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USB 3.x PCIe Cards for Classic Mac Pro
- Thread starter ActionableMango
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Thanks, I think that'll help newcomers get oriented. Although you might mention the FL1100 too...it should work as well as or better than the FL1009, aside from definitely requiring a power cable.
Has anybody tried a card that uses the stock driver (like a Fresco) under Mavericks? Does sleep work any better?
Inateck ktu3fr-4pa card for mac
Hi guys,
does any one, using the Inateck ktu3fr-4pa card for mac, has experienced reboot on shutdown? I've got it on a Mac Pro 3,1 (early 2008) with ML, when an active device's plugged in (such as a web cam or a pen drive), the mac doesn't shutdown but it's rebooting. Maybe I've used the wrong alimentation cable (sata on a free hdd bay) 'cause there is no instructions for the 3,1
. Thanks for help.
Hi guys,
does any one, using the Inateck ktu3fr-4pa card for mac, has experienced reboot on shutdown? I've got it on a Mac Pro 3,1 (early 2008) with ML, when an active device's plugged in (such as a web cam or a pen drive), the mac doesn't shutdown but it's rebooting. Maybe I've used the wrong alimentation cable (sata on a free hdd bay) 'cause there is no instructions for the 3,1
. Thanks for help. 
Have you tried resetting PRAM? If that doesn't work, you can try deleting the /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.PowerManagement.plist file then rebooting.
Try an SMC reset. If it doesn't work, try deleting these two then reboot:
/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist
/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.AutoWake.plist
/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist
/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.AutoWake.plist
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Maybe I've used the wrong alimentation cable (sata on a free hdd bay) 'cause there is no instructions for the 3,1
Your method is fine if you don't mind losing a HDD bay.
I don't have a 3.1, but assuming it has the same hole for cables as the 5.1, these would be the instructions:
If you already have two drives in use in the optical bay, get a molex power y-cable to split one off for the USB card. Get a molex extension cable to run power from the optical bay to the PCIe bay. You will need to temporarily remove a connector from one end of the cable to thread it through the cable hole.
If you have an Orico or Fresco Logic board or anything else with molex power connector, directly connect the cable. If you have an Inatek board or anything else with SATA connector, use a molex to sata adapter.
Orico working fine
Last weekend I installed the Orico 4-port card from Amazon for $19.99. No drivers required under 10.8.5, but Windows 7 needs the driver supplied with the unit. I attached a Molex cable from an unused optical drive bay, and voila: 4 ports of USB3. Data transfer rates are identical from those I get with my Retina MacBook Pro. Life is good.
Last weekend I installed the Orico 4-port card from Amazon for $19.99. No drivers required under 10.8.5, but Windows 7 needs the driver supplied with the unit. I attached a Molex cable from an unused optical drive bay, and voila: 4 ports of USB3. Data transfer rates are identical from those I get with my Retina MacBook Pro. Life is good.
As I said I've got the Inateck card with the sata & molex cable (for mac).
I've got 4 HDD bay but used only 2 so there is no problem with this, but I also tried the molex connection to the optical drive bay cable (without closing the case) but the reboot issue stand. The only way to avoid it's disconnect every usb before using...but it's a bit frustrating.
I'll trie this two as soon as I can.
Thanks.
I received my Inatek USB3 board for evaluation today.
First thoughts are that it has an overly complex power splitter assembly. I am going to test with power from one of the drive sleds tomorrow.
I am also going to examine possibilities for routing from the optical bay, though I think this will require some modifications (I have an idea about cutting the lead and using a connector to re-attach so it can be fed up through to the opti bay without taking the saw to the casing.
Thus far the card seems to function ok. look for a more thorough review soon.
First thoughts are that it has an overly complex power splitter assembly. I am going to test with power from one of the drive sleds tomorrow.
I am also going to examine possibilities for routing from the optical bay, though I think this will require some modifications (I have an idea about cutting the lead and using a connector to re-attach so it can be fed up through to the opti bay without taking the saw to the casing.
Thus far the card seems to function ok. look for a more thorough review soon.
You don't have to cut anything. Put the overly complex cable assembly in the optical bay area. Remove one of the connectors from the molex extension cable and run it through the same path as the existing SATA cables. Reattach the connector on the other side.
You can remove the connector by using a very small screwdriver to push down on the 1-way prongs. If that's too difficult, you can buy a molex pin removal tool at Radio Shack for about $10.
I had already thought of that except the card doesn't use a molex. Its a moulded SATA Power connector.
Not a big deal as for now I have simply put one of the SSD's out of a sled and used the pass through power from the sleds connector. (no messing in the optical bay that way.
Likely I will wire a more permanent solution in one day, for now its all good.
Wow the card is zippy tho - on the olde USB2 my WD external managed an average 0f 40-49mb/s now its topping 110mb/s on average. I call that a success.
I purchased this card for use in my 2008 Mac Pro. My card setup is as so:
A 5870 in slot 1
This card (which is awesome I might add) in slot 2
The USB3 card in Slot 3
and a Sonnet E4P in slot 4.
After routing power from the optical bay (a pain) I have the power split again driving a second SSD off that Apricorn Velocity Solo x2 SSD sled. That card has one drive on the actual card, and has a SATAIII plug for another drive). So power for the second drive and the USB card are routed from the optical bay with splitters. (The PCI card with the SSD's is bootable by the way, SATA III on a MacPro finally!)
In 10.8.5 the USB 3 card is very flakey with drives appearing and disappearing all the time, even though it seems fine based on what system profiler says.
Under 10.9, everything seems just ducky and running perfectly. Sadly I'm still running some critical programs that aren't quite ready for 10.9 so I'm not spending too much time on my 10.9 boot drive.
A 5870 in slot 1
This card (which is awesome I might add) in slot 2
The USB3 card in Slot 3
and a Sonnet E4P in slot 4.
After routing power from the optical bay (a pain) I have the power split again driving a second SSD off that Apricorn Velocity Solo x2 SSD sled. That card has one drive on the actual card, and has a SATAIII plug for another drive). So power for the second drive and the USB card are routed from the optical bay with splitters. (The PCI card with the SSD's is bootable by the way, SATA III on a MacPro finally!)
In 10.8.5 the USB 3 card is very flakey with drives appearing and disappearing all the time, even though it seems fine based on what system profiler says.
Under 10.9, everything seems just ducky and running perfectly. Sadly I'm still running some critical programs that aren't quite ready for 10.9 so I'm not spending too much time on my 10.9 boot drive.
Oh, I see why you want to cut it now. Yes, I'd cut the wires and either crimp or solder on some wire terminals so they can be disconnected and reconnected at will. I'd probably cut them near the optical end so the mess is hidden in the optical bay.
thats the plan - going to use bullet connectors, and probably braid the cable while its cut (to look nice)
It works fine with a single drive on the card powered only by the PCIe bus., The second power line I mentioned in my post is just to the actual 2nd SSD I have hooked to the card. The card itself has no power connectors.
Can't help you with bootcamp, I don't run any other OS on my machine besides OSX.
I will say that the drive speeds are muted when accessing both drives at once They slow down to about SATAII speeds when say copying a big file from one drive on the card to the other drive hooked to the card. When only accessing one drive at a time they are full blown SATAIII speeds even if both are connected.
I have the exact same problem that you are having with a very similar setup. The only difference is that I have the Orico PFU3-4P 4-Port card from Amazon. I've tried everything that PastryChef suggested. I still have the reboot on shutdown problem. I'm not sure what to try next. I have everything connected properly and I have tried everything that I know to try. I am powering the card through the extra SATA power connection in the extra optical drive bay. So, that shouldn't be the problem. It doesn't matter what I plug into it. I could plug a flash drive, webcam, or a usb hub into it and it still reboots on shutdown. If nothing is plugged into it, it is fine. What do I do next?
Edit: I have a 2012 Mac Pro 5,1. Also, I'm running Mountain Lion.
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Well I got me a USB3 card from Inateck the other day and have been checking it out. Overall I am extremely pleased with it.
I have written a little review of the card ready to put up on Amazon (I haven't written any reviews for years so I am a little rusty).
I shall put some pics up if anyone on here really wants to see what a USB3 card looks like in situ.....
This is my little review:
I Recently added an Inateck USB3 PCIe card to my Mac Pro 5.1.
The card arrived the very next day. impressive on its own as I have found other suppliers in the past have made me wait up to two weeks for a PCIe card.
Very polished device. The packaging is superb - minimal, yet protected. The Card is supplied with a wiring loom suitable for taking power to the card (via its onboard male SATA power connector), from almost any source inside a desktop PC or Mac Pro.
Fitted the card and wired its power to the spare SATA power lead in the optical bay. started up the Mac and hey presto: instant four USB3 ports ready for action.
I loaded the ports up with two external hard disks (bot Western Digital, one mains powered and one from the bus), added a pair of USB3 16GB Memory sticks and began copying files between all four. The card did not miss a beat.
Next I tested the throughput performance using my Western Digital mains powered drive. 120MB/s for both read and write sustained. That is the maximum the drive will do even when connected directly to the internal SATA bus.
Overall a very good product indeed.
The only caveat is the card requires drivers to work fully in Windows 7 (I haven't tested 8). This however, was an easy task as the driver disk is supplied in the box.
9/10 overall, very good value for money and performs admirably.
Hope this helps anyone else looking for a USB3 card (I have no basis for comparison as my only other PCIe card is a USB2 one).
This is the link to the card I got on Amazon
I have written a little review of the card ready to put up on Amazon (I haven't written any reviews for years so I am a little rusty).
I shall put some pics up if anyone on here really wants to see what a USB3 card looks like in situ.....
This is my little review:
I Recently added an Inateck USB3 PCIe card to my Mac Pro 5.1.
The card arrived the very next day. impressive on its own as I have found other suppliers in the past have made me wait up to two weeks for a PCIe card.
Very polished device. The packaging is superb - minimal, yet protected. The Card is supplied with a wiring loom suitable for taking power to the card (via its onboard male SATA power connector), from almost any source inside a desktop PC or Mac Pro.
Fitted the card and wired its power to the spare SATA power lead in the optical bay. started up the Mac and hey presto: instant four USB3 ports ready for action.
I loaded the ports up with two external hard disks (bot Western Digital, one mains powered and one from the bus), added a pair of USB3 16GB Memory sticks and began copying files between all four. The card did not miss a beat.
Next I tested the throughput performance using my Western Digital mains powered drive. 120MB/s for both read and write sustained. That is the maximum the drive will do even when connected directly to the internal SATA bus.
Overall a very good product indeed.
The only caveat is the card requires drivers to work fully in Windows 7 (I haven't tested 8). This however, was an easy task as the driver disk is supplied in the box.
9/10 overall, very good value for money and performs admirably.
Hope this helps anyone else looking for a USB3 card (I have no basis for comparison as my only other PCIe card is a USB2 one).
This is the link to the card I got on Amazon
costasorry if this is a stupid question, but does the card need drivers to use with Mac OS only? And would a person have to update drivers each time you upgrade/update Mac OS?
regards, malch
That card is based on the FL1009 chipset which OS X 10.8 and above has built in support for. Therefore, no additional drivers are needed.
If/when your computer goes to sleep, drives that are connected to the card will be disconnected. But you can just unplug and replug it and they'll be back. Other than this, I don't know of any downsides.