Thoughts on Inateck 4 Ports PCI-E to USB 3.0 Expansion Card for Mac Pro (Early 2008 to 2012 Late Version)

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Thoughts on Inateck 4 Ports PCI-E to USB 3.0 Expansion Card for Mac Pro (Early 2008 to 2012 Late Version)

Anyone adding USB 3 ports to the older Mac Pro desktop towers?

I looked at HighPoint, Orinico and StarTek but I'm leaning towards Inateck given their recent PCI-E board update specifically for Mac Pro.

Anyone have any USB 3 recommendations or horror stories? I've got all 4 internal drive bays taken so I don't think I can easily get power to the board, so I'm hoping the internal PCI-E power will be enough for most USB 3 devices.

thanks,

Stephen

Posted on Mar 20, 2014 12:09 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 20, 2014 12:38 PM in response to sinoue

What model year MacPro?

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Answer 2

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Mar 20, 2014 1:21 PM in response to sinoue

There is one that seems to be popular that works with 10.8.2 and above.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1501482&highlight=usb3+pcie

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Answer 3

Oct 28, 2014 10:52 AM in response to sinoue

I recently bought the Inateck USB 3.0 PCIe Card off Amazon. I have a Mac Pro 2009 and it works fine.

The only issue is when you put the computer to sleep. When you restore the system any USB hard drives you have connected to the card

will be ejected. I'm using OSX Mavericks and its a known issue. Not sure when they'll address it.

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Answer 4

Sep 11, 2016 6:04 PM in response to sinoue

I have the Inateck 4 Port card in two Mac Pro systems. I have an issue with both since I've upgraded to El Capitan.

The modifier keys like Shift, Control, Option and Control often get stuck on and hang up operations in Photoshop and Finder.

I've done complete hardware diagnostics on one machine without finding any problems.

The on-screen keyboard doesn't show anything.

I've swapped keyboards around with no changes.

One Mac Pro without the USB 3 card doesn't have this issue.

Keyboard is plugged into USB 2 ports on Mac, not on the PCIe card.

So, I suspect the USB 3 card, but I haven't tried removing it yet. (I'm still using it quite a lot)

FYI - YMMV

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Answer 5

Sep 11, 2016 6:31 PM in response to Scott Thomas3

I'm doing more research on my issue.

I see that Nick of Greyscale Gorilla is having similar issues. https://vimeo.com/53634482

So, could be related to my Wacom tablet driver, or the Wacom *and* the USB 3 card?

More testing needed, but I'm in the middle of a render. 😟

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Answer 6

Sep 12, 2016 2:50 AM in response to sinoue

I do not know what 'recent' PCIe board update from Inatek you are referring to. As far as I can see their current card is still the KT4004 which their own website specifically states is not compatible with Yosemite or El Capitan.

See - http://www.inateck.com/pci-e-to-usb-3-0-cards/inateck-kt4004-4-port-usb-3-0-pci- e-express-card-without-power-connection.…

Many users have reported it working well enough in El Capitan although I seem to remember seeing a couple of reports suggesting which PCIe slot you use may have an impact. The issue regarding USB drives disconnecting when you wake your Mac is a wide-spread issue that also affects many people even when using the built-in USB ports.

The only two brands/models I am aware of that categorically claim El Capitan compatibility are SonnetTech and CalDigit.

See -

http://www.sonnettech.com/product/allegrousb3pcie4port.html

http://www.sonnettech.com/product/allegroprousb3pcie.html

and

http://www.caldigit.com/FASTA%2D6GU3plus/ (Also does USB3.1)

Note: The two SonnetTech cards do not need a cable for internal power, and can actually provide enough power to fast charge iOS devices, I therefore think they should be fine for hard disks. As a reminder only 2.5" hard disks can run off USB power, a 3.5" drive in a USB enclosure always needs an external power supply.

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