

StarTech.com 5ポート USB 3.1(10Gbps) 増設PCIe拡張カード 1x USB-C/2x USB-A/2x 内部ポート(5Gbps ピンヘッダ) PEXUSB312EIC

5ポートUSB 3.1コンボカード。コンピュータの性能と接続機能を増強する手軽なソリューションです。USB Type-Cポート（10Gbps）、一般的なUSB Type-Aポート（5Gbps）、マザーボードヘッダを増設できる市場でも稀なUSB 3.1カードです。タイプの異なるUSBポートを幅広く提供するため、最新タイプと旧型両方のUSB機器を接続でき、外付けと内部増設の両方に対応します。10Gbps性能のUSB-Cポート（別名USB 3.1 Gen 2）に対応しているため、以前の接続規格で発生していたパフォーマンス上のボトルネックが解消され、待機時間が短くなります。 汎用性に優れた本PC...

www.amazon.co.jp

Thanks for your swift posting.

 

[joevt]

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

The ASM3142 is a PCIe 3.0 x2 device (8 GT/s/lane x 2 lanes x 128b/130b=15.75Gb/s)
But you are putting it in a PCIe 2.0 slot: 5 GT/s/lane x 2 lanes * 8b/10b=8Gb/s ≈ 740 MB/s
USB 3.1 gen 2 is 10 Gbps*128b/132b=9.70Gb/s ≈ 980 MB/s
USB 3.0 is 5 Gb/s*8b/10b=4Gb/s ≈ 400 MB/s

There is no such thing as an x2 card or x2 slot so they have to use a physical x4 card/slot which is electrically x2.

The only solution is to use a card that has two controllers and a PCIe 3.0 switch with at least x4 upstream and x2 downstream for the USB controller (four port USB card, or two port USB and two port SATA or whatever).

Or put the card in a PCIe 3.0 slot (PCIe expansion box with a PCIe 3.0 backplane or Thunderbolt 3 PCIe expansion box).

Or use a Thunderbolt 3 add-in card for the USB controller. Those are x4.

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.

Since we know that some USB controllers like the ASM1142 report 5 Gb/s instead of 10 Gb/s, the only way to make sure is to do a benchmark. If you can get more than 500 MB/s then you can be sure it's 10 Gb/s.

Are you saying the ASM2142 reports the incorrect USB speed like the ASM1142? Can you show a screenshot of that plus a benchmark?

 

[MIKX]

joevt

Thanks for your informative reply. I'm not up on USB 3.1 stuff but I get it that my ASM3142 card is for PCIe 3.0

I've already de-installed the ASM 3142 & replaced it with a 'made in Japan ' OWLtech ASM 1142 2 A Type ports USB 3.1 card and I'm at work now.

I did do a Blackmagic benchmark with a SanDisk 250gb SSD Plus in my external USB 3.1 two bay dock. I think it got up to just under 300mb/sec. which I suspect is a bit low speed for an SSD

While it was installed in the cMP, the ASM3142 card reported 5.0GT/sec. in Post #2567.

 

[flygbuss]

The ASM3142 is a PCIe 3.0 x2 device (8 GT/s/lane x 2 lanes x 128b/130b=15.75Gb/s)
But you are putting it in a PCIe 2.0 slot: 5 GT/s/lane x 2 lanes * 8b/10b=8Gb/s ≈ 740 MB/s
USB 3.1 gen 2 is 10 Gbps*128b/132b=9.70Gb/s ≈ 980 MB/s
USB 3.0 is 5 Gb/s*8b/10b=4Gb/s ≈ 400 MB/s

There is no such thing as an x2 card or x2 slot so they have to use a physical x4 card/slot which is electrically x2.

The only solution is to use a card that has two controllers and a PCIe 3.0 switch with at least x4 upstream and x2 downstream for the USB controller (four port USB card, or two port USB and two port SATA or whatever).

Or put the card in a PCIe 3.0 slot (PCIe expansion box with a PCIe 3.0 backplane or Thunderbolt 3 PCIe expansion box).

Or use a Thunderbolt 3 add-in card for the USB controller. Those are x4.


Since we know that some USB controllers like the ASM1142 report 5 Gb/s instead of 10 Gb/s, the only way to make sure is to do a benchmark. If you can get more than 500 MB/s then you can be sure it's 10 Gb/s.

Are you saying the ASM2142 reports the incorrect USB speed like the ASM1142? Can you show a screenshot of that plus a benchmark?

The first thing I did was a benchmark with the card only, I was hoping to achieve better speeds with the ASM3142, but they’ve been similar to what I posted a few posts ago.
So a little disappointed I connected the Lindy hub to the card and did a benachmark. The speeds were about the same as without the hub and that made me quite happy. With all the ASM1142 and 2142 cards the hub never goes above ~ 400 MB/s. Then I checked system profiler and saw that now the hub also reports the correct speed.
The Startech ASM2142 reports the speed of my external drive correctly but the lindy hub only at usb 3.0 speed. The Amazon ASM3142 reports also the hub correctly and speeds are the same with or without the hub.
I posted the screenshots in my last post.

 

[serpico007]

Is it possible to get USB-C to work on the 3,1 models? I recently got a card with 4x USB 3.0 ports and it worked fine. Just not sure if this model has the bandwidth to handle the USB-C speeds and if it is worth the upgrade.

 

[bsbeamer]

Is it possible to get USB-C to work on the 3,1 models? I recently got a card with 4x USB 3.0 ports and it worked fine. Just not sure if this model has the bandwidth to handle the USB-C speeds and if it is worth the upgrade.

Allegro USB-C 4-Port USB 3.2 Gen 2 - Sonnet

www.sonnettech.com

See the “tech specs” page and MP3,1 listed

 

[serpico007]

Allegro USB-C 4-Port USB 3.2 Gen 2 - Sonnet

www.sonnettech.com

See the “tech specs” page and MP3,1 listed

Odd that it isn't compatible with 10.11 but older 10.10.5. Is there another card?



Mac Pro® 3,1(2), 4,1, 5,1, or 7,1 (2019 Mac Pro)

macOS 10.10.5, 10.12.6+(3)
(not compatible with macOS 10.11)

macOS Catalina compatible(4)

 

[bsbeamer]

Odd that it isn't compatible with 10.11 but older 10.10.5. Is there another card?

Sonnet is currently selling these USB cards:

Allegro USB-C 4-Port USB 3.2 Gen 2 | Sonnet
Allegro USB-C PCIe USB 3.2 Gen 2 | Sonnet
Allegro Pro Type A USB 3.2 Gen 2 | Sonnet
Allegro Type A USB 3.2 PCIe | Sonnet

This is the ONLY of the four without that 10.11 note, but is a USB type A:

Allegro Type A USB 3.2 PCIe - Sonnet

[automerge]1579212584[/automerge]
Just noticed what looks to be a chipset change for the four port Sonnet USB-C card, which might be interesting to note for some people, especially those looking for alternatives.

"Cards shipped before Jan. 2020 use ASM 1142 controller."

Looks like they've changed to ASMedia 3142 in all latest versions of USB-C cards:

Allegro USB-C 4-Port USB 3.2 Gen 2 - Sonnet

www.sonnettech.com

Both should be macOS compatible with the same versions, at least according to the spec sheet.

The Allegro I purchased for MP5,1 usage was shipped December 2019 (USB3C-4PM-E) and shipped from Sonnet directly as seller:

Sonnet Allegro USB-C 4-Port PCIe Card

Part No. USB3C-4PM-E Powerful USB 3.2 Gen 2 Performance: Add Four USB-C 10Gbps Ports to Computers and Thunderbolt Expansion Systems with PCIe Slots Equipped with SSDs, the fastest USB drives you can buy today are capable of 800 MB/s data transfers, and many are bus-powered. Most desktop computers...

www.amazon.com

Will try to physically check the card in the coming weeks if it's important for anyone.

 

[aacemyan]

I also wanted to chime in and discourage people from buying the Pardesy 3.1 ASM 3142. I bought the one with 1 usb-a and 1 usb-c port. When installed my computer would constantly kernel panic when sleeping under both Mojave or Catalina (opencore on or off makes not difference). I went back to using my Ableconn ASM 2142 which works without any issues and speeds are equivalent.

 

[flygbuss]

This might be interesting for people who need to free a PCIe slot.
It also comes with the ASM 3142.

Fusion Dual 2.5-inch SSD RAID - Tech Specs - SONNETTECH

View videos and tech specs for Fusion Dual 2.5-inch SSD RAID, determine hardware and OS compatibility, and see recommended accessories.

www.sonnettech.com

 

[joevt]

This might be interesting for people who need to free a PCIe slot.
It also comes with the ASM 3142.

Seems to be a combination PCIe 3.0 x2 USB card plus USB SATA raid (like the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini). It's limited to 770 MB/s in the cMP because it's only x2. The OWC connected to the Allegro USB-C 4-Port PCIe Card will perform slightly better because the Allegro is x4 (same for GC-TITAN RIDGE, or GC-ALPINE RIDGE, or any ASM2142 or ASM3142 card with a PCIe 3.0 x4 upstream switch).

 

[Lxixboss]

I have a maxxed out Mac Pro 4,1 to which I have applied all the upgrades I can think of (dual X5690 processors, RX 580 video card, dual NVME boot drives (one for Catalina and one for Windows 10 Pro), 64GB of RAM, etc. My next project is a USB 3.0 card. I will also install an external Bluetooth antenna since there seems to be a problem with USB 3.0 to Bluetooth interference with the stock antenna. Right now, my conundrum is powering the USB 3.0 card. I have four 3.5 inch drives populating all four drive bays along with a 2.5 inch SSD in the second optical bay. That means that I can't get power from either one of those locations. My video card, however, uses a single 8-pin power connector which I have connected to one of the two 6-pin motherboard pcie power connectors. My ultimate question, therefore, is this: Can I use the remaining backplane PCIe power connector to power the USB 3.0 card (which will require either 4-pin Molex or 15-pin SATA power... depending on the card I use... I already have an Orico PVU3-4P-R2.0). So, I think I need a mini 6-pin PCIe to female Molex or female SATA power cable or adapter. Any insights, especially from those who have succeeded in doing this, would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mikas]

I think USB 3.0 specs point to 5V power. PCIe gives 12V, so there should happen a voltage change somehow - unless your card can handle that. Could you maybe install one of your 3,5" HDDs to the lower optical bay and then get 5V from the freed up SATA power connector?

I mean you would need a splitter, because your 2,5" would have to go somewhere too. Didn't realize that at first, sorry.

 

[serpico007]

I have the Inateck in my 3,1 and it needs no power. Unless you need to connect 4 notebook external drives to power and expect 3.0 speeds, I understand you'll need another card. But I've had 4 drives connected to this one and it works fine.

 

[Snow Tiger]

I have a maxxed out Mac Pro 4,1 to which I have applied all the upgrades I can think of (dual X5690 processors, RX 580 video card, dual NVME boot drives (one for Catalina and one for Windows 10 Pro), 64GB of RAM, etc. My next project is a USB 3.0 card. I will also install an external Bluetooth antenna since there seems to be a problem with USB 3.0 to Bluetooth interference with the stock antenna. Right now, my conundrum is powering the USB 3.0 card. I have four 3.5 inch drives populating all four drive bays along with a 2.5 inch SSD in the second optical bay. That means that I can't get power from either one of those locations. My video card, however, uses a single 8-pin power connector which I have connected to one of the two 6-pin motherboard pcie power connectors. My ultimate question, therefore, is this: Can I use the remaining backplane PCIe power connector to power the USB 3.0 card (which will require either 4-pin Molex or 15-pin SATA power... depending on the card I use... I already have an Orico PVU3-4P-R2.0). So, I think I need a mini 6-pin PCIe to female Molex or female SATA power cable or adapter. Any insights, especially from those who have succeeded in doing this, would be greatly appreciated.

If you have four 3.5" HDDs installed , then there are no backplane connections available .

Do what TransIntl did with their DX4 powered four 2.5" drive mount - build a passthrough power connector for the onboard ODD Bay power header . That should provide enough juice for four 2.5" SSDs or HDDs - maybe 20 W max .

 

[rivangom]

it looks like the connector cable inside the unit is diesigned to fit into some kind of usb motherboard header socket which the mac pro doesn't have.

Still looking for the option to use one of the DVD drive bay with Sata connector for a frontpanel USB 3.x

How about this one?

US $15.61 15% OFF|USB 3.0 4 Ports Front Panel HUB Combo Adapter Bracket USB3.0 Bay Internal with 15 pin SATA Power Cable 3.5

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

 

[serpico007]

That looks like it would work. Do you need a surround panel or would you keep the front cover open permanently?

 

[WillMoSeattle]

I just bought the Allegro 4 port USB _A_ for USD $129.

Allegro Type A USB 3.2 PCIe - Sonnet

I did not research carefully and failed to notice the USB _C_ card for $149.

Allegro USB-C 4-Port PCIe Card (4-ports • USB-C 10Gbps/USB 3.2 Gen 2 • Dual controllers • USB-C charging)

Mac, Windows and Linux PCIe adapter card with four USB-C ports and 7.5W of power dedicated to each port for bus-powered USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gbps) devices. Backwards compatible with USB 3.1 and 3.0 peripherals.

www.sonnetstore.com

My primary use for this card will be to attach storeage, and perhaps an audio interface. Of course speed is a concern for large data copies.

The western digital passport drive I'm using has both an A and a C type cable but for future drive purposes and proofing..

What if any advantages does a C type connector provide over an A? Is it that if I rummage around in my tower of babel USB cable box if I use an old A type it is more likely not to support the faster 3.1 spec?

 

[bsbeamer]

That card is USB-C 10Gbps speeds. That is the only advantage if you have 10Gbps devices.

 

[joevt]

I just bought the Allegro 4 port USB _A_ for USD $129.

Allegro Type A USB 3.2 PCIe - Sonnet

I did not research carefully and failed to notice the USB _C_ card for $149.

Allegro USB-C 4-Port PCIe Card (4-ports • USB-C 10Gbps/USB 3.2 Gen 2 • Dual controllers • USB-C charging)

Mac, Windows and Linux PCIe adapter card with four USB-C ports and 7.5W of power dedicated to each port for bus-powered USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gbps) devices. Backwards compatible with USB 3.1 and 3.0 peripherals.

www.sonnetstore.com

My primary use for this card will be to attach storeage, and perhaps an audio interface. Of course speed is a concern for large data copies.

The western digital passport drive I'm using has both an A and a C type cable but for future drive purposes and proofing..

What if any advantages does a C type connector provide over an A? Is it that if I rummage around in my tower of babel USB cable box if I use an old A type it is more likely not to support the faster 3.1 spec?

USB-C can provide more power (7.5W or 15W) than USB-A (4.5W) by default but the Sonnet USB-A and USB-C cards both support 7.5W per port (using USB Battery Charging 1.2 and USB Type-C Charging respectively) because the PCIe slot only provides 25W.

The Sonnet USB-C has the newer ASM3142 chip which means it is faster (10 Gbps per port ≈ 980 MB/s, 16 Gbps total) than the Sonnet USB-A which has the ASM1142 chip (8 Gbps per port ≈ 750 MB/s, 16 Gbps total).

Do we have verification that the Sonnet USB-C is using a PCIe 3.0 switch? If it is then they need to update the specs to say it support PCIe 3.0 x4. If it does not, then the Sonnet USB-C would not be much faster than the Sonnet USB-A.

 

[WillMoSeattle]

Thank you bsbeamer and joevt!

Sonnet didn't reply to my two days ago now email asking about the differences specifically mentioning an on board PCIe 3.0 switch and their sales number just goes to voice mail so I'm giving up on trying to learn more through them.

For those that get the USB A x 4 card I had to reset nvram a couple of times to get it recognized. Per the instructions that come with the card you have to download a kernel extension to allow the ports to charge apple ios devices but that installed easily on Mojave.

 

[MIKX]

Still looking for the option to use one of the DVD drive bay with Sata connector for a frontpanel USB 3.x

How about this one?

US $15.61 15% OFF|USB 3.0 4 Ports Front Panel HUB Combo Adapter Bracket USB3.0 Bay Internal with 15 pin SATA Power Cable 3.5

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

I've ordered one of these. I'm currently using a cMP 2,1 side cover as I've drilled two 5mm holes for the Drive Activity LED which run from my Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500gb & 970 EVO 250gb M.2 blades.

My brother-in-law runs a CNC machining business so he can cut out a hole to have this module poke though the 2,1 side cover.
I especially like the fact that this module has ONE INTERNAL USB 3.0 port which I can use to power my NorthBridge Tdiode's auxilliary USB ( 50mm x 50mm x 10 mm 16.5 CFM ) fan for summer.

This is what I imagine the finished result will look like .

I still DO have my virgin 4,1 cMP side cover in storage.

The 2,1 side cover fits perfectly but does not LOCK . . . it 'clicks ' into place on the 4,1 cMP and has never fallen off but I do have a strip of clear tape in place just in case ( pun .. not intended . .).

As I rarely need to open my cMP's side cover and that is for my 'every two months de-dusting I will just need to dis-connect the USB 3.0 module's SATA cable. I can't see any problems with that.

=============================================
Off topic Note :
Currently there is one more 5mm hole above the one in the photo for a Samsung 970 EVO 250gb M.2 blade.
Since my Amiga A4000T days ( 1994 ) I consider drive activity LEDs to be extremely useful; I always know when my 4,1 commences boot up and I can do a lot of timings & monitor boot drive activity visually.

The better made M.2 PCIe adapters usually have the TWO PINS for LEDs to be connected on their PCB.

Like this

 

[JedNZ]

Really like the look of it. Imagine cutting out the Apple logo on the door and putting an LED lighting system in. That would be cool.