USB 3.x PCIe Cards for Classic Mac Pro

• The USB 3.0 cards in this list support UASP for faster transfer speeds and reduced CPU utilization (exceptions to this are noted).
• The USB 3.0 cards in this list do not require supplemental power to be attached.
• The USB 3.0 cards in the list are not limited to storage-only USB devices (exceptions to this are noted).
• The cMP will never boot from USB 3 or newer because there is no support until the drivers load in the OS.
• Transferring data over USB 3.0 interferes with bluetooth reception and to a lesser extent 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi.
• Due to USB 3.0 ports in the nMP, native drivers are provided in OS X for Fresco Logic FL1100 chipset cards in ML 10.8.2 or later. 10.7.5 Lion through 10.10 Yosemite is supported through the open source GenericUSBXHCI driver. Cards using other chipsets require proprietary drivers.
• The Lexar USB 3.0 memory reader is known to be unreliable with several Fresco Logic cards.
• The USB 3.0 Asmedia ASM1042A chipset has native drivers included in 10.9 and newer.
• There are warning messages upon waking from sleep when using detachable USB media in OS X. This occurs even with Apple's built-in USB 3.0 ports, so it isn't your card.

• Also known as USB 3.1 gen 1 and USB 3.2 gen 1 x1
• USB 3.0 transfers bits on the wire at SuperSpeed (SS). This is 5 Gbps using 8b/10b encoding which means bytes are transferred at 4 Gbps or 500 MB/s (not including USB protocol overhead). This is similar to PCIe 1.0 x2 or PCIe 2.0 x1 (not including PCIe protocol overhead).
• Considering protocol overhead, you may see up to approximately 3.2 Gbps or 400 MB/s.
• USB 3.0 and later are full-duplex (bits can be transmitted in both directions simultaneously). This means there are separate send and receive data lines. USB 2.0 and earlier are half-duplex (there is only one data line). Each data line uses two pins/wires (USB signals are transmitted using differential signaling on a
• twisted-pair data cable). A USB 3.x cable has both USB 2.0 and 3.x data lines (they are separate).

• $26, appears to only sell through Amazon, ASIN: B07XXT2M2B. The manufacturer claims it was specifically designed for the Mac Pro and supported under Mac OS 10.10 or later.
• This card uses the same FL1100 chipset as the nMP, so drivers are built into ML 10.8.2 and newer.
• The package, as listed on Amazon, includes a Bluetooth 4.0 dongle that does work if enabled using the Xcode BT selector utility. Oddly enough, it also includes a GPU dual 6 to 8 pin GPU power supply cable, which is not needed by the USB card, but never hurts to have a spare.

• $28, appears to only sell through Amazon, ASIN: B08GC6VFF2
• This card uses the same FL1100 chipset as the nMP, so drivers are built into ML 10.8.2 and newer.
• Three type A ports, one type C port (operates in 5Gbps backwards compatiblility)

• $30
• This card uses the same FL1100 chipset as the nMP, so drivers are built into ML 10.8.2 and newer.
• Works great with Yosemite and El Capitan, despite specifications stating otherwise.
• Big review here.
• It does not have a dedicated USB controller for each port, so simultaneous transfers over multiple ports will have to share bandwidth.
• Ignore the mfr's statement "Incompatible with Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite or Above". It works on these operating systems.

• $105-$125 (Approximate price as of 10/2/2018)
• It has a dedicated controller for each port, meaning full speed for connected devices, even when used simultaneously.
• It uses Asmedia ASM1042A chipset, which has native drivers included in 10.9 and later.
• Slightly faster than the FL-based cards when using one device. Substantially faster when using multiple devices simultaneously.
• One user reports zero bluetooth interference using this card.
• Big review here.

• $140-$170
• Basically the same as RocketU 1144C, plus non-bootable eSATA.
• Requires third party drivers.

• $140
• This model number with "PRO" at the end is substantially better than the discontinued non-pro model it replaces. The new model works with all USB devices, not just storage devices. It doesn't have the reduced speed problem that the old model had.
• This card uses the same FL1100 chipset as the nMP, so drivers are built into ML 10.8.2 and newer.
• It does not have a dedicated USB controller for each port, so simultaneous transfers over multiple ports will have to share bandwidth.

• $60
• Supports the following power-related features: 2Amps of power per port (10 Watts at 5V) for bus-powered devices, USB 3.0 charging port handshake protocol, USB battery charging 1.2 compliant, and simultaneous charge and sync for iPhones, iPads, and similar devices at 1.5A.
• This card uses the same FL1100 chipset as the nMP, so drivers are built into ML 10.8.2 and newer.
• The Allegro has a single USB controller, so all 4 ports share a single controller.
• The Pro model has a 4 dedicated USB controllers (one for each port). Full Review here.

• Also known as USB 3.2 gen 2 x1
• USB 3.1 gen 2 transfers bits at SuperSpeed+ (SS+). This is 10 Gbps using 128b/132b encoding which means bytes are transferred at 9.697 Gbps or 1212.1 MB/s (not including USB protocol overhead). This is greater than PCIe 1.0 x4 and PCIe 2.0 x2 (8 Gbps or 1000 MB/s) and PCIe 3.0 x1 (7.877 Gbps or 984.6 MB/s) (not including PCIe protocol overhead).
• Considering protocol overhead, you may see up to approximately 8 Gbps or 1000 MB/s if the USB controller is not limited by PCIe. Otherwise, you'll only see up to approximately 6.1 Gbps or 765 MB/s if you are limited by PCIe (as is the case with PCIe 1.0 x4, PCIe 2.0 x2, or PCIe 3.0 x1).
• Some, but not all, USB 3.1 devices are working properly at 10 Gbps (theoretical maximum USB 3.1 gen 2 speed).
• Some USB 3.1 devices are not even working properly at 5 Gbps (theoretical maximum USB 3.0 speed).
• ASM1142 chipset cards:
  • Work as USB 3.0 (not 3.1) in Yosemite (10.10.3).
  • Do not work at all in El Capitan without a USB 3.0 firmware (10.11).
  • With a USB 3.1 firmware (default on most cards), appear as USB 3.1 in Sierra (10.12), might appear as "Up to 5 Gb/sec" (SS) in System Information.app, but may transfer data at more than 5 Gbps using SS+.
  • Most cards are PCIe 2.0 x2 electrically (x4 physically). This is not enough for full SS+. A PCIe 1.0 slot will half the max bandwidth. Some PCIe 1.0 slots (such as in the Mac Pro 2008) do not support x2 and will thus have a quarter of the max bandwidth.
  • The CalDigit FASTA-6GU3 Plus works in Sierra using SS+ with a USB 3.1 gen 2 firmware update which makes it stop working in El Capitan at SS. It is an x4 card which can allow more than SS even in a PCIe gen 1 slot. The x4 connection is provided by a PCIe switch which is used for the ASM1142 and an eSATA controller.
  • The Sonnet Allegro USB-C 4-Port PCIe Card (USB3C-4PM-E) has two USB controllers connected to a PCIe switch with an x4 upstream connection (similar to the CalDigit FASTA-6GU3 Plus).
  • The Sunix UPD2018 and Delock 89582 have a DisplayPort input to support USB-C alt mode, but they are PCIe 3.0 x1 which will half the max bandwidth when used in a PCIe 2.0 slot.
  • etc.
• ASM2142 chipset cards:
  • The ASM2142 uses a PCIe 3.0 x2 connection instead of the ASM1142's PCIe 3.0 x1 or PCIe 2.0 x2 connections. The ASM2142 can be superior to the ASM1142 in the Mac Pro only if the ASM2142 is connected to a PCIe 3.0 switch with an x4 upstream connection.
  • Ableconn PU31-AC-2 (untested) PCIe x2.
  • Ableconn PU31-2C-2 (untested) PCIe x2.
  • Ableconn PU31A-ESA (untested) PCIe x2. eSATA is provided by a USB to eSATA chip, not a eSATA controller so there is only one USB port, no PCIe switch, and therefore only PCIe x2 upstream like the others.
  • IOI U31-PCIE2XG321 (untested) PCIe x2.
  • StarTech PEXUSB312A2 (untested) PCIe x2.
  • StarTech PEXUSB311AC2 (untested) PCIe x2.
  • StarTech PEXUSB311A1E (untested) PCIe x2 similar to Ableconn PU31A-ESA.
  • etc.
• ASM3142 chipset cards:
  • The ASM3142 is similar to the ASM2142 but adds better power management to reduce total power consumption under idle/standby state and adds support for the Multiple INs feature of USB 3.1 gen 2 "to achieve fully utilization rate of 10Gbps data rate".
  • An ASM3142 card might identify itself as ASM2142 (according to an AliExpress product).
  • HighPoint RocketU 1244A (untested) PCIe 3.0 x8 switch. Each port is provided by a separate ASM3142. With PCIe 3.0, all four ports can do full 10 Gbps simultaneously. With PCIe 2.0, 3 ports can do full 10 Gbps simultaneously. x8 allows even PCIe 1.0 to do full 10 Gbps.
  • HighPoint RocketU 1344A (tested) PCIe 3.0 x4 switch. Uses two controllers to provide four ports. ASM3142 pictured. Are there older revisions with the ASM2142?
  • Sonnet Allegro USB-C 4-Port PCIe USB3C-4PM-E (untested) PCIe 2.0 x4 switch. Since the switch is only PCIe 2.0 each chip is limited to PCIe 2.0 x2 which is ok for a PCIe 1.0 x4 slot. Sonnet says (Nov 2020) they'll make PCIe 3.0 cards later.
  • Sonnet Allegro Pro Type A USB 3.2 PCIe USB3-PRO-4P10-E with ASM3142 (untested) PCIe 2.0 x4 switch. Similar to USB3C-4PM-E above. Cards shipped before April 2020 use ASM1142.
  • Ableconn PEX-UB160 (tested) PCIe 3.0 x2 switch. Two USB-C and USB-A ports. Has two ASM3142 controllers but the upstream of the PCIe 3.0 switch is only x2.
  • Inateck KU5211 (tested 1, 2) PCIe x2. One dedicated port and four ports from a VIA Labs VL822 USB 10 Gbps hub. The hub is a much less expensive method of implementing multiple ports compared to a PCIe switch and additional USB controller. However, total bandwidth is limited in this case just like any PCIe x2 card.
  • IOI U31-PCIE2XG322 (untested) PCIe x2.
  • U3102A (or h1111z AC3875) (untested) PCIe x2.
  • SilverStone ECU02 (untested) PCIe x2. Key A Internal header for USB-C.
  • Sunix USB2312C (untested) PCIe x2.
  • EUSB312AP (untested) PCIe x2.
  • etc.
• GPUs with USB-C ports:
  • Some GPUs have USB 3.1 gen 2 controllers.
  • Some AMD Radeon RX Navi RDNA 5000 series GPUs such as the W5700 have a USB-C port that supports USB 3.1 gen 2 and DisplayPort Alt Mode.
  • Some AMD Radeon RX Navi2 RDNA2 6000 series GPUs such as the 6800 XT have a USB-C port that supports USB 3.1 gen 2 and DisplayPort Alt Mode and maybe VirtualLink Alt Mode (though no mention of VirtualLink exists on AMD's website).
  • Some Nvidia GeForce RTX 20 series GPUs have a USB-C port that supports USB 3.1 gen 2, DisplayPort Alt Mode, and VirtualLink Alt Mode. Nvidia RTX GPUs are not supported in macOS but maybe their USB controller is?
  • VirtualLink devices are rare or don't exist so it is unknown how macOS would deal with one.
  • Not much testing has been done with these GPUs so it is unknown how well they support sleep and wake for connected USB devices.
• Thunderbolt 3 chipset cards:
  • A Thunderbolt 3 controller contains a USB controller. The controller uses a PCIe 3.0 x4 connection which can give it superior performance to any USB card using the ASM1142 even at the PCIe 2.0 x4 speed of the Mac Pro.
  • Thunderbolt 3 add in cards based on Alpine Ridge or Titan Ridge can provide USB 3.1 gen 2 support in the Mac Pro.
  • The Gigabyte GC-TITAN RIDGE has been tested. A jumper wire is used to force the USB controller to always be visible even when no USB devices are connected (similar to Force Power in PC BIOS settings). USB 2.0 support (optional) requires a connection to a USB port that supports USB 2.0 (one USB 2.0 port per Thunderbolt port). Thunderbolt support (for PCIe devices and displays - without hot-plug support) can be initiated by running Windows, then warm-booting into macOS. Power Delivery of 100W (optional) requires two PCIe 6-pin power connections. Power Delivery is untested in this setup.
  • The Gigabyte GC-ALPINE RIDGE has been tested. Supply 3.3V (from SATA) to the Force Power pin through an 8.2kΩ pull-up resister. Write 0x0D to PCIe register at 0x54C in the PCIe config space of the hidden Alpine Ridge device in EFI before booting macOS. GC-ALPINE RIDGE works with USB 2.0 devices without requiring an external USB 2.0 controller.
• Other 3.1 hardware tested to work at sustained SS speed are:
  • Ableconn PU31-1A1C (card)
  • Satechi B01FWT2N3K 2.5" (drive enclosure)
  • AKiTiO Thunder3 Duo Pro (dual 2.5 or 3.5" raid drive enclosure)
• Other 3.1 hardware tested to work at sustained SS+ speed are:
  • OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini (dual 2.5" raid drive enclosure)
• At SS speed, several ASM1351 drive enclosures tested did overheat and stop working. This is not the fault of whatever card you are using.

• 20 Gbps using two lanes.
• USB-C only because USB-A only has 1 lane.
• USB 3.2 gen 2x2 transfers bits at SuperSpeed+ (SS+) x2. This is 20 Gbps using 128b/132b encoding on two lanes which means bytes are transferred at 19.39 Gbps or 2424.24 MB/s (not including USB protocol overhead). This is greater than PCIe 1.0 x8 and PCIe 2.0 x4 (16 Gbps or 2000 MB/s) and PCIe 3.0 x2 (15.75 Gbps or 1969.23 MB/s) (not including PCIe protocol overhead).
• Considering protocol overhead, you may see up to approximately 16 Gbps or 2000 MB/s if the USB controller is not limited by PCIe. Otherwise, you'll only see up to approximately 12.2 Gbps or 1530 MB/s if you are limited by PCIe (as is the case with PCIe 1.0 x8, PCIe 2.0 x4, PCIe 3.0 x2).
• Above numbers are only estimates. More testing is required.
• For maximum 20 Gbps performance, you need a PCIe 3.0 x4 slot, as in a MacPro7,1 or a Thunderbolt 3 enclosure. Another possibility is multiple controllers connected to a PCIe 3.0 switch with at least x8 upstream for PCIe 2.0 or x16 upstream for PCIe 1.0.
• It is unknown whether macOS will support the 20 Gbps mode. According to the testing linked below, GenericUSBXHCI.kext can use the 20 Gbps mode.
• ASM3242 chipset cards:
  • The ASM3242 uses a PCIe 3.0 x4 connection. The ASM3242 is superior to the ASM1142, ASM2142, and ASM3142 in the Mac Pro because of the x4 connection. The ASM2142 and ASM3142 may get close for 10 Gbps mode if they are connected with a PCIe 3.0 switch.
  • Ableconn PEX-UB159 (untested). It says it requires macOS 10.15.3 Catalina which implies that gen2x2 is supported starting from that version of macOS?
  • ORICO PE20-1C USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (testing incomplete: #2,836 #2,843 #2,848)
  • GigaByte GC-USB 3.2 GEN2X2 (untested)
  • SIIG Single USB 3.2 Type-C Gen 2x2 20G PCIe Card - USB adapter (untested)
  • etc.
• USB4/Thunderbolt 4 ports:
  • USB 3.2 gen 2x2 may be optionally supported by USB4.
  • The M1 Macs support USB4 and Thunderbolt (Apple cannot call it Thunderbolt 4 since the M1 Macs only support one display from a Thunderbolt port). It is unknown if they support USB 3.2 gen 2x2.

• 40 Gbps using two lanes.
• Uses USB-C because USB-A only has 1 lane.
• Similar to Thunderbolt 3 (supports USB 3.1 gen 2, DisplayPort 1.4, DisplayPort 1.4 and PCIe 3.0 tunnelling over Thunderbolt) but adds USB 3.x tunnelling and optionally USB 3.2 gen 2x2. PCIe tunnelling and Thunderbolt support are optional in USB4.
• USB4 is clocked slightly slower (10 or 20 Gbps per lane) than Thunderbolt 3 (10.3125 or 20.625 Gbps per lane).
• USB4 Host Interface controllers have a PCIe class code of 0c:03:40. macOS doesn't have a driver for this yet. Since the USB4 spec is public, anyone could make a driver (similar to GenericUSBXHCI.kext) as long as the PCIe registers match the spec.
• USB4 ports (CPUs with integrated Thunderbolt and don't have PCIe class code 0c:03:40):
  • M1 Macs
  • Ice Lake Macs (unknown if USB4 is an option - Intel hinted that these could do USB4 though)
  • Tiger Lake PCs support Thunderbolt 4 (Hackintoshable yet?) (unknown if USB4 is an option - but if Ice Lake can then these should too)
  • etc.
• Thunderbolt 4 chipset cards:
  • The Intel JHL8540 Maple Ridge Thunderbolt 4 controller uses PCIe class code 0c:03:40. It supports all the USB4 stuff and also Thunderbolt. It includes a USB 3.1 gen 2 XHCI (PCIe class code 0c:03:30) which can be used in macOS.
  • ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 (tested) Seems to work well for USB 3.1 gen 2, DisplayPort Alt Mode (USB-C adapters and docks), and DisplayPort over Thunderbolt (e.g. Thunderbolt to Dual DisplayPort Adapter).
  • Gigabyte GC-MAPLE RIDGE (untested)
  • ASRock Thunderbolt 4 AIC (untested)
  • etc.
• Other USB4 chipset cards:
  • none so far
  • etc.

texem said:

With ML 10.8.2 running, there is a third-party kext free solution.

See here : http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/283479-orinico-usb-30-card/page__st__20#entry1862039

works perfect without any patching here in MP 2010

Click to expand...

Macman45 said:

So at present there is no direct Thunderbolt cable to Thunderbolt connection for the Pro? The USB is going to create a bottleneck for me for sure.

Click to expand...

texem said:

ORICO PFU3-2P f.i.

(see thread in other forum I wrote above)

Click to expand...

JimT1701 said:

Do you recommend any specific card with the Fresco chipset?

Click to expand...