Interesting PCIe card for adding 7 USB ports

Haydon · Nov 5, 2021

I think I would need a PCIe x4 card to get enough power from the PCIe bus itself, like the card below

Allegro Pro Type A USB 3.2 Gen 2 - Sonnet

It has only 4 USB ports, though, not enough for my present tower :-( But a full width tower with 2 USB 2.0 (for keyboard and mouse) and 4 USB 3.x onboard in the back would do (puts everything permanently plugged in neatly in the back) > a consideration for my next tower.

jvickers · Nov 5, 2021

Haydon said:
I think I would need a PCIe x4 card to get enough power from the PCIe bus itself, like the card below

I believe so. Also, the PCIe x4 card should allow for dedicated speeds rather than shared speeds the other card you were looking at probably does.

barman58 · Nov 5, 2021

I have PCIe x4 so could use that on one of my x1 slots but I already have four USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports on the backplane and two Risers for more at Mid board so I'm OK - One is a USB-c connector which is useful to connect to the laptop that just has four Thunderbolt 3's

Asus Prime X570 PRO MB I can recommend, though it's likely to be outdated soon the way advances are coming

Haydon · Nov 5, 2021

I buy my towers, so perhaps something like a full size tower Dell XPS 8940 or the newest 8950 is in my future.

For the present, though, I wish that there was a half height PCIe 4x card with 6 or more USB ports on the market. I don't mind USB 3.0 or 3.1 speeds.

barman58 · Nov 5, 2021

It's difficult to get that as the standard layout is to have the ports in the same orientation as the card so for half height you would need one like the first example on this thread though even that one is limited to 6 ports it may be physically impossible to fit 7 USB ports in a half Height card

Haydon · Nov 5, 2021

Yes, I mentioned further above already that 6 at half height / low profile is crowded, but an additional 6 at the back is all I need at the present time. All the temporary plug-ins are at the front, that's how I like to do things.

On the orientation and placing of USB plugs in towers, I notice in mine (and others') that they are vertical or vertical in a row, although I am not curious enough to crouch under my work desk and open up the case to see how the receptacles are mounted on the MB.

barman58 · Nov 5, 2021

If it helps here's mine - they are directly attached to the board, but there are also several unpopulated Risers for various optional ports, (including More USB3.2 gen1 for the front and two Mid board I assume for internal case use though could be routed to back front or sides as required )

Haydon · Nov 5, 2021

Thanks, barman58, and everyone who responded!

I think I will stick to my existing, external USB Hub for now, and although I don't like the clutter, it does work well. I learned what to look for, for my next tower. I will mark this thread solved :)

pparks1 · Nov 5, 2021

In general, I don't think you would have problems adding in one of these cards.

WIth a PCI-e x1 slot, you have a max bandwidth on the interface of 250MB/sec in each direction, so a total of 500MB/sec. Things like mice, keyboards, headsets, card readers, stream decks, webcams, usb sticks, etc...are never going to come near those kinds of speeds.

As far as power goes, the mobo will be supply power to that slot and the sata cable will supply additional power to the card. Honestly, for most of the above mentioned things, power shouldn't be a major concern either.

I'd have little reservations about using a card like this. Plug in whatever you can to it and as long as it works fine, you are good to go. If anything like a super fast SSD on USB 3.1 needs to be used and bandwidth is a concern, use one of your mobo supplied USB ports for that.

Most USB hubs are limited to 5Gbps max anyway on the cable going back to the PC. If your hub is getting the job done, most likely that internal card would too.

Winuser · Nov 7, 2021

@Ghot, I have been buying all my desktops from Micro Center. I buy the prebuilt PowerSpec desktops. When I bought my last desktop, I didn't see any that had external drive bays. While browsing for my new desktop I checked out the OEM desktops and I didn't see any that had external drive bays. Buying a new case with external bays or having a custom-built computer with external drive bays is an exception.

barman58 · Nov 7, 2021

I find if you are looking for front 5.25" bays try to find a supplier that sells "workstation" cases. I update a few months ago and found one with two front bays, and a front "door" which covered the bays, and also the front fan Intake, there are air inlets next to the door so airflow is good for normal use, but opening the door gives an air boost for times when you need a bit of extra cooling.

Ghot · Nov 7, 2021

Winuser said:
@Ghot, I have been buying all my desktops from Micro Center. I buy the prebuilt PowerSpec desktops. When I bought my last desktop, I didn't see any that had external drive bays. While browsing for my new desktop I checked out the OEM desktops and I didn't see any that had external drive bays. Buying a new case with external bays or having a custom-built computer with external drive bays is an exception.

These days, I doubt you'll see cases with 5.25" bays on prebuilt computers.
But you can still get the cases themselves, with 5.25" bays.

Here's one with 12x 5.25" bays. :)

Anidees AI CRYSTAL XL PRO ATX Full Tower Case (AI-XL-PRO-RGB) - PCPartPicker

Anidees AI CRYSTAL XL PRO ATX Full Tower Case (AI-XL-PRO-RGB)

pcpartpicker.com

Here's all the cases with 1 or more 5.25" bays...

Choose A Case - PCPartPicker

Choose A Case

pcpartpicker.com

/edit

Here's my case, (can't get this any more), it has 6x 5.25" bays...
Cooler Master ATCS 840

Cooler Master ATCS 840 RC-840-KKN1-GP Black Computer Case - Newegg.com

Buy Cooler Master ATCS 840 RC-840-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

SIW2 · Nov 7, 2021

That is very nice case.

It is useful to have at least of couple of external bays

Ghot · Nov 7, 2021

SIW2 said:
That is very nice case.

It is useful to have at least of couple of external bays

My favorite part of this case... the entire motherboard tray, with all the components still attached, comes out the back.
It's on tracks with bearings. Makes it really easy for major upgrades.
Just unhook the power supply cables, and pull the whole thing out.

I can change ALL the components in approx. 15 minutes, motherboard included.

SIW2 · Nov 7, 2021

I saw a video review of that case. It is massive, plenty of room for anything.

There is one here, unfortunately is a bit tatty

Cooler Master ATCS 840 ATX Case for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Cooler Master ATCS 840 ATX Case at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

pparks1 · Nov 8, 2021

my last few case purchases have all been without 5.25 bays. Haven't had a need for one in years.

Hopachi · Nov 8, 2021

Got one of those boards like the OP's but only with 4 ports, and are barely used at the back side. They work.
I tend to get these kind of extra boards here and there just to 'fill in the gaps'.
If I want a tower without ports I'll get into sculpture and art and put a clean plain cube on the table.

I'm impressed by some examples here, wow that many 5.25 bays I've seen in one tower... 5 or more... Skyscraper things. :)
I go like:
Fill all those up with these

USB Port-mania!

Of course, there's a limit to what a user will actually use. Not to mention the board and power.

pparks1 said:
my last few case purchases have all been without 5.25 bays. Haven't had a need for one in years.

Same trend here, cases go smaller and smaller.
My last 'mini atx' tower though has two 5.25 bays still, so I had to fill those up with something. Now they fit (with a lot of room in between) 2 usb ports each, cable-extended from extra motherboard ports. Like these:

I already had front side usb's so these are extra. The motherboard alone provides adequate usb port counts.
4 pin ports -> 8 (double) usb ports and 6 on the rear + 1 type c...

badrobot · Nov 8, 2021

They've been around for years now. They do work. But newer mobos (I build my own PC) now have more USB ports than I need. :)

barman58 · Nov 8, 2021

I wish that there was not the licencing issue on USB-C they are so much better than what went before, but at the moment have some patent or something that increases the price and keeps the number of working ports low I have four on the laptop all capable of power, data at 10Gb/s, audio and 4k Video but just one limited one on the desktop though it's still great for file transfer

Haydon · Dec 24, 2023

I finally bought the PCIe expansion card in the OP that provides 6 additional USB ports in the back of my new desktop. It replaces a powered USB hub. The new setup eliminates 2 boxes (the USB Hub itself and the power supply) and 2 cables (power cable and USB cable to feed the USB Hub)

I will mark this thread 'Solved'

Thanks to all who responded

Edit: Hey, I can't mark this old thread 'Solved' !

7 Pt PCI Express USB 3.0 Card - Std & LP - USB 3.0 Cards | Add-on Cards & Peripherals | StarTech.com

7 Port PCI Express USB 3.0 Card - 5Gbps - Standard/Low-Profile - SATA Power - UASP Support - 1 Internal & 6 External USB 3.0 Ports - Native OS Support

www.startech.com

Interesting PCIe card for adding 7 USB ports

Well-known member

My Computer

The lunatics have taken over the asylum

My Computers

Moderator

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computer

Moderator

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computer

Moderator

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computer

Well-known member

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computers

Moderator

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computers

Moderator

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computer