The PCIUSB3S2 2-Port PCI to SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Card allows for legacy PCI slots to support the USB 3.0 standard, which is capable of data transfer rates up to 5 Gbps (10x faster than USB 2.0). Using USB 3.0 devices with this Card will allow data transfer rates at up to 1.3 Gbps, double the performance versus using USB 2.0 cards and peripherals. Backward compatible with USB 2.0 and 1.x devices, this versatile PCI USB 3.0 card will work with any future USB 3.0 devices, while still being able to support older devices. Designed for older PCI-based systems or computers with only PCI expansion slots left available, this adapter card allows those systems to stay relevant and up-to-date with the latest USB technology. Backed by a StarTech.com lifetime warranty and free lifetime technical support.
$ 50.40
Looking Good, with one caveat,
Having read many reviews that indicated there would not be any PCI to USB 3.0 cards because a regular PCI card (as opposed to PCI Express) did not have enough power, I had just about given up when I came across this card.
The caveat? They don’t mention that in addition to your empty PCI card slot you must also have an available LP4 connector. (LP4 connectors are white plugs that you would normally use to plug in an ATA Hard Drive or a CD or DVD player.) Fortunately, I had one not being used by anything else.
My ‘test’ was simple. Using a Sandisk, 30MB/second, 16 GB Compact Flash card in a USB 2.0 Sandisk Card Reader, I transferred a 3.91GB video file to a “MyBook, 3.0 external hard drive – plugged into a USB 2.0 plug. (All USB 2.) It took 31 minutes.
Then, I added this PCI to USB 3.0 card, and transferred the same file from the same Sandisk Compact Flash card, but this time, I plugged a Delkin USB 3.0 card reader and the MyBook 3.0 into the StarTech’s two USB 3.0 ports. It took 2 minutes, 23 seconds.
Startech is very upfront that this card adapter will not surpass 1.3 GB per second, and will never reach the full potential of USB 3.0, (up to 5 BG per second) but considering this works at all on a motherboard as old as mine, I’m thrilled.
I’ve just seen another review here where the card didn’t last two days. I’ll be holding onto my receipt.
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|USB V3.0 for older machines,
Used this card in some older machines (that don’t have PCIe slots) and it worked perfectly. I’m sure I can’t achieve full USB 3.0 speed through a PCI slot, but it is enough faster than USB 2.0 card it replaced to make it worthwhile.
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|Great piece of technology.,
I am very grateful for this peripheral card. I was able to drop this into my Intel SPSH4 server and have this up and running on WinServer 2003 with no hassles at all. I know I won’t get the full USB3 performance, but I do get great performance and I am grateful to have the USB3 connectivity option. I have a high speed 2TB backup system on my server now thanks to this technology.
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