USB 3.0 Cards

alphanumeric said:

Having or not having an extra power connector shouldn't affect the speed. If it's advertised as being USB 3.0 and has the logo it should operate at USB 3 speeds.

Disagree -- a Car will operate at its rated spec BUT ONLY IF YOU PUT GAS IN THE TANK.

I've found even with some external USB 2 devices they won't operate properly - especially through a USB hub unless extra power is supplied -- some external HDD's have a dual USB connector to draw more power from the computer as well.

(Actually you are correct -- My post is merely to say that without sufficient power the device WON'T work -- so this is probably a philosophical difference only. The net result in either case is that the device doesn't work so the speed it should operate at is irrelevant).

Cheers
jimbo

I was assuming the power connector had a power supply cable plugged into it.
So if both cards are certified for USB 3 speeds it shouldn't matter which one you buy. And obviously you need a USB 3 device to plug into it to get the USB 3 speeds. If the OP could post some links to these cards it might help sort some of this out. I'd be interested to see if it's a PCI versus PCIe thing.