Where are all of the PCI USB 3.0 cards???

[rekabis]

I have seen the first of the USB 3.0 cards come out, but without exception they are all PCIe cards. Problem is, most of my machines either have all of their PCIe slots filled/obscured (thanks to dual-width video cards), or pre-date PCIe entirely.

Where are all the PCI (traditional) USB 3.0 cards?

Better yet if bandwidth is the issue, where are the PCI-X USB 3.0 cards? I have three sever boards that are exclusively 133mhz PCI-X and could easily handle x4 PCIe bandwidth requirements.

 

[hunter315]

I have only ever seen PCI-X on server boards, it just not common on desktop units and with almost all slots slowly transistioning to PCI-E only there is less need for older slower PCI cards, and USB 3.0 is even faster than PCI can support so you would get bottlenecking. Most people have at least enough space for a single PCI-E 4x card which is plenty for USB 3.0, PCI-E 2.0 1x is still slightly slower than USB 3.0 so it wouldnt be worth it if you wanted to try to support more than one device at a time, might as well just use USB 2.0

 

[rekabis]

I know many media professionals that run server-grade rigs for their main workhorses. Many of those are totally PCIe-free. My own “heavy lifting” rig (at work) has one AGP 8x, five PCI-X and one PCI. And this is a board with four cores running at 2.6Ghz apiece.

There is a massive market out there for PCI-X cards. Some of the best SATA-II RAID cards, for example, were only ever released for PCI-X.

 

[rekabis]

Anyone???

 

[thechief73]

[EDIT] Post removed, after the OP pointed out an honest mistake.

 

[rekabis]

Here they are! :lol:

http://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-PCIX-USB3-2-Port-Desktop-Express/dp/B003C1U9LE
http://www.directron.com/adpu3pcix.html
http://www.circuitcity.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5601679&csid=_21
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=pci-x+usb+3.0+card&hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS316&prmd=ivs&resnum=3&biw=1003&bih=613&wrapid=tlif12903193260781&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=9774682184856907350&ei=XbboTO2zIMK0nget-sjhDQ&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CGEQ8wIwAA#
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=pci-x+usb+3.0+card&hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS316&prmd=ivs&resnum=3&biw=1003&bih=613&wrapid=tlif12903193260781&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=1889056532130469547&ei=XbboTO2zIMK0nget-sjhDQ&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CGUQ8wIwAQ#

You didn’t read ANYTHING I posted, did you??

I was asking for USB 3.0 cards that were ANYTHING OTHER than PCI-e. As in, Traditional 32-bit PCI and/or 66/100/133Mhz PCI-X.

To make a point: I have a machine at work that is going to REQUIRE USB 3.0. It has one AGP slot, five PCI-X slots, and one PCI 32-bit slot. How am I supposed to install a PCI-e card into this machine??? I cannot. They are TOTALLY INCOMPATIBLE with each other.

And if you have no clue whatsoever what PCI-X is, here is Wikipedia to the rescue.

I can’t make up my mind if you are a n00b or a troll.

 

[thechief73]

You didn’t read ANYTHING I posted, did you??

I was asking for USB 3.0 cards that were ANYTHING OTHER than PCI-e. As in, Traditional 32-bit PCI and/or 66/100/133Mhz PCI-X.

To make a point: I have a machine at work that is going to REQUIRE USB 3.0. It has one AGP slot, five PCI-X slots, and one PCI 32-bit slot. How am I supposed to install a PCI-e card into this machine??? I cannot. They are TOTALLY INCOMPATIBLE with each other.

And if you have no clue whatsoever what PCI-X is, here is Wikipedia to the rescue.

I can’t make up my mind if you are a n00b or a troll.

First calm yourself down a bit, and dont be such a jerk. Is that the way you treat some one that is honestly trying to help you out and made a mistake? I bet your a real nice person to be around. I did read everything you wrote and I admit I made a sloppy mistake of doing a search for your PCI-X cards and you know what? All of those cards I kindly listed for you were named with just that, PCI-X! It was my mistake that I didnt read furthur to see that that really wasnt the cards interface just bad naming on the manufacturers part.

Dont even try to pull that, you have no clue, I am smarter than you baloney, you just make yourself look like a pompous fool.

I am neither a n00b or a troll sir, just a person trying to help you that made a honest mistake. Do you have enough character to admit your shortcomings or mistakes?

 

[rekabis]

First calm yourself down a bit, and dont be such a jerk. Is that the way you treat some one that is honestly trying to help you out and made a mistake? I bet your a real nice person to be around. I did read everything you wrote and I admit I made a sloppy mistake of doing a search for your PCI-X cards and you know what? All of those cards I kindly listed for you were named with just that, PCI-X! It was my mistake that I didnt read furthur to see that that really wasnt the cards interface just bad naming on the manufacturers part.

Dont even try to pull that, you have no clue, I am smarter than you baloney, you just make yourself look like a pompous fool.

I am neither a n00b or a troll sir, just a person trying to help you that made a honest mistake. Do you have enough character to admit your shortcomings or mistakes?

My apologies. It was that blue laughing smiley that made me think that you were just trying to yank my crank.

I tend to be very precise and often re-read something several times just to ensure I fully understand it, so I also tend to get quite annoyed when others just idly glance over something before responding, and as a result massively misunderstand what was written and/or asked for.

Which is, actually, kind of what you did -- you did your search without even examining the product images to see if they were really PCI-X, when even a cursory glance at the product images would have clearly identified every example as PCIe due to the pin/slot config.

I came to the conclusion (a very long time ago) that most product descriptions were bogus in some way -- that careful examination was needed, even on professional eCommerce sites, to ensure that what they had advertised was really what they were selling (front-line worker drones are hardly the sharpest tools in the shed). That is why, when I recommend a link to a product to someone, I put as much research into that suggestion as I would if I were planning to buy that product myself. Sometimes all it takes is a few seconds to ensure that the links I post don’t point to PCIe products when what was requested (and required) was a PCI-X product.

So yes, I do apologize for being snippy. My impatience over others being unable to RTFQ before answering is another fault I fully admit to. But dashing off links without even bothering to check what was at the far end is hardly the best way to go through life, son. Nor does it help with your credibility, hence my initial response.

 

[popatim]

I did a quick check and did not find any PCI-x usb3 cards available.

 

[rand_79]

Buy a PCI-E to PCI-X bridge and purchase a pci-e 4x interface usb3 card.

 

[rekabis]

Buy a PCI-E to PCI-X bridge and purchase a pci-e 4x interface usb3 card.

This is the first time I have ever heard of such a beastie. However, I do have a problem: Three of the five PCI-X lanes are already occupied. How would I use a riser card in these circumstances? I can hardly fit a card sideways with enough room to spare.

 

[ruudperlet]

Pffff......

There are only PCI-E to PCI-X bridges available...........with one exception:

http://www.pridopia.co.uk/8114.html

but that one cost's 130 pounds....that's really crazy.....

Also found a USB 3.0 PCI 33/66 mhz controller:

http://www.addonics.com/products/host_controller/ad2u3pci.asp

it has a NEC chipset on it............i suppose it is the uPD720200 USB 3.0 Host Controller....

but untill now i haven't found a PCI-X controller............


The problems however:

Is the bridge at http://www.pridopia.co.uk/8114.html supported under Linux however? Will this work? Is a special driver needed for this chipset or not?

The uPD720200 USB 3.0 Host Controller Chipset is supported by Linux........so i suppose this card will work in Linux?

And with only PCI 33/66 mhz with a max theoretical bandwith of 133/266 MB/s there is a big bottleneck.


Anyone found something better??? Some answers, ideas, alternatives?


Kind regards,

Ruud Perlet

 

[rekabis]

Bloody brilliant post! Both options now open the door for me, even though the first one is horribly expensive.

I am also confused by the second link: What, no pin headers? Are they NUTS? Any *internal* USB card without a pair of pin headers (or at least one internal USB plug) is missing out on one of the main reasons why they are purchased: When USB pin headers on the motherboard go bye-bye. I have already had several computers (over the years) where USB has failed, and a card with pin headers is the only way to get the USB ports on the front faceplate to work.

The second link *should* work in a PCI-X slot with minimal bottlenecks, seeing as the card itself can run at 66Mhz. It is only when you put it in a normal 33Mhz PCI slot where you would see a bottleneck. Granted, a card that is pure PCI-X running at 133Mhz (166Mhz slots are rare) *would* provide the best performance, but if this is all that exists I’ll take it.

 

[ruudperlet]

Hi Rekabis,

Not good to hear you also haven't found anything else out there by now.........

I think there are some usb cables available with a usb plug on one side and pin headers on the other side. So connecting the front faceplate would be possible if you pull the cable through e.g. a open ventilation hole in the back....However i think the USB 2.0 connectors electrically are somewhat different from the usb 3.0 ones(i read the usb 3.0 ones have extra circuitry..don't know for sure if i'm right about that though...). So i don't think it's going to work anyhow.....

Do you think that the PCI-X to PCI-e riser card/bridge will work(without a big overhead) in Linux? I suppose such a card will masquerade an inserted PCI-e card as a genuine PCI-X card? This http://www.pridopia.co.uk/8114.html card apparently works
with a PLX PEX8114 Chipset...... http://www.plxtech.com/products/expresslane/pex8114

There is also a company named PERICOM that apparently manufactures a PCI EXPRESS TO PCI-X BRIDGE Chipset named PI7C9X130. This bridge/chipset is FULLY REVERSIBLE.

So technically it's possible to make a PCI-X to PCI-e bridge. This makes 2 chipsets that support this.....but i have only seen the
card on http://www.pridopia.co.uk/8114.html untill now for a price i am reluctant to pay for it.......perhaps there are other cards available based on the PI7C9X130 Chipset.......?

http://www.pericom.com/products/pci/PI7C9X130/

By the way, do you think the Addonics PCI usb 3 host adapter will work under Linux? Still this card doesn't solve my problem totally as i don't have the option of running it on 66 mzh, then all PCI-X slots run on 66mhz instead of 133 mhz too........so i have to put it in a classic PCI 33mhz slot then. In that case it won't run faster in practise than about 120MB/s i think...........
But yeah, if this is all there is............

 

[whjresq]

I know many media professionals that run server-grade rigs for their main workhorses. Many of those are totally PCIe-free. My own “heavy lifting” rig (at work) has one AGP 8x, five PCI-X and one PCI. And this is a board with four cores running at 2.6Ghz apiece.

There is a massive market out there for PCI-X cards. Some of the best SATA-II RAID cards, for example, were only ever released for PCI-X.

Say could you tell me what motherboard that is with agp, five pci-x and one pci - Thank you.

Walter

 

[rekabis]

Say could you tell me what motherboard that is with agp, five pci-x and one pci - Thank you.

Walter

The Tyan Thunder K8W S2885 Dual AMD Opteron Motherboard has one AGP 8× slot, four PCI-X slots (not 5, sorry about that, the unit wasn’t open and at the time I was going off of memory instead of looking it up) and one PCI slot at the very bottom.

I am running it with two AMD Opteron 285 dual-core processors at 2.6Ghz apiece (for a total of four cores) and 16Gb of ECC Registered PC 3200 memory. AMD Radeon HD 4650 1Gb AGP Video Card. 6Tb RAID-5 array (my local mass storage array) with 5×3Tb drives (3 in the array, one hotspare with them in the hotswap backplane and one coldspare in storage) that are driven by a 3Ware 9550SXU-12 PCI-X SATA-II RAID card. Windows XP 64-bit. It’s a surprisingly powerful machine considering it isn’t exactly the most modern thing out there.