-
USB 3.0 PCI card – Highpoint vs Cal Digit
I need to purchase 8 USB 3.0 PCI cards for different Mac Pro Towers. After doing a little research, it seems like Cal Digit and Highpoint are the two best. I was wondering if anybody can recommend a specific one or has any information that can useful.
The macPro towers we have range from 2008 -2010 and run everything from 10.6 – 10.8
The main use of these ports is to transfer data quicker than the firewire 800 ports.
The drives we use are G-tech and G-Raids with the Usb 3.0 ports.
Also, can someone tell me what the different Pci ports inside the MacPro towers do? One says 4x/raid, one says 4x and one says 16x.
thanks
-
3 Replies
-
I went with the CalDigit FASTA-6GU3 because it had both USB3 and eSATA on the same card. I have noticed that there are sleep/wake issues with the USB3 ports, but i havent been able to figure out if its the card or the drives I’m using. Other than that, it works great and I have quite a few clients using them too. I see there’s a new Pro version. I have the older one.
the top slop marked 4x/RAID is for Apple’s RAID card, if you have it (it’s a piece of junk). Otherwise both the top slots at 4x speed are the same. any PCIe cards you put in these slots will run at a max of 4x speed. the Caldigit card is 4x. the 2 bottom slots are 16x and run at a max speed of 16x, but can handle any card. these would be for high speed cards such as graphics, SAS/Fiber storage, Red Rocket, etc.
e
Eric Hansen
Production Workflow Designer / Consultant / Colorist / DIT
https://www.erichansen.tv -
Gotcha! thanks for the input.
-
it looks like the Caldigit FASTA-6GU3 Pro needs a minimum of 10.7
not sure if all the cards will be like that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if USB3 has issues on an OS that old
e
Eric Hansen
Production Workflow Designer / Consultant / Colorist / DIT
https://www.erichansen.tv
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up