Thread summary for latest recommendations. This thread refers to PCIe cards for adding USB 3.0 and 3.1 to classic Mac Pros. General Notes:. The USB 3.0 cards in this list support UASP for faster transfer speeds and reduced CPU utilization (exceptions to this are noted). The USB 3.0 cards in this list do not require supplemental power to be attached. The USB 3.0 cards in the list are not limited to storage-only USB devices (exceptions to this are noted).
The cMP will never boot from USB 3 or newer because there is no support until the drivers load in the OS. Transferring data over USB 3.0 interferes with bluetooth reception and to a lesser extent 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi. Due to USB 3.0 ports in the nMP, native drivers are provided in OS X for Fresco Logic FL1100 chipset cards in ML 10.8.2 or later. 10.7.5 Lion through 10.10 Yosemite is supported through the. Cards using other chipsets require proprietary drivers.
The Lexar USB 3.0 memory reader is known to be unreliable with several Fresco Logic cards. The USB 3.0 Asmedia ASM1042a chipset has native drivers included in 10.9 and newer. There are warning messages upon waking from sleep when using detachable USB media in OS X. This occurs even with Apple's built-in USB 3.0 ports, so it isn't your card. USB 3.0: Inateck KT4004 If you just want a basic working card with a low price and no special features.
$30. This card uses the same FL1100 chipset as the nMP, so drivers are built into ML 10.8.2 and newer. Works great with Yosemite and El Capitan, despite specifications stating otherwise. Big review. It does not have a dedicated USB controller for each port, so simultaneous transfers over multiple ports will have to share bandwidth.
Ignore the mfr's statement 'Incompatible with Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite or Above'. It works on these operating systems. HighPoint RocketU 1144D If you want an independent USB controller dedicated to each port for using multiple drives at the same time. $105-$125 ( Approximate price as of 10/2/2018). It has a dedicated controller for each port, meaning full speed for connected devices, even when used simultaneously. It uses Asmedia ASM1042a chipset, which has native drivers included in 10.9 and later.
Slightly faster than the FL-based cards when using one device. Substantially faster when using multiple devices simultaneously. One user reports zero bluetooth interference using this card. Big review. HighPoint RocketU 1144E If you want an independent USB controller dedicated to each port for using multiple drives at the same time, plus non-bootable eSATA. $140-$170.
Basically the same as RocketU 1144C, plus non-bootable eSATA. Requires third party drivers. CalDigit FASTA-6GU3 Pro If you want bootable eSATA. $140. This model number with 'PRO' at the end is substantially better than the discontinued non-pro model it replaces. The new model works with all USB devices, not just storage devices.
It doesn't have the reduced speed problem that the old model had. This card uses the same FL1100 chipset as the nMP, so drivers are built into ML 10.8.2 and newer.
It does not have a dedicated USB controller for each port, so simultaneous transfers over multiple ports will have to share bandwidth. Sonnet Allegro USB 3.0 4-Port (and Sonnet Allegro Pro $130) If you want to charge battery-powered devices or connect bus-powered devices needing up to 2A each. $60.
Supports the following power-related features: 2Amps of power per port (10 Watts at 5V) for bus-powered devices, USB 3.0 charging port handshake protocol, USB battery charging 1.2 compliant, and simultaneous charge and sync for iPhones, iPads, and similar devices at 1.5A. This card uses the same FL1100 chipset as the nMP, so drivers are built into ML 10.8.2 and newer. The Allegro has a single USB controller, so all 4 ports share a single controller. The Pro model has a 4 dedicated USB controllers (one for each port). USB 3.1: Summary so far:.
Some, but not all, USB 3.1 devices are working properly at 10gbps (theoretical maximum USB 3.1 speed). Some USB 3.1 devices are not even working properly at 5gbps (theoretical maximum USB 3.0 speed). ASM1142 chipset cards:. Work as USB 3.0 (not 3.1) in Yosemite (10.10.3). Do not work at all in El Capitan without a USB 3.0 firmware (10.11). With a USB 3.1 firmware (default on most cards), appear as USB 3.1 in Sierra (10.12), might appear as 'Up to 5 Gb/sec' (USB 3.0 speed) in System Information.app, but may transfer data at more than 5gbps, up to 10gbps anyway.
Most cards are PCIe gen 2 x2 electrically (x4 physically), allowing up to 10gbps in a gen 2 slot, but only up to 5gbps in a gen 1 slot, but some gen 1 slots do not support x2, allowing only up to 250 MB/s. The Caldigit FASTA-6GU3 Plus works in Sierra at 10gbps with a USB 3.1 firmware update which makes it stop working in El Capitan at 5gbps. It is an x4 card which can allow up to 10gbps even in a PCIe gen 1 slot. The Sunix UPD2018 has a DisplayPort input to support USB-C alt mode, but it is PCIe gen 3 x1. Other 3.1 hardware tested to work at sustained 5gbps speed are:. Ableconn PU31-1A1C (card). Satechi B01FWT2N3K 2.5' (drive enclosure).
AKiTiO Thunder3 Duo Pro (dual 2.5 or 3.5' raid drive enclosure). Other 3.1 hardware tested to work at sustained 10gbps speed are:. OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini (dual 2.5' raid drive enclosure). At 5gbps speed, several ASM1351 drive enclosures tested did overheat and stop working. This is not the fault of whatever card you are using. I am waiting for a solution that doesn't require third party drivers. Searching around this forum it seems the only solutions are something with hacked drivers, a USB3.0/eSATA card that is slow because of a central controller chip, and a controller that will only work with drives of the same brand.
These are not acceptable to me. With USB 3.0 available on new Macs, there should be native drivers for one of the USB 3.0 controller chips. Are there no PCIe cards using the same chip as the Macs with built-in USB 3.0? Click to expand.Apple's support for USB 3.0 is limited to the USB ports integrated into Intel's latest chipsets. On the Mac Pro, your only option for USB 3 is on a PCIe card with an NEC chip.
This driver works just fine for any generic NEC based PCIe USB 3 card without any compromises I'm aware of. (see post #6) Almost all PCIe cards that just offer USB 3.0 use the same generic NEC reference design and should work just fine.
Asmedia Driver Update
Here's an example of a card just like the one I have that works with the drivers above. Since I'm considering a new Mac Pro early next year, I'd be interested if anybody has used the third party card(s) with a Promise unit? I have an R4 connected to my iMac, and the buying decision will come down to what Apple do as far as upgrades go, and the Thunderbolt issue.
My options as I see it will depend on whether or not they do integrate T/Bolt with a new Logic Board.If not, then another maxed out Imac will be the upgrade. Has anyone here tried running a Pegasus unit with the PCIE card on a Pro? I don't want to lose speed at all, as I can currently work in real-time on the iMac. Any degradation in performance would take me away from the Pro, although I do want the extra CPU grunt, it's really only for running X-Plane.My 3.4GHZ iMac with 16GB RAM 2GB VRAM handles all work tasks well.
Our entire workflow switched over to USB 3.0 external drives, docks, and raid arrays. We went through a series of cards before landing on one that actually worked every bit as advertised - this one: All of the other cards we tried had crash bugs and suffered problems like not being able to hot swap a USB 3 connection or remount an ejected drive without reboot.
Very aggravating trial and error process. We absolutely love the Buffalo Terrstation raid cans and the Porsche 3 TB external drives. Click to expand.I think you've got something else going on. We're using HighPoint cards and that's on 10.8.2 and 10.8.3 ML all around.
Best USB 3.0 cards we've tested.Clarifying: You don't state which HighPoint card you're now having problems with. We've only tested the one I provided the Amazon link to above. I know HP makes a few different cards so it is possible you're having your compatibility issues with one of those other cards. Best of luck with that and sorry to hear it, but don't think that's across their line. We've got a number of these cards up and running with 10.8.2 and 10.8.3 (plus 10.8.1 before it). All performed extremely well with no errors, crashes, mounting issues, or anything else.