USB 3.0 Card

[Rabid Snail]

I have searched the internet with this question and have gotten no where thus far. I have a custom build, about 3 years old, and i am looking to add an NZXT card Reader to it (Link Below). The catch is that it has 2 USB 3.0 ports on it, that connect with a USB 3.0 connector to the motherboard. Because my Motherboard doesnt have the appropriate connector on it, i can not use those ports. USB 3.0 ports on the front of my case is a large draw for me to get that reader, and i am looking for a way to make them work. I currently have one PCI port left on my MOBO, and am running low on USB ports on the back. So my thought is i will buy a PCI card that has external USB 3.0 ports, as well as an internal connector to plug the card readers USB ports to. only problem i cant find a PCI card with the required connection. Is what i am trying to do that unique, or am i just looking in the wrong places?

Any help would be appreciated.


http://www.nzxt.com/new/products/case_accessories/aperture_m

 

[mocchan]

From the looks of it, that card reader has an internal USB 2.0 header. If your motherboard has enough USB 2.0 headers, I think you shouldn't run into issues.

Also, from what I've noticed, you can only get a USB 3.0 expansion if you have PCI-E available.

 

[Rabid Snail]

Could you possibly share some links for those? I have a card that i am not activly using in a PCIe port that i can take out if i find a USB 3.0 card that i like

 

[InvalidError]

USB3 has 5Gbps bandwidth that matches x1 PCIe 2.0.

Old-school PCI has a bandwidth of roughly 132MB/s half-duplex or roughly 1Gbps while USB3 has 5Gbps double-simplex (10Gbps aggregate) and because of that, a PCI USB3 host makes very little practical sense.

If you run out of USB2 ports, simply use an external hub. I have been using a hub for a long time simply for the convenience of having ports available on my desk rather than having to bend over to fiddle with ports under my desk.

 

[Rabid Snail]

what about the PCIe speed? I Understand that it will not give me the typical speed of a USB3 native on a motherboard, but it would be faster then a USB2

 

[InvalidError]

what about the PCIe speed? I Understand that it will not give me the typical speed of a USB3 native on a motherboard, but it would be faster then a USB2

From the benchmarks I have seen, a USB3 controller connected to a x1 PCIe 2.0 slot performs practically the same as native USB3 since both interfaces are 5Gbps double-simplex and USB3 was designed to work this way.

If your board only has PCIe 1.x then you might have problems since this is only half USB3's bandwidth.

Your devices also need to support USB3 since USB3 signaling happens on a separate set of pins from USB2 that only USB3 devices have.

 

[Rabid Snail]

So could you make a recommendation of a PCIe card? I understand that it wont be the most efficient

 

[InvalidError]

For the most part, USB3 through PCIe 2.0 interface is almost as fast as native USB3 on 3rd-gen Intel Core IOHub.

http://vr-zone.com/articles/a-quick-look-and-comparison-of-intel-s-native-usb-3.0-host-controller/15396.html

Doesn't look like there is much need to lose sleep over which USB3 controller you choose, all three tested there performed more or less on par with each other and fared respectably vs native.