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USB 3.x PCIe Cards for Classic Mac Pro
- Thread starter ActionableMango
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You're probably right. I'd still like to know what my options are just in case. Even the 2 port cards have them whereas the K4004 manages 4 from the bus alone.
According to the info the ebay seller gave me my USB 3.0 card has the FRESCO FL1100 controller, the same as in a MacBook Pro and the MacPro 6.1.
Is it true that USB 3.0 sticks from Sandisk are significantly slower than an external SSD?
Perhaps that's the reason why I don't get 10x the USB 2.0 speed?
I have no external SSD to test my card. Is there another way?
Is it true that USB 3.0 sticks from Sandisk are significantly slower than an external SSD?
Perhaps that's the reason why I don't get 10x the USB 2.0 speed?
I have no external SSD to test my card. Is there another way?
USB drive of course is much slower than USB 3.0 SSD. You need a USB 3.0 SSD to run the speed test, at lease a normal USB 3.0 HDD to confirm the connection is above USB 2.0 speed. A USB drive can as slow as only few MB/s, even though the most expensive fastest one, still way too slow for this kind of test.
The fastest USB flash drive I know about is the Patriot Magnum drive, which is pricey.
New Sonnet USB 3.1 10Gbps card announced: http://www.sonnettech.com/product/allegro-usbc-pcie
Well spotted. And at $59 it doesn't seem a bad deal.
Weird thing in the Tech Specs...:
macOS 10.10.5, 10.12.6+(2)
(not compatible with macOS 10.11)
What is the problem with 10.11?
Weird thing in the Tech Specs...:
macOS 10.10.5, 10.12.6+(2)
(not compatible with macOS 10.11)
What is the problem with 10.11?
FAQ (2)
ID Article Title Post Date
What versions of macOS support the Allegro USB-C PCIe card? Oct-11-17The Allegro USB-C PCIe card uses a macOS pre-installed driver.
The card is compatible with macOS 10.10 and 10.12+ (including High Sierra) in the MacPro 4,1 & 5,1 and in Thunderbolt 2 & 3 Expansion chassis.
This card is not compatible with macOS 10.11, due to a bug in the Apple driver that is unlikely to ever be fixed.
This card is compatible with macOS 10.10 in the Mac Pro 3,1.
The card is not compatible in Thunderbolt 1 expansion chassis.
Looks like just another ASM1142 based card using PCIe 2.0 x2. It's got some extra power features (hardware and driver) but that doesn't improve performance. The compatibility should be the same as (or similar to) any other ASM1142 based card.
I still prefer the CalDigit because the CalDigit's included PCIe switch chip allows full performance of a USB 3.1 gen 2 port even in a PCIe 1.0 x4 slot (my MacPro 2008 has two PCIe 1.0 slots and two PCIe 2.0 slots).
I'm running out of PCIe ports in my 5.1 cMP and looking for a hybrid USB3/SATAIII(or eSATA 6Gbps) card to replace my KT4004.
Narrowed it down to those two that seem to be macOS compatible:
What's the best and still an affordable choice? Are all of them bootable?
Narrowed it down to those two that seem to be macOS compatible:
What's the best and still an affordable choice? Are all of them bootable?
I think the Syba card is cheep because it's only one lane of PCIe 2.0 for the USB chip and one lane for the SATA chip so each chip can only allow up to 500 MB/s total. I don't know how many lanes are used by the upstream port. The manual and specs don't mention Mac OS bootability.
The specs say the NewerTech is not bootable.
The CalDigit FAQ says only eSATA is bootable. Only the CalDigit card supports 10 Gbps USB so this is the card I would get.
Thanks, I read those and therefore I'm mostly asking for users' experience, a lot changes with OS updates and some features might work with workarounds that aren't officially supported. If only the FASTA didn't cost that much... It's a shame they discontinued the "Pro" version since it would fully satisfy me and was a lot cheaper if i recall correctly, also had internal SATA ports and here i'd have to route the cables back into the case...
Here in Japan I found an Etron EJ168A 2 port USB 3.0 card ( ¥400 ! about US$ 3.50 ) which worked OOB in Sierra 10.12.6. ( I haven't tried it in High Sierra yet ).
Just out of curiosity I had a look in the mini DVD that came with it and .. lo and behold ! . . it had Mac Drivers !
The card was packaged in a simple white box .. no maker's brand.
Seeing that card works OOB and with doubts that the drivers are Sierra / High Sierra compatible - the installer has a message that minimum OS X must be 10.8 - I will only install for testing later on a spare High Sierra and Mavericks HDD and post the results.
Some people like myself need to use Mavericks - this card doesn't work without a driver in Mav. So if after installing the driver it does work .. that would make it useful
Contents of the drivers
For ¥400 this card was a steal.
Just out of curiosity I had a look in the mini DVD that came with it and .. lo and behold ! . . it had Mac Drivers !
The card was packaged in a simple white box .. no maker's brand.
Seeing that card works OOB and with doubts that the drivers are Sierra / High Sierra compatible - the installer has a message that minimum OS X must be 10.8 - I will only install for testing later on a spare High Sierra and Mavericks HDD and post the results.
Some people like myself need to use Mavericks - this card doesn't work without a driver in Mav. So if after installing the driver it does work .. that would make it useful
Contents of the drivers
For ¥400 this card was a steal.
Here in Japan I found an Etron EJ168A 2 port USB 3.0 card ( ¥400 ! about US$ 3.50 ) which worked OOB in Sierra 10.12.6. ( I haven't tried it in High Sierra yet ).
Just out of curiosity I had a look in the mini DVD that came with it and .. lo and behold ! . . it had Mac Drivers !
The card was packaged in a simple white box .. no maker's brand.
Seeing that card works OOB and with doubts that the drivers are Sierra / High Sierra compatible - the installer has a message that minimum OS X must be 10.8 - I will only install for testing later on a spare High Sierra and Mavericks HDD and post the results.
Some people like myself need to use Mavericks - this card doesn't work without a driver in Mav. So if after installing the driver it does work .. that would make it useful
Contents of the drivers
View attachment 726986
View attachment 726991
For ¥400 this card was a steal.
I bet that driver is for 10.8, not the current OS. And if the card use a controll like FL1100, it will work OOTB in both Sierra and High Sierra.
P.S. I don’t think it’s a FL1100 controller, otherwise, it should work OOTB in 10.9.5.
I have to correct this post.I bought a PCI-e USB 3.0 card from the French ebay seller Speedermac.
Host Controller Driver: AppleUSBXHCIFL1100
PCI Device ID: 0x1100
PCI Revision ID: 0x0010
PCI Vendor ID: 0x1b73 Fresco Logic Inc
The website mentions compatibility with Yosemite and Mavericks
However this isn't true. You get no Airport Wifi under Yosemite
The card is only compatible with El Capitan and MacOS Sierra.
I contacted Fresco Logic and although I told them I have a Mac they asked me for the Windows info (in the DirectX Diagnostic Tool window).
The conflict under Yosemite with Airport is solved. The card is fully compatible with Yosemite.
I had to remove the drivers of the previous installed Caldigit USB 3.0 card.
Sorry for the inconvenience that I caused to the French Ebay seller Speedermac on Ebay.
So I guess the card we were all waiting for is finally here. Ladies and gentlemen, please meet the Sonnet Allegro USB-C PCIe card. Only US$56 and compatible with 10.10.5, 10..12.6 and High Sierra - but strangely NOT 10.11
So I guess the card we were all waiting for is finally here. Ladies and gentlemen, please meet the Sonnet Allegro USB-C PCIe card. Only US$56 and compatible with 10.10.5, 10..12.6 and High Sierra - but strangely NOT 10.11
What do you mean the card we have all been waiting for?
I'm happy sonnet released a card. Though undecided on whether to go with the sonnet or the. Caldigit card that has been out for over a year.
True. No card is perfect and that Caldigit card had its quirks - for example, you needed to update the firmware that is only usable 10.12 and above to get the full USB 3.1 speed. OSX 10.10 and 10.11 users had to stick with USB 3 vanilla speeds. Plus the price is 3 times higher than this Sonnet card.
Yeah my deciding factor will be whether I decide to go with eSata for my external archival drives.
[doublepost=1509443809][/doublepost]I am leaning towards just using the FireWire 800 ports. If I do I'll just buy the sonnet.
You can get USB to eSATA cables. They have been around for some time but never tried them myself.
Startech USB 3.0 to eSATA HDD / SSD / ODD Adapter Cable
You can get USB to eSATA cables. They have been around for some time but never tried them myself.
Startech USB 3.0 to eSATA HDD / SSD / ODD Adapter Cable
Yeah, the drives I plan on using have selections of USB, FireWire, and eSata so not so much a cable issue. More just what ports im willing to dedicate to those drives. FireWire has no other use for me so is a good option.
[doublepost=1509444373][/doublepost]I'll also probably just use the USB-c card to run a desk mount dock/hub. Then I don't have to be behind the machine under my desk all the time.