USB 3.x PCIe Cards for Classic Mac Pro

[WM.]

I must be one of the unlucky ones with the Orico USB 3.0 card. Tough time getting it to fit perfectly with the mounting plate. I had to bend both sides of the metal plate to get it close to fitting. I still can't put the plate with the two screws back to secure it.

I had the same problem with the PFU3-4P that I bought. On the end of the PCI bracket, there are two tabs that prevent the bracket from sitting flat on the Mac's PCI bracket, prevent the card from going all the way into the slot, and prevent the Mac's plate with the two thumbscrews from fitting.

The solution is to use a pair of pliers to bend the tabs so that that part of the bracket is entirely flat and parallel to the motherboard as it should be.

I've attached an image with the offending tabs circled in orange.

 

[kerontide]

I actually have the card in question. I'm still bound to bed due to recent surgery so I can't do a full review just yet.. It does not require additional power, nor are there any connectors for that purpose.

Here are a few pics of the product. Please excuse photo quality, they are taken in the bed with me from my iPad, and lighting is poor.

I tried to attach several pics, but only one seems to be allowed.

Hello, I hope you are better every day

about this card I am very interesting about if works fine or not.

Regards, Sergi.

 

[flowrider]

I actually have the card in question. I'm still bound to bed due to recent surgery so I can't do a full review just yet.. It does not require additional power, nor are there any connectors for that purpose

Sorry to hear you're not well I hope you'll be up and around soon

As I indicated in an earlier post to this thread, I also ordered the card and received it last night. Here is my review:

This card was meant to replace a 4 port USB2 card that I have been using in PCIe slot 4. That card was first in my 3,1 Mac Pro and now resides in my 5,1.

I have six USB devices connected to the back of my machine.

1. HP B&W Laser Printer
2. HP Color InkJet Printer
3. Logitech Keyboard
The above are connected to the rear USB Ports on the Mac.
4. LaCie USB2 500GB external HD
5. Microtech Scanner
6. APC UPS
Connected to the USB Card

I replaced the old card with the new and all seemed fine - until I inserted a USB3 Flash Drive in the fourth slot of the Inateck card. When I inserted the PQI drive, the Microsoft Laser Bluetooth Mouse froze. and the Mac lost the signal and wouldn't reconnect. I removed the Flash Drive, and I still had issues reconnecting with the mouse.

I finally got it reconnected, tried it again, and boom - the same thing. I tried this with an Adata USB3 Flash Drive and had the same results. I Reconnected the mouse again and moved the other three USB cables around, inserted the flash, and the mouse stayed connected, but the curser operation was stuttering and really wonky.

I then moved my Velocity x2 card from slot three to slot two and put in my old USB2 card in the third slot and plugged the UPS and the scanner into it leaving the HD in the Inateck card. I then reinserted the the Flash Drive (both of them) and operation was normal.

See screen shot for card identification.

I did some file transfers with both USB3 drives in the new card and operation was very fast

In conclusion, I believe the card is stable and works very well when used with only three devices, using four caused me grief.

I hadn't planned on continuing to use my old USB2 card and not having any more free PCIe slots

Lou

 

[kerontide]

Sorry to hear you're not well I hope you'll be up and around soon

As I indicated in an earlier post to this thread, I also ordered the card and received it last night. Here is my review:

This card was meant to replace a 4 port USB2 card that I have been using in PCIe slot 4. That card was first in my 3,1 Mac Pro and now resides in my 5,1.

I have six USB devices connected to the back of my machine.

1. HP B&W Laser Printer
2. HP Color InkJet Printer
3. Logitech Keyboard
The above are connected to the rear USB Ports on the Mac.
4. LaCie USB2 500GB external HD
5. Microtech Scanner
6. APC UPS
Connected to the USB Card

I replaced the old card with the new and all seemed fine - until I inserted a USB3 Flash Drive in the fourth slot of the Inateck card. When I inserted the PQI drive, the Microsoft Laser Bluetooth Mouse froze. and the Mac lost the single and wouldn't reconnect. I removed the Flash Drive, and I still had issues reconnecting with the mouse.

I finally got it reconnected, tried it again, and boom - the same thing. I tried this with an Adata USB3 Flash Drive and had the same results. I Reconnected the mouse again and moved the other three USB cables around, inserted the flash, and the mouse stayed connected, but the curser operation was stuttering and really wonky.

I then moved my Velocity x2 card from slot three to slot two and put in my old USB2 card in the third slot and plugged the UPS and the scanner into it leaving the HD in the Inateck card. I then reinserted the the Flash Drive (both of them) and operation was normal.

See screen shot for card identification.

I did some file transfers with both USB3 drives in the new card and operation was very fast

In conclusion, I believe the card is stable and works very well when used with only three devices, using four caused me grief.

I hadn't planned on continuing to use my old USB2 card and not having any more free PCIe slots

Lou

Thanks a lot flowrider !! is very usefull for me

 

[Robert Davies]

To be fair to the card though bluetooth interference from USB 3.0 devices is not uncommon - googling 'usb 3.0 bluetooth interference' is quite an enlightening experience!

 

[ActionableMango]

In conclusion, I believe the card is stable and works very well when used with only three devices, using four caused me grief.

As RD states, your problem sounds a lot more like USB3/bluetooth interference, which is a very common problem.

I too suspect it is this interference rather than a "number of connected devices" problem. You can test this yourself though by removing the other USB devices from the card, then just connecting the drive and doing some file transfers. Try to move the mouse around during file transfers.

 

[Gav Mack]

As RD states, your problem sounds a lot more like USB3/bluetooth interference, which is a very common problem.

I too suspect it is this interference rather than a "number of connected devices" problem. You can test this yourself though by removing the other USB devices from the card, then just connecting the drive and doing some file transfers. Try to move the mouse around during file transfers.

The interference is easily cured, the Achilles heel of the rfi problem is the ends of the antenna cables connecting to the card. A blob of sticky araldite on both, with a half cylinder bent sliver of mu-metal rolled via a screwdriver and smooth pliers stuck on top to shield the 2.4GHz leaking from the PCIe card making the bluetooth go nuts. I promised to show how I do this a while back with photos shielding my 3,1 so that might happen now

But not 100% convinced it could solely be just that. I've had both four port Orico and Inateck show similar ish symptoms plugging one or two unpowered in a Mac Pro with other devices not working and not just the mouse. Plug a power extension it goes away. I'm wondering instead whether 4 port power from the bus itself on the new card might be insufficient in some cases. I will find out when this new card lands no doubt.

 

[crjackson2134]

Inateck KT4004 4-Port USB 3.0 PCI-E Express Card For MAC Pro

Still recovering from major surgery, I did get up today and decided to remove the Orico 2P card and install the new Inateck KT4004 4-Port USB 3.0 PCI-E Express Card For MAC Pro for Mac in my 5.1 system.

I only did a few quick tests which are in no way comprehensive, but here's my take on it.

The card preforms well and had no problems recognizing more than 1 dozen devices I tried` (web cams, keyboard, mice, printers, scanners, belkin hub, thumb drives, portable USB drives etc...)

This card is easily installed, and works immediately with the OS X built in drivers. It has no conflicts with any of my other hardware (including the installed HighPoint 1144CM).

I transferred hundreds of GB of data to and from a mechanical USB 3.0 drive and it's just as fast as the 1144CM with a single drive. Plugging in multiple drives does slow it slightly, giving the 1144CM the edge for raw storage speed where multiple drives are installed. Keep in mind however that the 1144CM can't handle most of the devices I listed above, it only works with storage devices.

The Inateck card for Mac easily powers 4x 7200 RPM 1TB laptop drives without any additional power requirements. I've tested it pretty extensively and I can't find any negative characteristics to this card.

I had no bluetooth interference during large or short transfers. In fact, so far I have nothing but high marks for this card. It works VERY well and has found a permanent slot in my Mac.

If this card had been available when I first started my quest for USB 3.0, I would have purchased this card rather than the 1144CM. There's nothing wrong with the 1144CM and in fact is well worth the money if you need a USB 3.0 Raid system, but the Inateck KT4004 is far more versatile and likely to suit the needs of more users.

Note about sleep mode: In my current configuration, none of the drives are ejected prior to or during sleep mode, therefore remounting of drives isn't needed upon wake. This occurs on my system because of the Rocket-U. It prevents the drives from being ejected because it's a RAID controller. I will test this later with the RocketU removed when I get a chance. YMMV.

For now, both cards will remain installed in my system, but if I need to free up a slot for anything else, I'll keep the Inateck card installed and remove the 1144CM.

If I had an SSD, I'd post some speed results but that's not the case right now so there's no point to it.

The Inateck KT4004 card is my recommended product for anyone who asks about USB 3.0 in a cMP.

* Supports UASP: 70% Faster than traditional USB 3.0, with UASP Transfer Protocol; The UASP Transfer Protocol can accelerate read and write speed of SSDs or standard hard disks. It may also reduces latency when working with UASP enabled drives.

Fully compatible with OSX 10.8.2 +

The box includes:

1 - PCIe card in an anti-static bag
1 - Instruction Manual
1 - Ziplock bag with 2 screws
1 - Windows Driver CD, and PDF version of documentation.
1 - Thank you card with support and contact information.

Addendum:

Regarding compatibility with OS X Yosemite & El Capitan.

The KT-4004 generally works well with OS X 10.10.x & 10.11.x but is not officially supported by Inateck for these versions.

There were/are a small number of users who've had difficulty attaining proper operation of their USB 3.0 devices under Yosemite with their particular hardware/software combination. Rather than address this issue by expending time/resources to track down the problem and resolve it, they have decided to drop any support efforts for Yosemite users.

If you are one of the few users that have problems with this card running under Yosemite, I suggest you return the card for a refund and purchase either the Sonnet Allegro USB 3.0 4-Port card or the HighPoint 1144D 4-Port card.

I have a fairly loaded system with some exotic hardware and
I've never had ANY problems with the Inateck KT-4004 REV:B2.

 

[Robert Davies]

The interference is easily cured, the Achilles heel of the rfi problem is the ends of the antenna cables connecting to the card. A blob of sticky araldite on both, with a half cylinder bent sliver of mu-metal rolled via a screwdriver and smooth pliers stuck on top to shield the 2.4GHz leaking from the PCIe card making the bluetooth go nuts. I promised to show how I do this a while back with photos shielding my 3,1 so that might happen now

Sounds like an avid Blue Peter viewer in their younger days

Remember children get an adult to help you with this…

Oops! Almost certainly a reference for our UK readers.

But not 100% convinced it could solely be just that. I've had both four port Orico and Inateck show similar ish symptoms plugging one or two unpowered in a Mac Pro with other devices not working and not just the mouse. Plug a power extension it goes away. I'm wondering instead whether 4 port power from the bus itself on the new card might be insufficient in some cases. I will find out when this new card lands no doubt.

I have a theory/crackpot notion that some USB 3.0 cards may allow modulation of the power bus, which may in turn cause interference with bluetooth rf.

I did say it was crackpot….

 

[Gav Mack]

Sounds like an avid Blue Peter viewer in their younger days

Remember children get an adult to help you with this…

Oops! Almost certainly a reference for our UK readers.



I have a theory/crackpot notion that some USB 3.0 cards may allow modulation of the power bus, which may in turn cause interference with bluetooth rf.

I did say it was crackpot….

I was a green Nigel fan myself

I didn't come up with the idea, I was cursing this problem over a beer with a mate who knows a lot about radio interference and nothing about computers apart from Windows Media Center, emails and showing schematics in his research den. Worked an absolute treat on a laptop we experimented with and used a microwave oven magnetron as the 2.4ghz bleed in the staff kitchen with a bluetooth mouse lol. He's a bit of a Heinz Wolff character and was absolutely right along with smug with the fix he predicted would work!

Trickiest thing is getting mu-metal, I have lots but you can buy slivers on eBay. They only have to be tiny, just enough to cover the metallic end and 5mm so of the cable itself. As you are in the uk I don't mind posting some, it's a lot thicker than necessary but I have 2sq feet of it and it was free

 

[ActionableMango]

Still recovering from major surgery, I did get up today and decided to remove the Orico 2P card and install the new Inateck KTU3FR-4PA 4-Port USB 3.0 PCI-E Express Card for Mac in my 5.1 system.

Now that's dedication!

I feel there really is no compelling reason to get some of the other cards on the recommended list, so I'm inclined to put the new 4PA at the top, and remove all the other FL sub-$100 cards. Would you agree? I ask because you've reviewed USB3 cards far more extensively than anyone else.

My Orico PFU3-2P works great for me so I'll hang on to it, but if it ever fails I know what I'm getting.

 

[RoastingPig]

I had the same problem with the PFU3-4P that I bought. On the end of the PCI bracket, there are two tabs that prevent the bracket from sitting flat on the Mac's PCI bracket, prevent the card from going all the way into the slot, and prevent the Mac's plate with the two thumbscrews from fitting.

The solution is to use a pair of pliers to bend the tabs so that that part of the bracket is entirely flat and parallel to the motherboard as it should be.

I've attached an image with the offending tabs circled in orange.

i just jam it in and i got the thumb screw to screw

 

[crjackson2134]

Now that's dedication!

I feel there really is no compelling reason to get some of the other cards on the recommended list, so I'm inclined to put the new 4PA at the top, and remove all the other FL sub-$100 cards. Would you agree? I ask because you've reviewed USB3 cards far more extensively than anyone else.

My Orico PFU3-2P works great for me so I'll hang on to it, but if it ever fails I know what I'm getting.

Actually I do agree. I've tried just about everything out there except the CalDigit cards, and I consider the Inateck card to be the top choice bar none.

 

[WM.]

I feel there really is no compelling reason to get some of the other cards on the recommended list, so I'm inclined to put the new 4PA at the top, and remove all the other FL sub-$100 cards.

You might as well leave the others in at the bottom or something, for people who already have them. Maybe link to my post about the PFU3-4P PCI bracket too? That problem is awfully annoying--on my dad's 2009 Mac Pro you couldn't install the plate with the thumbscrews at all unless you fixed the tabs. After that, it went on perfectly.

----------

i just jam it in and i got the thumb screw to screw

I could do that on my 2008 Mac Pro, but as I said, on a 2009 it was impossible until I fixed the tabs.

 

[crjackson2134]

I had the same problem with the PFU3-4P that I bought. On the end of the PCI bracket, there are two tabs that prevent the bracket from sitting flat on the Mac's PCI bracket, prevent the card from going all the way into the slot, and prevent the Mac's plate with the two thumbscrews from fitting.

The solution is to use a pair of pliers to bend the tabs so that that part of the bracket is entirely flat and parallel to the motherboard as it should be.

I've attached an image with the offending tabs circled in orange.

I had the same issue/solution on both the 2P/4P cards. The 2PM card however wouldn't hold tightly in the 5.1 so I had to make a shim out of cardboard to prevent the card from flopping and jiggling around.

 

[flowrider]

I had no bluetooth interference during large or short transfers. In fact, so far I have nothing but high marks for this card. It works VERY well and has found a permanent slot in my Mac.

I tried USB3 cards again tonight, and a no go with Bluetooth. So yep, I'm having major Bluetooth interference. and my Bluetooth mouse is unusable when a USB3 device is plugged into the card. I wonder how a Bluetooth dongle would work? I have the Microsoft dongle that came with the mouse, but it appears the only way to connect to that is to disconnect the Apple Bluetooth card. What a crappy situation

Lou

 

[crjackson2134]

I tried USB3 cards again tonight, and a no go with Bluetooth. So yep, I'm having major Bluetooth interference. and my Bluetooth mouse is unusable when a USB3 device is plugged into the card. I wonder how a Bluetooth dongle would work? I have the Microsoft dongle that came with the mouse, but it appears the only way to connect to that is to disconnect the Apple Bluetooth card. What a crappy situation

Lou

Actually Lou, I've read several working solutions to that problem but since I'm fortunate enough not to be plagued, I've not tested any of them. I will say this however, USB Cable quality makes a great difference for some people.

In your case, I would try an external antenna or the dongle. My Mac is on my desktop, so I'm guessing that's the reason I have no problems.

 

[flowrider]

^^^^My Mac is also on my DeskTop (sort of) My Display, keyboard and mouse or on a computer stand and just to the left of it, is two drawer file cabinet and my machine sits on top of the file cabinet. My Mouse Pad is 42" away from the rear of the Mac. This is certainly not a great distance.

Lou

 

[crjackson2134]

^^^^My Mac is also on my DeskTop (sort of) My Display, keyboard and mouse or on a computer stand and just to the left of it, is two drawer file cabinet and my machine sits on top of the file cabinet. My Mouse Pad is 42" away from the rear of the Mac. This is certainly not a great distance.

Lou

While it seems like the distance isn't much, 3-1/2' Is much greater than mine. My magic mouse is about 12"-18" from the tower located immediately to the right. If I were in your particular situation I would investigate antenna and shielding solutions. A dongle may do the trick for you, I just personally prefer other methods.

 

[kerontide]

Still recovering from major surgery, I did get up today and decided to remove the Orico 2P card and install the new Inateck KTU3FR-4PA 4-Port USB 3.0 PCI-E Express Card for Mac in my 5.1 system.

I only did a few quick tests which are in no way comprehensive, but here's my take on it.

The card preforms well and had no problems recognizing more than 1 dozen devices I tried (web cams, keyboard, mice, printers, scanners, belkin hub, thumb drives, portable USB drives etc...)

This card is easily installed, and works immediately with the OS X built in drivers. It has no conflicts with any of my other hardware (including the installed HighPoint 1144CM).

I transferred hundreds of GB of data to and from a mechanical USB 3.0 drive and it's just as fast as the 1144CM with a single drive. Plugging in multiple drives does slow it slightly, giving the 1144CM the edge for raw storage speed where multiple drives are installed. Keep in mind however that the 1144CM can't handle most of the devices I listed above, it only works with storage devices.

I had no bluetooth interference during large or short transfers. In fact, so far I have nothing but high marks for this card. It works VERY well and has found a permanent slot in my Mac.

If this card had been available when I first started my quest for USB 3.0, I would have purchased this card rather than the 1144CM. There's nothing wrong with the 1144CM and in fact is well worth the money if you need a USB 3.0 Raid system, but the Inateck KTU3FR-4PA is far more versatile and likely to suit the needs of more users.

For now, both cards will remain installed in my system, but if I need to free up a slot for anything else, I'll keep the Inateck card installed and remove the 1144CM.

If I had an SSD, I'd post some speed results but that's not the case right now so there's no point to it.

The Inateck KTU3FR-4PA card is my recommended product for anyone who asks about USB 3.0 in a cMP.

The box includes:

PCIe card in an anti-static bag
Instruction Manual
Ziplock bag with 2 screws
Windows Driver CD, and PDF version of documentation.
Thank you card with support and contact information.

thanks a lot for your effort and your review, is very useful for me until the point I order the Inatek card few minutes ago

I hope all the best for you.

thanks a lot. I will post my little point of view of the card when arrives to me.

happy Friday!!

 

[flowrider]

While it seems like the distance isn't much, 3-1/2' Is much greater than mine. My magic mouse is about 12"-18" from the tower located immediately to the right. If I were in your particular situation I would investigate antenna and shielding solutions. A dongle may do the trick for you, I just personally prefer other methods.

I tried two things this morning. My Mac is located on the left side of my computer stand and my mouse is located beside the keyboard on the right on a reversible mouse pad holder.

1. I moved the mouse pad holder to the left side, to see if relocating the Mac to the Right side might help, but with the mouse within 29" of the rear of the Mac and 13" from the front, the Bluetooth connection while not being lost, the mouse action again stuttered badly

2. I then hooked up the Apple Magic Mouse, and with both mouses (Mice?) hooked up, Bluetooth remained connected, but again severe stuttering

Lou

 

[crjackson2134]

I tried two things this morning. My Mac is located on the left side of my computer stand and my mouse is located beside the keyboard on the right on a reversible mouse pad holder.

1. I moved the mouse pad holder to the left side, to see if relocating the Mac to the Right side might help, but with the mouse within 29" of the rear of the Mac and 13" from the front, the Bluetooth connection while not being lost, the mouse action again stuttered badly

2. I then hooked up the Apple Magic Mouse, and with both mouses (Mice?) hooked up, Bluetooth remained connected, but again severe stuttering

Lou

Just for the sake of information, can you keep moving the mouse to see if the problem clears at any distance?

It sounds like you are going to have to do a shielding Mod, or antenna Mod.

 

[ActionableMango]

First post updated with latest information.

I've decided to order the new Inateck myself.

Now for USB 3.1...

 

[crjackson2134]

First post updated with latest information.

I've decided to order the new Inateck myself.

Now for USB 3.1...

Cool Beans!

----------

First post updated with latest information.

I've decided to order the new Inateck myself.

Now for USB 3.1...

Cool Beans!

One quick note about the Post #1 however. The Mac card doesn't have any alignment detents, so there is no need to bend anything. It's fully designed with the Mac Pro in mind.

 

[WM.]

One quick note about the Post #1 however. The Mac card doesn't have any alignment detents, so there is no need to bend anything. It's fully designed with the Mac Pro in mind.

Yeah, it's the Orico card(s) that has the alignment detents.