Usb 3.0 support

[davyb]

So I have a MSI P55-GD65 motherboard and it is suppose to have usb 3.0 support. So how do I access it, what card do I need and where do I hook this up on the motherboard?
Advice will be appreciated
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

[kllr123]

Sorry but who ever gave you that info was wrong. USB 3 ports will be blue of color(most of the time) on the motherboard and according to the specs:
Intel® P55 Chipset
- Supports QPI up to 6.4GT/s
- Hi-Speed USB (USB2.0) controller, 480Mb/sec.
- 6 SATAII ports with transfer rate up to 3Gb/s.
- PCI Master v2.3, I/O APIC.
- ACPI 2.0 compliant.
- Serial ATA RAID 0/1/5/10.
- Integrated AHCI controller.

no usb 3 support either. If you want USB 3, get a pcix x1 extension card with usb 3 ports
the card im talking about is one like this: http://titan-ice.co.za/product_info.php?cPath=178_179&products_id=9014

 

[themank]

I use one of these bad boys

http://www.wootware.co.za/sunix-usb2300-pci-express-x1-2-x-external-usb3-0.html

 

[DevillEars]

Hi,

Just one thing...

Don't expect to realize the full potential of USB 3.0 across multiple ports when using a PCIe x1 card.

The USB 3.0 spec states that the controller supports bandwidths of up to 5Gbps or 625 MB/sec while one PCIe 2.0 electrical lane (as in the "x1") runs at 500MB/sec, so the limiting factor (excluding the drive limits) will be the 500 MB/sec of the x1 PCIe lane.

The real determining factor as to USB 3.0 throughput is the maximum sustained data transfer rate of the drive(s).

Older drives with lower capacities due to lower recording densities (typically the 2010-vintage SATA 3G 500GB 3.5" 7200rpm drives) could reach a maximum sustained transfer rate to the drive's buffer of just about 130 MB/sec. Today's 1TB/platter SATA 6G drives from Seagate have reached much higher recording densities and, as a result, can hit up to 190 MB/sec.

2.5" drives are predominantly SATA 3G and most only run at 5400 rpm, so you can expect slower transfer rates over USB 3.0 to a SATA 3G 5400rpm 2.5" drive (between 90 and 100 MB/sec). This is why I've stopped buying "specials" such a 1TB 2.5" external drives as these usually sport 5400rpm drives and el cheapo USB 3.0 controllers. (I now use the Lian Li 2.5" enclosures with 750GB Momentus 7200rpm drives as these will deliver up to 120MB/sec transfer rates).

Similarly, with 3TB 1TB/platter 3.5" 7200rpm drives mounted in decent USB 3.0 enclosures I have been reaching 150 MB/sec (I'm using Asroc Fatal1ty Z77 Pro mobo with its 8-lane PCIe switch between on-board controller and PCH which allows dynamic lane allocation across on-board controllers).

On the USB 3.0 flash drive side, the new Sandisk Extreme 64GB drive has produced some amazing throughput rates (150MB/sec write and 175MB/sec read over USB 3.0!!!!)

BTW, mid-2013 is scheduled to be when there will be an announcement from the USB group of changes to up the speed of USB 3.0 from 5Gb/sec to 10 Gb/sec as a counter to Thunderbolt.

When this will filter through to the board manufacturers is anyone's guess...

Sorry your bubble got burst - but the 1156 platform is not a great platform for USB 3.0 (no integrated support of USB 3.0 on 1156 PCH chips - in fact this only arrived with Intel's "Z" series chipsets (Z68/Z77 etc).

 

[DevillEars]

Hi,

The clear light of morning has highlighted an omission in the above post...

The focus above was on throughput and ignored the other aspect of power requirements when using PCIe USB 3.0 cards.

The PCIe Bus specification limits the maximum current for a x1 card to 10 watts at power up but, for full-height cards with the necessary on-board circuitry and/or driver logic, allows post-power-up reconfiguration to up this 10 watts to 25 watts (half-height cards stay fixed at 10 watts). This is done to limit both current consumption on the bus and heat dissipation in a chassis.

USB 3.0 spec, on the other hand, calls for 900mA at 5v (or 4.5 watts per device) while USB 2.0 spec only requires 500mA at 5v (or 2.5 watts).

USB-powered hard drives (particularly larger capacity drives such as 1TB or larger) need power to run that peaks at start-up and stabilizes under normal operation - peaks can be >10 watts, while average power drain is likely to be around 6-7 watts.

So, for USB 3.0 spec plus large HDD, the power drain hovers around the limit and can produce erratic performance issues...

I first encountered power problems of this nature when purchasing a Taiwanese 2-port 3.5" front-panel USB 3.0 hub which only provided cabling for data.

Larger capacity USB 3.0-powered HDD (eg Seagate GoFlex Portable 1TB) gave major problems until I contacted the manufacturer and was advised to add a separate power feed to the PCIe controller card from the power supply.

And this is why - when you read the specs for these PCIe 2.0 x1 USB 3.0 add-on cards, you should see a requirement for a "power boost" connection between card and power supply (either a Molex or PCI connector - but a 5 volt rail connection is what's required)

So, check out your power supply and the number of spare 5volt "connectors" before hurtling out and buying any USB 3.0 cards.

When installing the USB 3.0 card, ensure that the card is properly seated in the bus slot and also ensure that the "power boost" cable is properly connected at both ends. Then install the driver that should have come with the card. After installation, re-boot the system and you should have no hassles.

Good Luck!

 

[davyb]

The card you are suppose to use with the motherboard are the MSI Star usb 3.0