Question 1

Will I get faster speeds compared to USB 2.0?
My PC has a SATA II motherboard and my PCIex1 slot may be version 1.0. 
Will I still benefit from buying this card?
I'm going to be using it with a USB 3.0 hard drive external enclosure that has a SATA III drive inside it.

Accepted Answer

These are the theoretical  speeds in megabytes (not megabits):

USB 2.0 = 60 MB/s
USB 3.0 = 640 MB/s
PCI-E X1 card slot = 250 MB/s simplex or 500 MB/s duplex.

As you can see the USB 3.0 Speed is higher than what the PCI-E X1 slot can theoretically  deliver.

With that said, the USB 3.0 card will still give a good boost to your speed and well above what the USB 2.0 can deliver.

Question 2

what connectors can I plug this into?

Accepted Answer

The card uses a PCI express X1 slot, and is powered by a 4 pin molex connector (the white slot). The blue slot is for a if your case has front panel USB 3 ports.

It outputs 500ma per port, thus meeting the USB standard, though it will not quick charge a smartphone or tablet.

Question 3

Does this work on PCIe x1 slot to realize 5Gbps speed?

Accepted Answer

No, this card will not realize 5Gb/s (596 MB/s) speed on PCI-e x1 slot.

No card made for a PCI-e x1 slot can reach 5Gb/s (596 MB/s) speed because a PCI-e x1 slot is limited to 2.097 Gb/s (250 MB/s).

Also, installing this card in a PCI-e x4, or x8, or x16 slot will not make the card go faster because the card is physically limited to using only the slot pins allocated for a x1 connection.

Even so, this card can support speed faster than any currently available hard drive or USB flash drive.

Question 4

What kind of cable do I need to connect to the internal usb ports?
Is it available from Newegg or Vantec?

Accepted Answer

The card comes with all required cable(s) for connecting to the PC's power supply and a 20-pin connector cable for internal USB 3 ports.

Question 5

How much functionality is there without the molex power cable plugged in? I just want the front panel USB 3.0 20 pin connector, is PCI alone not providing enough power for that?

Accepted Answer

No, you need the molex connector. I have this card. If you don't have a molex dongle in your machine use a power adapter: SATA power male to molex male adapter. They're cheap and all over the internet.

Question 6

I don't understand some of this.  This thing says it has 4 ports but I only see 3.  The internal, which I would like to have to run a front panel multicard reader usb combo.  And the 2 out the back.  Where and what is the 4th port?  From what I've read here.  I can't get the full 3.0 speed with my PCIe x1 Gen 2 slot, but it would still be faster than usb 2.0.  Now, is there another card out there that would do the same thing that would go in a regular PCI (white colored) long slot and get the 3.0 speed?  I also have a PCIe x16 slot but I've read here that all the PCIe slots run at the same x1 speed on the effected pins.  Is this thing worth buying?  I would really like to hear from someone who knows this stuff!!!  I don't trust computer stores Geek Squads and the like.  I also don't want to pay 50 bucks to some company online to ask questions like this that I would never use the service again.  Just trying to upgrade a desktop that I can run ITunes and browse the internet.  Thanks in advance for sound advice!!!

Accepted Answer

As far as the ports go, there is 2 on the back and one 20 pin connector (blue) for the internal connection. The 20 pin connector supports 2 USB 3.0 ports. This card also needs a 4 pin power connection. From what I could tell when I was ordering mine, you can get more speed through the PCIe x1 slot than you could get through just a normal PCI slot. Hope this helps.

Question 7

Does it work with Windows 10?

Accepted Answer

Yes. I upgraded to 10 Pro a few days ago and it works fine. For the record, Microsoft says they are using the same driver structure as Windows 8 / 8.1, so just about everything that worked before should work without complaint.

Question 8

Will this card work with a 19 pin cable, like from the Rosewill Challenger-U3 case?

Accepted Answer

"20 pin" means two rows with each row having space for 10 pins.  One of the pins is forced to be missing, to guarantee that the plug cannot be inserted with a 180-degree twist: not "upside down".  The male pin is absent, and the female hole is plugged.  So that is 19 actual pins.

Question 9

The molex plug on the board, does it have male or female pins?

Accepted Answer

Any and all equipment receiving power, will have male plugs. Its the standard and the only things that makes sense.

Question 10

The product photos don't show a low-profile bracket; is one included?

Accepted Answer

No low-profile bracket.

Questions & Answers