StarTech 4 Port USB 3.0 PCI Express PCIe Controller Card - 2 Ext 2 Int w/ SATA Power Model PEXUSB3S2E2I

Pros: Worked well and without external power in a SuperMicro MBD-X8DA3. Speed was good, manual (if you could call it that), was as informative as needed. Uses SATA add-on power rather than molex and includes a 20-pin internal connector. The quality of the board appears to be high.

Cons: Would not work properly in a EVGA SR-2. Was very particular about what speed slot I used it in (x8 versus x16) and was not very happy with a 2.0 slot. The price, is much too high for the level of issues. The included VIA chipset drivers are somewhat dated and intrusive.

Other Thoughts: When using direct add-on power (not needed in the SuperMicro board), it would produce intermittent lock-ups and would also cause intermittent blue screens at shutdown. When unpowered, it wasn't recognized by the SR-2 in any slot. When adding additional power directly to the EVGA SR-2 PCI bus, the card would again cause intermittent lockups and errors. Replaced it with a Vantec UGT-PC345 and a Koutech IO-PEU232 and both of those cards worked fine in the EVGA SR-2 when used with additional PCI bus power.

I purchased two of these to make sure on card was not flaky and was able to reproduce the problems consistently. I would have preferred to use these cards but the intermittent compatibility problems is the last thing one wants on a high-end workstation build.

Pros: No problem installing in 1x PCIE slot and connects to my 3.0 USB flashdrive. If your getting a new camera with high res, you will want this connection.

Cons: Difficult to prove data rates, but were better than 2.0 USB.

Pros: Seems like it would have all that you need to upgrade an aging system.

Cons: Dead after 2 hours of use.

Other Thoughts: Does no one make a reliable USB 3.0 card with a 19 Pin header on board?!

Pros: Included a bracket had I wanted to put this in a SFF system. Got transfer rates of 80MB/sec on transfers of 2-3gigs.

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: I purchased a NZXT 410 case that had the USB3.0 port that plugs into newer mainboards. My board didnt have such a port so I got the card to fix that issue. Should any of you wish to add a card for that reason or extend beyond the 2 ports you usually get, this is your part.

Pros: does what it needs. gives me somewhere to plug in my case's USB 3 header which my mobo didnt have. Even gives two free usb ports on the back!

Cons: The card is shaped oddly. When plugged in, the metal bracket isnt even close to being right up against the case, and I don't want to bend it just to get it to screw in. Remember that it shares the same throughput channel. Don't expect to plug 4 USB 3.0 devices in and expect them to run at the speed of just one

Other Thoughts: its tiny, lol