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USB 3.x PCIe Cards for Classic Mac Pro

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V

vsc

macrumors member
May 8, 2014
74
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Honestly I didn't look through 69 pages of posts on this thread, though I have peeked at parts of the thread and clearly read the first page... That said the first post cites one user's example of a add-in USB3 card that does not jam local wireless (e.g. Bluetooth) connections. Using the Inateck card I was unable to plug anything (e.g. not just a hard drive) into the card without causing interference with an Apple mouse ranging from annoying to impossible to use.

While this really a USB3 standards issue given their choice of clock frequency, are there other examples of success with USB3 cards in the Mac Pro that does not jam the local WiFi/Bluetooth links?
 
Squuiid

Squuiid

macrumors 68000
Oct 31, 2006
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1,713
vsc said:
Honestly I didn't look through 69 pages of posts on this thread, though I have peeked at parts of the thread and clearly read the first page... That said the first post cites one user's example of a add-in USB3 card that does not jam local wireless (e.g. Bluetooth) connections. Using the Inateck card I was unable to plug anything (e.g. not just a hard drive) into the card without causing interference with an Apple mouse ranging from annoying to impossible to use.

While this really a USB3 standards issue given their choice of clock frequency, are there other examples of success with USB3 cards in the Mac Pro that does not jam the local WiFi/Bluetooth links?
Click to expand...
Yes, there are, but it'll cost you...
US
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XPUHO10/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1XBPHGHAXLHDG
UK
http://www.span.com/product/Sonnet-...E-PCI-Express-v2-x4-4x-USB3-Mac-Windows~50090
 
T

toke lahti

macrumors 68040
Apr 23, 2007
3,293
509
Helsinki, Finland
vsc said:
Honestly I didn't look through 69 pages of posts on this thread, though I have peeked at parts of the thread and clearly read the first page... That said the first post cites one user's example of a add-in USB3 card that does not jam local wireless (e.g. Bluetooth) connections. Using the Inateck card I was unable to plug anything (e.g. not just a hard drive) into the card without causing interference with an Apple mouse ranging from annoying to impossible to use.

While this really a USB3 standards issue given their choice of clock frequency, are there other examples of success with USB3 cards in the Mac Pro that does not jam the local WiFi/Bluetooth links?
Click to expand...
Cheap way is to buy bt-dongle and 15 feet usb-cable and put that dongle near to the mouse.
 
W

wiski15b

macrumors regular
Apr 20, 2016
118
8
Macsonic said:
Hi. Just wanted to verify if the Sonnet Tempo Duo eSATA/USB 3.0 card is the same model as shown below? Are you running Mountain Lion 10.8.5 using this card? http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1143184-REG/sonnet_tsata6usb3_e_tempo_duo_pcie_esata.html

sonnet_tsata6usb3_e_tempo_duo_pcie_esata_1432839945000_1143184.jpg
Click to expand...
I had the Inatek, sonnet allegro, and now this card. The Inatek and allegro both gave me Bluetooth interference but this card seems to be working perfectly in my setup. FYI my wifi/Bluetooth was upgraded prior to using any of these cards.
 
pastrychef

pastrychef

macrumors 601
Sep 15, 2006
4,754
1,453
New York City, NY
Yesterday, I transferred a few hundred gigs of data to a drive connected via Inatek USB 3 card. Today, I noticed that some of my USB devices were not connecting to my Mac... Tried restarting and swapping PCI-e slots. Nothing worked.

Fortunately, I have another no name, china made FL1100 based USB 3 card laying around. Swapped it out and everything is back to normal. I wonder if transferring all that data managed to kill the card...
 
crjackson2134

crjackson2134

macrumors 601
Mar 6, 2013
4,847
1,957
Charlotte, NC
pastrychef said:
Yesterday, I transferred a few hundred gigs of data to a drive connected via Inatek USB 3 card. Today, I noticed that some of my USB devices were not connecting to my Mac... Tried restarting and swapping PCI-e slots. Nothing worked.

Fortunately, I have another no name, china made FL1100 based USB 3 card laying around. Swapped it out and everything is back to normal. I wonder if transferring all that data managed to kill the card...
Click to expand...

I suspect you overheated a chip, a burned board connection should have produced a noticeable smell. I've actually transferred terabytes continuously and never had an issue with that card, but I now use Sonnett & HighPoint RocketU cards. They look/feel like they're made for heavy service in comparison to the Inateck. The Sonnett is a FrescoLogic card.
 
N

nigelbb

macrumors 65816
Dec 22, 2012
1,150
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I don't know if this is a quirk of my particular card (HighPoint RocketU 1144D 4-Port USB 3.0) or USB 3.0 generally but I just discovered that a wired Apple keyboard doesn't work when plugged in to this card. The keyboard is seen in About This Mac -> System Report but typing on the keyboard gives no input. I tried two different keyboards with the same result.
 
h9826790

h9826790

macrumors P6
Apr 3, 2014
16,656
8,587
Hong Kong
Apple keyboard work with Inatek KT4004 and Orico PME-4U, so, not USB3.0 issue. Anyway, not recommend to plugin the keyboard to the USB3.0 card.

1) the keyboard don't need that bandwidth.
2) the keyboard is not usable until driver loaded (cannot use to reset PRAM etc).
 
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crjackson2134

crjackson2134

macrumors 601
Mar 6, 2013
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Charlotte, NC
nigelbb said:
I don't know if this is a quirk of my particular card (HighPoint RocketU 1144D 4-Port USB 3.0) or USB 3.0 generally but I just discovered that a wired Apple keyboard doesn't work when plugged in to this card. The keyboard is seen in About This Mac -> System Report but typing on the keyboard gives no input. I tried two different keyboards with the same result.
Click to expand...

I don't have my 1144C plugged in right now, but I seem to recall it worked fine with the Apple Keyboard. Once it's booted fully, try unplugging it from it's slot and insert it into a different one.
 
frou

frou

macrumors 65816
Mar 14, 2009
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Am I right in thinking that a hypothetical card that is supported by OS X and has a single USB-C 3.1 port will top out at approx 8Gbps in a PCIe 2.0 x4 slot?
 
JMVB

JMVB

macrumors regular
May 16, 2016
186
51
I didn't read the entire threat, and I don't know if someone already told that:

The key is the FRESCO LOGIC chipset.

After 10.8.2, Apple introduce a USB 3.0 native support, but only for FRESCO LOGIC cards.
Others chip's, like NEC/RENESAS need a 3º party drivers, and only support hard drives.

What its mean? the new Macbooks with USB 3.0, come with FL chipset.

If you have a Mac Pro or a Hackintosh, search in ebay a Orico USB 3.0 card, with FRESCO LOGIC chipset.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=ORICO+PFU3-2P/4P&_sacat=0

Cheers!
 
crjackson2134

crjackson2134

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Mar 6, 2013
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tsialex

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
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Testing the new macOS Sierra, noticed that my Orico PVU3-4P-R2.0 with VLI VL805 controller is now supported by AppleUSBXHCIPCI.

4Y83Qp9.jpg

Mc4CywV.png

Works with AppleUSBXHCIPCI natively, no more generic XHCI and disabling SIP.
WkyCDG3.png
 
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tsialex

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
13,455
13,601
Removed this VLI VL800 card (WLX-898U3-4 V1.0) from my PC and tried it on my Mac Pro. On Sierra, like on El Capitan, it's not even recognised on the PCI tab.

5vaCxf7.jpg
 
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rGiskard

rGiskard

macrumors 68000
Aug 9, 2012
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mikeboss said:
so is the ASMedia ASM1142 based USB 3.1 card from ASUS.
Click to expand...


Fantastic news! My RAID enclosure doesn't work with the FL1100 chipset, but seems fine with the ASM1142, at least in Windows. Asses seems to make good products, too.
 
SoyCapitanSoyCapitan

SoyCapitanSoyCapitan

Suspended
Jul 4, 2015
4,487
2,551
Paris
ActionableMango said:
Are they working as USB 3.1 cards, or still working as USB 3.0 like they did in Yosemite?
Click to expand...


I no longer have my 3.1 card so I can't test this. Can someone try and see if it works and what kind of transfer speed they can get? There might not be anyone with a full speed 3.1 drive to test with.
[doublepost=1466270830][/doublepost]
rGiskard said:
Fantastic news! My RAID enclosure doesn't work with the FL1100 chipset, but seems fine with the ASM1142, at least in Windows. Asses seems to make good products, too.
Click to expand...

Yeah Windows supports it because they have a proper standardised XHCI 1.1 driver. Apple always uses custom USB drivers.
 
rGiskard

rGiskard

macrumors 68000
Aug 9, 2012
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SoyCapitanSoyCapitan said:
I no longer have my 3.1 card so I can't test this. Can someone try and see if it works and what kind of transfer speed they can get? There might not be anyone with a full speed 3.1 drive to test with.
[doublepost=1466270830][/doublepost]

Yeah Windows supports it because they have a proper standardised XHCI 1.1 driver. Apple always uses custom USB drivers.
Click to expand...

The FL1100 chipset didn't work with the RAID enclosure in Windows, either. In my experience USB 3.0 is a crapshoot, even with OEM devices and drivers.

Edit: Has anyone tried this Assrock USB 3.1/A+C with Sierra? It's based on the ASSMedia ASM1142 controller.
 
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