USB card for a Mac Pro - Any Suggestions?

[Muttster]

I want to get a USB card as I am running out of inputs. Will any USB 2 card work or do I have to get an PCI express card?

Thanks

[SuperCompu2]

It will need to be PCI-e in order to work. Strangely enough I havent seen PCI-e USB cards in stores, but I'm sure Newegg or Tiger Direct would have them.

[Sun Baked]

They lost a lot of manufacturers, and are down to like one vendor supporting SCSI on leopard and the Mac Pro.

They really need that consumer model again to bring back the vendors. :(

www.barefeats.com may have some of the cards tested.

[termina3]

I take it you've considered USB hubs but don't want to use one?

[KatmanDu]

I just added two StarTech 4 port PCI-E USB cards to my pro- Microcenter was the only place local I could find any PCI-E USB cards. With both cards in, I had to do a lot of port swapping to get everything to work... Neither the iPod or iPhone docks would work unless they were plugged into an internal port instead of the card, and some things wouldn't work in some ports on some cards. (Griffin Powermate, Keyspan USB-Serial, Huey). I took one of the cards out and got everything to work, but I lose the USB card after the machine wakes from sleep. They come back after a re-boot. My Macalley USB Hub/Card Reader won't work at all with them. FWIW, the cards weren't marked as "Mac Compatible". I'm not keen on a hub, as the only place I'll have to plug it in would be a front port.

[jnc]

I take it you've considered USB hubs but don't want to use one?

If I had a Mac Pro, I'd certainly prefer an internal solution. A hub takes up not only space but uses another adaptor. My Belkin hub (conveniently :rolleyes:) has the power brick on the plug too, which takes up two spaces on my power strip. :mad:

[Sun Baked]

If I had a Mac Pro, I'd certainly prefer an internal solution. A hub takes up not only space but uses another adaptor. My Belkin hub (conveniently :rolleyes:) has the power brick on the plug too, which takes up two spaces on my power strip. :mad:

Look at bare feats they test out some of the USB/FW combo cards under Leopard (or they use at least one for the drive testing.)

At least this way, you know if the card is going to work on a Mac Pro under Leopard, though xlr8yourmac likely has some comments hidden on their site. Since it doesn't seem the upgrade card database is up-to-date.

[trainguy77]

http://www.compatible.nl/distribution/pex400usb2-4-port-usb-20-pci-express-card-p-2283.html this site says it works for "Mac G5 and up" But who knows...

[Sun Baked]

http://www.compatible.nl/distribution/pex400usb2-4-port-usb-20-pci-express-card-p-2283.html this site says it works for "Mac G5 and up" But who knows...

It may be mentioned here...

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/feedback/OS_X_Leopard_feedback_tips.html

[awmazz]

I use Sonnet Allegro Express USB 2.0 cards in my Mac Pro and can recommend them. The Sonnet has 4 external ports, 1 internal.

[termina3]

I use Sonnet Allegro Express USB 2.0 cards in my Mac Pro and can recommend them. The Sonnet has 4 external ports, 1 internal.

From the website:


Technical Notes:
(1) Deep Sleep not supported under Mac OS X Version 10.3 or 10.4.

That's what I call a tradeoff.

[awmazz]

My Mac slept in 10.4. Does in 10.5 as well. Not sure what 'Deep Sleep' is though.