Question 1

Can this card successfully handle and support 4 --- 3 TB External USB 3.0 Hard Drives?

Accepted Answer

Hello Cameron.

I own this product and it works well for me.  I don't have four external USB hard drives hooked to it at this time.  I wish I did but, sadly I don't.  What I do have plugged into it are two 4 TB externals, one 3 TB and one 1.5 TB, and they are working just fine.

I mainly use them to store working video files that I manipulate through another program.  I pull them into the program, work on the editing and save what I have done to the externals.  I haven't had one fail me yet and the controller card has not given me any problems at all.  It was recognized on boot and has done it job just fine, as far as I'm concerned anyway.

I don't know what your intentions are with this controller but, just know that a video editor uses them without a hitch.  And, I must reiterate that I'm not running four 4 TB externals, just two and the rest.

In conclusion, I would have to say that the controller is a fine card and worth the money I spent.  Maybe, one day, I'll be able to plug in four 4 TB externals and see if there is much of a change on the power settings of my south-bridge.

Sincerely,

Robert Wilkes

Question 2

Have a 3.0 host card- guessing no brand name on box should have told me something? Anyway, it stopped working. It's getting power but not recognizing devices. Directions indicate power is optional, as does this Startech. Could my power have screwed my card? Should I just bite it and buy this? Do you have to use power? Current card NEVER worked without power, then it did for about a week.
Thanks in advance!

Accepted Answer

Hi, I've used this same USB card for over 6 months  with only a few minor problems with the driver needed. I finally was able to get the correct driver via easy driver (that's a free program) and it will auto detect the card and offer the correct driver. Also the card will not work properly with out the extra power, specially with 3.0 devices. Other than that it has been a great addition to my computer. 
Hope this information helps.

Question 3

does win 10 support this usb 3 card?

Accepted Answer

I bought this card for Windows 7 and it didn't work for me. Either my card was bad or the drivers were bad at the time.

I wouldn't recommend it for Windows 10 unless others said that it worked for them

Question 4

I only have two USB 3.0 devices. So can I plug USB 2.0 devices in to this?

Accepted Answer

You can plug USB 2.0 devices into the outlets. They will not have the transfer speed of a 3.0 but they work just fine.

Question 5

Would this work, with the low profile back, in a Dell Optiplex 745? Would there be any kind of bottleneck?

Accepted Answer

Admittedly, I'm not all that familiar with a Dell 745, but looking at the photos of them on-line, it appears that there are only two PCI slots available.  If you have an open slot, then I don't see why not, but I would check to make sure that you have an available PCIe slot prior to buying the card.

Question 6

windows server 2008  R2 does not recognize drive connected to adapter? Purchased because non server MB works well w Server 2008 R2 except on this issue. Was hoping adding USB card was workaround, now S2008 still reports no driver even though all included drivers installed correctly. item described as being compatible with win server 2008?

Accepted Answer

Thanks, S.R.
So any USB thumb drive won't work either. if this is the case. I will try unplugging PSU for 20  sec. And try a thumb drive.
However you are saying that the pci ex slot may not be operating correctly because it's not a server MB.  The WD Terabyte external USB used to work with Winserv 2008 R2. But I'd thought I would save some space and build a 2U server using a gigabyte z77 board rather than the whole noisy gargantuan Itanium, ECC memory setup I had before. It didn't seen to make a difference for any issue except having the external drive show up. What I was told was that the Z77 board does not supply USB drivers for WS 2008R2. I was lead to believe the Star tech port would have them therefore the workaround. now I have 10 useless usb ports. Of course the WD software that came on the drive is long gone as well as driver support. I'm having a very difficult time scheduling a network or an external back up off server. My program merely backs up to local drives only. I'm currently trying to set up virtual dives over the network to fool windows backup into fuctioning,

Question 7

I see from several responses here that power is optional with this card, but what I am hoping to do is run several large 4TB, 2TB & 1TB off of it.  Does this drive ship with a power cable or is the cable something you have to purchase separately?  Thanks.

Accepted Answer

pro:
I ran 4 WD 3TB external drives w/o issue.
As long as the drive or device has its own external power, everything should work.
I loved the 4 external USB 3.0 ports that fit in a low profile PCIe port.

con:
my card lasted about 1 weeks after the warranty then it completely died.  When it worked it was an awesome card.  Each connectivity issue required me to remove the card & drivers from the unit and then re-install both.

Question 8

Is this an x-1 or x-2 card?

Accepted Answer

This is an x1 card

Question 9

will this fit most mother boards?

Accepted Answer

This card uses a PCIe x1 interface (16-18 pins) which was created in 2004. Computers should be newer than 2004 with the small 18 pin slot on the motherboard to be compatible.

Question 10

I am running XP Pro SP3 and don't intend to upgrade.  Iwill use a W8 on a flash drive. With the following motherboard, will it work faster than a USB 2?
Motherboard
ManufacturerHewlett-Packard
Model0AA0h (XU1 PROCESSOR)
Chipset VendorIntel
Chipset ModelX38
Chipset Revision00
Southbridge VendorIntel
Southbridge Model82801IR (ICH9R)
Southbridge Revision02
System Temperature35 °C
BIOS
BrandHewlett-Packard
Version786F3 v01.34
Date7/9/2012
PCI Data
Slot PCI-E
Slot TypePCI-E
Slot UsageAvailable
Data lanesx1
Slot DesignationPCI EXPRESS x1 SLOT 1 (PCIEx1 1)
Characteristics3.3V, PME, SMBus
Slot Number0
Slot PCI-E
Slot TypePCI-E
Slot UsageIn Use
Data lanesx16
Slot DesignationPCI EXPRESS x16 SLOT/PCIEx16
Characteristics3.3V, PME, SMBus
Slot Number1
Slot PCI-E
Slot TypePCI-E
Slot UsageAvailable
Data lanesx4
Slot DesignationPCI EXPRESS x8' SLOT/PCIEx8
Characteristics3.3V, PME, SMBus
Slot Number2
Slot PCI-E
Slot TypePCI-E
Slot UsageAvailable
Data lanesx16
Slot DesignationPCI EXPRESS x16 SLOT 2 (PCIEx16 2)
Characteristics3.3V, PME, SMBus
Slot Number3
Slot PCI
Slot TypePCI
Slot UsageAvailable
Bus Width32 bit
Slot DesignationPCI1
Characteristics5V, 3.3V, PME, SMBus
Slot Number4
Slot PCI
Slot TypePCI
Slot UsageAvailable
Bus Width32 bit
Slot DesignationPCI2
Characteristics5V, 3.3V, PME, SMBus
Slot Number5
Slot PCI
Slot TypePCI
Slot UsageAvailable
Bus Width32 bit
Slot DesignationPCI3
Characteristics5V, 3.3V, PME, SMBus
Slot Number6

Accepted Answer

There are too many possible variables to predict overall performance.

I can tell you that the hub works great and is much faster than USB 2.

Type	PCI Express to USB Card
Internal Ports	1 x SATA
Standard	USB 3.0
Data Transfer Rate	Up to 5.0 Gbps
Compatibility	Windows XP (32/64-bit)/ Server 2003 (32/64-bit)/ Server 2008 R2/ Vista (32/64-bit)/ 7 (32/64-bit)/ 8 (32/64-bit)

Dimensions	0.7" x 2.7" x 3"
Weight	1.6 oz.

Attribute	Value
Best For	Adding four USB ports to a desktop PC through a PCI Express slot, including support for bus-powered USB devices when SATA power is connected
Interface And Compatibility	PCI Express 2.0 card with four external USB 3.0 ports and an optional SATA power connection; compatible with listed Windows XP, Server 2003, Server 2008 R2, Vista, 7, and 8 versions, plus Lenovo ThinkCentre M93p and Dell OptiPlex 3010
USB Ports And Performance	Four USB 3.0 ports in a stacked layout, with data transfer rates up to 5.0 Gbps; supports UASP and is backward compatible with USB 2.0 and USB 1.0/1.1 devices
Power And Device Support	Optional SATA power supports bus-powered USB devices and can provide up to 900 mA per port
Physical Design	Low-profile or standard installation; includes a half-height bracket. Measures 3 × 0.7 × 2.7 inches and is silver
Package Contents	PCI Express USB 3.0 card, low-profile bracket, driver CD, and instruction manual
Model Identifiers	StarTech.com PEXUSB3S4V

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Item#: N82E16815158354