USB3 card for Mobo (W7 drivers ??)

jimbo45 · 17 Dec 2012

Hi there
I've been so amazed with the USB3 performance on my Laptop that I really would like to get a USB3 card for a desktop running Windows 7.

So questions for people running USB3 devices on Windows 7 (not Windows 8).

The Mobo itself doesn't have native USB3 connection so I'd have to have an expansion card for this. A 2 slot USB3 card would be just fine.

Two questions though

1) Is USB3 performance via an expansion card good
2) are there Windows 7 drivers for USB3.

The laptop is running Windows 8 and can say the USB3 performance is stunning with USB3 external HDD's --significant (and I mean SIGNIFICANT) improvement over USB2 or even the same USB3 disk plugged into a USB2 port.

Cheers
jimbo

TVeblen · 17 Dec 2012

The transfer speed through the PCI-e generation 2 or newer bus can be sufficient to handle USB3.
PCIe v2 has a 5GT/s (giga-threads - bandwidth) standard the same as USB3.

The driver issue is basically the problem with all drivers: well written drivers work and play nice with W7, poorly written drivers not so much. I can't imagine a product currently sold that would not have a W7 driver.
But using a well respected brand and checking reviews should point you towards the products that work well with W7.

One feature to look for is auxillary power (power connection from your power supply). It would be best to not be drawing operating and recharging power for drives and devices through the PCI-e bus.