How to choose the right USB 2.0 PCI adapter card?

[Art Vandelay]

I need to get a USB 2.0 adapter card to use with an
external USB HDD because my mboard only has USB 1.1.

I want to spend as little as possible, but I don't want to end
up with a crappy card.

At places like NewEgg, I see cards for as little as $7 and
as much as $60, with brand names like Koutech, Link
Depot, Heisei, GWC, Kingwin, Zonet, Hawking, Apollo,
D-Link, Siig, PPA, Macally, Belkin, and Adaptec. I've
never even heard of some of these companies.

My questions are:

1. Some cards are PCI 2.1 compatible and some are
PCI 2.2 compatible. How can I tell what my mboard
has? There is no info in the manual or on the Shuttle
website that mentions PCI version.

2. Are some chipsets more reliable than others? I've
seen ALi, VIA, and NEC. The Adaptec cards don't
specify which chipset they use.

3. Is it necessary to spend $40 to $50 to get a decent
card?

Thanks,
Art V.

 

[Timothy Daniels]

I need to get a USB 2.0 adapter card to use with an
external USB HDD because my mboard only has USB 1.1.

I want to spend as little as possible, but I don't want to end
up with a crappy card.

At places like NewEgg, I see cards for as little as $7 and
as much as $60, with brand names like Koutech, Link
Depot, Heisei, GWC, Kingwin, Zonet, Hawking, Apollo,
D-Link, Siig, PPA, Macally, Belkin, and Adaptec. I've
never even heard of some of these companies.

Part of a product's price is to support customer service.
I have been using an ATA/133 PCI card made by SIIG
now for a year with no problems with it at all, and SIIG's
technical support has always returned my email inquiries,
and I've always been able to get an answer when I called
their Silicon Valley headquarters. You can buy the following
USB 2 PCI adapter
http://siig.com/product.asp?pid=305
for less than $20 (plus tax and shipping) from the following
online stores:
http://www.nextag.com/Siig_usb_2_0~56843416z0znzzz1zzsiig_usbzmainz2-htm

SIIG also makes combo cards with USB 2 and Firewire, etc.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Bruce Mckown]

I need to get a USB 2.0 adapter card to use with an
external USB HDD because my mboard only has USB 1.1.

This site may help.

http://www.usbman.com/Guides/usb_2 pci cards.htm

 

[Eric Gisin]

Doesn't matter, they are practically identical.

 

[larrymoencurly]

I need to get a USB 2.0 adapter card to use with an
external USB HDD because my mboard only has USB 1.1.

I want to spend as little as possible, but I don't want to end
up with a crappy card.

At places like NewEgg, I see cards for as little as $7 and
as much as $60, with brand names like Koutech, Link
Depot, Heisei, GWC, Kingwin, Zonet, Hawking, Apollo,
D-Link, Siig, PPA, Macally, Belkin, and Adaptec. I've
never even heard of some of these companies.

2. Are some chipsets more reliable than others? I've
seen ALi, VIA, and NEC. The Adaptec cards don't
specify which chipset they use.

The experts at www.usbman.com and www.everythingusb.com say that the
best USB 2.0 chips are by NEC, and Adaptec and Belkin cards are some
that use them. NEC chips can be identified by being about 1" square
(160 pins). One of those websites said that the worst chip was ALi's,
which is about 1/2" square (64 pins), and they require Windows 98SE or
newer because with older versions of Windows they'll work only in USB
1.1 mode. If the chip is oblong, about 5/8" x 7/8" (about 128 pins),
then it's by VIA, but there are two kinds, the VT6202 and the newer
VT6212. My VT6202 card wouldn't work with some older mobos
(ironically one based on a VIA chipset -- Intel and SiS chipsets
worked fine with it) and caused them to be dead (no permanent damage),
but the VT6212 was OK and apparently is a lot faster. I had some
compatibility problems with the VT6202 card, just as USBman.com
predicted: a USB 2.0 scanner wouldn't work at all, and some USB 1.1
flash readers and drives would abort long data transfers. I couldn't
test the newer VT6212 card with the scanner, but those USB 1.1 flash
devices seemed to work OK with it.

www.pricewatch.com lists several NEC-based cards for $7-15, delivered,
but avoid one of the first dealers listed, Alpha Business
International, because they shipped me the wrong card (VIA VT6212, in
a box with a picture of an NEC card) and wouldn't do anthing about it
(e-mails never answered, no solution when phoned; thank goodness for
credit card chargebacks).

 

[Art Vandelay]

Thanks to all who replied.

I just found an Adaptec card for $9.99 after the rebate
at CompUSA.