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USB 3.x PCIe Cards for Classic Mac Pro

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T

tpluth

macrumors member
Sep 24, 2014
92
28
Carmichael, CA
I just put this in my MacPro5,1 (2012)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HZ0XVJO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It works great and I clocked Blackmagic Disk Test at 500+ MB/S with a USB 3.1 adapter, so it would appear to be running faster than 5Gbps

It has connectors for SATA power, which I ran, and an internal 19 pin connect, which I ran a cable out an empty rear slot to a USB Flash Card Reader / Single USB 3.0 port that I stuck to the top of the Mac.

.
 
ActionableMango

ActionableMango

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Original poster
Sep 21, 2010
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tpluth said:
It works great and I clocked Blackmagic Disk Test at 500+ MB/S with a USB 3.1 adapter, so it would appear to be running faster than 5Gbps.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the report of success. Looks like an Asmedia chipset.

However if I'm not mistaken, 5Gb/s is about 625MB/s so I don't think you are exceeding 5Gb/s.
 
Mac Hammer Fan

Mac Hammer Fan

macrumors 65816
Jul 13, 2004
1,332
500
tpluth said:
I just put this in my MacPro5,1 (2012)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HZ0XVJO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It works great and I clocked Blackmagic Disk Test at 500+ MB/S with a USB 3.1 adapter, so it would appear to be running faster than 5Gbps

It has connectors for SATA power, which I ran, and an internal 19 pin connect, which I ran a cable out an empty rear slot to a USB Flash Card Reader / Single USB 3.0 port that I stuck to the top of the Mac.

.
Click to expand...

Is it compatible with Sierra and El Capitan?
 
ActionableMango

ActionableMango

macrumors G3
Original poster
Sep 21, 2010
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TheStork said:
Here's one that is reported to work in macOS as it has the ASM1142 chipset:
dodocool PCI-E Express Card with USB 3.1 and Type-C Ports 15-Pin ConnectorSuperSpeed Gen II (10 Gbps)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C59TB0I/
Click to expand...

I will be surprised if anyone can show this card actually transferring data above 5Gbps, especially reliably and sustained.

Over in Soy's dedicated 3.1 thread I think the only card tested above 5Gbps is the Caldigit with a correct specific driver.

The cheap ASM1142 cards all had various problems for example poor design with overheating that led to transfer failures, or even fundamental problems problems that made it a technical impossibility like not having enough PCIe lanes to provide the necessary bandwidth for 10 Gbps. (The cards physically look like 4x cards, but are actually 2x cards electrically, and in some cases have been shown to operate as 1x cards.)
 
haralds

haralds

macrumors 68030
Jan 3, 2014
2,990
1,252
Silicon Valley, CA
I have had trouble with external USB 3 drives preventing sleep. I use one for periodic CC backups and end up unplugging it when not in use. I have seen this on my CalDigit card and another one I no longer use.
Anybody else see this?
 
I

infohou

macrumors member
Jun 24, 2009
46
7
Houston, TX
ActionableMango said:
It uses ASM1142 chip, so it should work in Sierra but not ElCap.

I don't know from personal experience, but this is what others have reported.
Click to expand...

It does work. I am not sure I am getting full speed to my Caldigit multi-interface drive but I will do more testing.

Also, I am only finding USB-C to USB 3 adapters. Anybody got a source for USB-C to USB 3.1 adapters?

Y'all be cool,
Robert
 
P

pierre1610

macrumors regular
Feb 3, 2009
185
19
infohou said:
It does work. I am not sure I am getting full speed to my Caldigit multi-interface drive but I will do more testing.

Also, I am only finding USB-C to USB 3 adapters. Anybody got a source for USB-C to USB 3.1 adapters?

Y'all be cool,
Robert
Click to expand...

That card is listed as not Mac compatible on the manufacturer website, are you confirming it works with El Cap?
 
M

MikkelAD

macrumors regular
Feb 17, 2018
188
33
Hey !

Just got this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Port-Sup...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

At the moment I only have this USB for testing:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SDCZ80-016...369658&hash=item3f8d620b39:g:Ge4AAOSwnDpaF5J3

Clearly I can't max the USB 3.0 interface out with that USB but I get the same speeds approx. (R:48MBs/W:238MBs) when using "Blackmagic Disk Speed Test" in my iMac 14,2 and my Mac Pro 5,1.
Sadly I can't max it out for you guys and tell if that PCIe card delivers as stated but I think it's capable of running full USB 3.0 speed (5Gbps)...

- Sadly it seems that this PCIe card can't be used to boot from. I made a bootable "High Sierra" with that USB and when I restarted it didn't show up in boot menu. It only showed up when I plugged it in one of the internal USB 2.0 slots :S

Anybody else who has experienced that they can't get booting from USB stick to work when using PCIe USB 3.0 card???
 
ActionableMango

ActionableMango

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Original poster
Sep 21, 2010
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MikkelAD said:
PCI-E USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type A+Type C - No need any extra Power Supply
Click to expand...

People have tested several cheap USB 3.1 cards and the vast majority do not seem able to exceed USB 3.0 speed (5 Gbps). Some can't even do 5Gbps.

So unless you've personally tested this card with a data rate higher then 5Gbps in a Mac Pro, then I'm guessing this no-brand-name, sub-$20 card is just another cheap USB 3.1 card that makes big claims but doesn't cut the mustard.
 
M

MikkelAD

macrumors regular
Feb 17, 2018
188
33
ActionableMango said:
People have tested several cheap USB 3.1 cards and the vast majority do not seem able to exceed USB 3.0 speed (5 Gbps). Some can't even do 5Gbps.

So unless you've personally tested this card with a data rate higher then 5Gbps in a Mac Pro, then I'm guessing this no-brand-name, sub-$20 card is just another cheap USB 3.1 card that makes big claims but doesn't cut the mustard.
Click to expand...

Yeah that could be true...

Have people been able to run USB-C speeds at 10Gbps with any cards maybe the EXTRA powered ones?
 
ActionableMango

ActionableMango

macrumors G3
Original poster
Sep 21, 2010
9,613
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MikkelAD said:
Yeah that could be true...

Have people been able to run USB-C speeds at 10Gbps with any cards maybe the EXTRA powered ones?
Click to expand...

Nothing I know of has been tested anywhere close to 10Gbps. I don't even know what anyone could attach that could go that fast anyway, a quad drive SSD RAID maybe? And at that point there's little to no real-world use case.

The Caldigit FASTA-6GU3 PLUS has been tested with a dual-SSD RAID at 750MB/s (about 5.9Gbps), but even then only if you ask support for the right firmware which isn't included by default because it is not as compatible. Also the tester found that the enclosures and cables he had couldn't put up with the speed either. So basically most everything out there (cards, cables, enclosures) that claim 10Gbps support won't ever go anywhere near that and even have trouble at half that speed.

Manufacturers can get away with doing this because what are you going to attach that goes that fast anyway? A decent USB SSD with proper UASP support goes about 375MB/s, which is about 3Gbps.

P.S. USB-C is a physical connector shape just like USB-A so there is no "USB-C speed". USB-C could be any speed, or even no speed at all (a charging port).
 
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M

MikkelAD

macrumors regular
Feb 17, 2018
188
33
ActionableMango said:
Nothing I know of has been tested anywhere close to 10Gbps. I don't even know what anyone could attach that could go that fast anyway, a quad drive SSD RAID maybe? And at that point there's little to no real-world use case.

The Caldigit FASTA-6GU3 PLUS has been tested with a dual-SSD RAID at 750MB/s (about 5.9Gbps), but even then only if you ask support for the right firmware which isn't included by default because it is not as compatible. Also the tester found that the enclosures and cables he had couldn't put up with the speed either. So basically most everything out there (cards, cables, enclosures) that claim 10Gbps support won't ever go anywhere near that and even have trouble at half that speed.

Manufacturers can get away with doing this because what are you going to attach that goes that fast anyway? A decent USB SSD with proper UASP support goes about 375MB/s, which is about 3Gbps.

P.S. USB-C is a physical connector shape just like USB-A so there is no "USB-C speed". USB-C could be any speed, or even no speed at all (a charging port).
Click to expand...

Arhh okay I see. Thanks for the clarification!
 
M

Maila87

macrumors member
Jan 2, 2010
31
0
Hi, maybe somebody will help or guide me/explain. I have 2 USB Innateck PCIe Cards. One is KT4004, second KTU3FR-5021. I can't reach over 300MB/s on these cards or on SATA III PCIe adapter. I tried so many SSD disks so the problem is isolated to my Mac Pro. It is 5.1 with 8x8GB RAM (64GB) and 2x3.06GHz CPUs.

Problem is there with 10.13.3, 10.12.5 or Windows 10 installed via Bootcamp.
 
h9826790

h9826790

macrumors P6
Apr 3, 2014
16,656
8,587
Hong Kong
Maila87 said:
Hi, maybe somebody will help or guide me/explain. I have 2 USB Innateck PCIe Cards. One is KT4004, second KTU3FR-5021. I can't reach over 300MB/s on these cards or on SATA III PCIe adapter. I tried so many SSD disks so the problem is isolated to my Mac Pro. It is 5.1 with 8x8GB RAM (64GB) and 2x3.06GHz CPUs.

Problem is there with 10.13.3, 10.12.5 or Windows 10 installed via Bootcamp.
Click to expand...

What tests you have done so far?

What's the exact setup? How you did it?
 
D

Dynamics

macrumors newbie
Mar 14, 2018
1
1
Anyone tried the new HighPoint RocketU 1344A. 4x Dedicated 10Gb/s USB 3.1 ports.
It's new and I don't see any tests for it yet.
Looks promising.
 
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