PCI Express to 4 Port USB 3.0 Controller Card Review

https://www.gearbest.com/other-pc-parts/pp_448708.html
Price: 8.69$

For desktop computers a large number of USB ports is already a necessity, because almost all the peripheral devices now are using USB.

In my case, it's a mouse, a keyboard, a webcam and a printer. These 4 devices took all the ports provided by the motherboard manufacturer. But apart from them, there is still a WiFi adapter that is sticking out of the front panel, as the computer is using a wireless internet connection. And if you have to insert a flash drive, then you have to disable something.

There is a solution to this problem, and it has additional advantages – support of USB3.0 devices high speed.

Unpacking

PCIE USB30 card arrived in a thin cardboard box with good printing.

 

 

On the package, there are key features of the card and supported operating systems:

• Card interface: PCI-Express card standard 2.0
• Supports speeds up to 5Gbps
• Supports USB3.0, USB2.0 devices
• Each port supplies up to +5V/900mA
• Driver supports DOS/LINUX/WINDOWS98/2K/XP/WIN7/WIN8/WIN10 (data from the driver disk)

 

 

In the box there was a PCIE card in an antistatic bag and a mini CD with drivers.

 

The adapter is quite modest in size, and has 4 USB3 ports. It also requires extra power. Soldering is well-made, no comments.

 

 

PCI Express to 4 Port USB 3.0 Adapter is made on the four-port host controller for USB3.0 VIA Labs VL805-Q6. For additional power it’s using a typical 4 pin Molex connector.

 

 

 

Disassemble the computer case and prepare some place for installation. 2 short white connectors are needed to install PCI-Express.

 

 
Also find one free Molex connector for additional power supply of the adapter.

 

The installation caused no difficulties. The only downside is that there was no screw to secure the card, I had to look it up separately.

 

The way it looks after installation.

 

 


Drivers installation

When I started the computer, Windows 7 started to install the driver (the card supports plug&play). However, I decided to install the drivers from the disc additionally. Automatic or manual installation takes just a few minutes.

 

 

 


After installation, carry out some testing. Plug in an USB3 flash drive in any of the 4 new connectors and run CristalDiskMark.

 

The results of the same drive, but connected to an USB2 connector on the motherboard.

 

As you can see from the examples, the rate is clearly higher with USB3, and already depends on the speed limit of the USB flash drive. For faster devices the results will be even better.

Summary

PCI Express to 4 Port USB 3.0 Controller fully met my requirements, and I was even further pleased with the ease of setup of the device.
Now the computer has 4 extra USB ports, and not ordinal, but high-speed USB3.0!