USB 3.0 on Windows XP via PCIe card?

[ravihpa]

Hi guys,

I did a site-wide Google search before posting my query here but couldn't find proper answers.

I have an Intel D945GCNL mobo and just now downloaded it's tech specs from Intel's website, which shows that my mobo has...

• One PCI Express* x1 bus add-in card connector
• One PCI Express x16 bus add-in card connector

This enables me to install a 3.0 USB PCIe card on my machine, but my only problem is due to work softwares (company softwares), I am unable to upgrade past Windows XP.

So now my query is, if I get any of those generic or branded 3.0 USB PCIe cards, will I get proper USB 3.0 transfer speeds on Windows XP ? I have a Seagate Backup Plus 1TB 3.0 USB external HDD

Also, I have a genuine Windows XP with SP3 installed and up to date

Any help in this regards would be highly appreciated.

Thanx a lot in advance. Desperately waiting for a reply

 

[mfenn]

Yes, you can get an add-in PCIe controller to go into your PCIe x1 slot. It comes with Windows XP drivers.

Your board only has PCIe Gen1, so your cards will be limited to 250 MB/s. That's not really a big deal if you only have a single drive since the drive itself can only do about 110 MB/s.

 

[ravihpa]

Yes, you can get an add-in PCIe controller to go into your PCIe x1 slot. It comes with Windows XP drivers.

Your board only has PCIe Gen1, so your cards will be limited to 250 MB/s. That's not really a big deal if you only have a single drive since the drive itself can only do about 110 MB/s.

Hi,

Thanx for the input. By the way, my x16 port is empty and not used since I already have on-board graphics, so my next query is...

Do you think my speeds will increase or support more drives if I get a USB 3.0 PCIe x4 card like this one...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16816115104

OR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16816115126

I know the above cards are Gen2 but will it improve performance if I plug these into my Gen1 x16 PCIe slot ?

Thanx a lot for help

 

[yinan]

Convert the work machine into a VM and run Windows 7 bare metal, best of both worlds

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Convert the work machine into a VM and run Windows 7 bare metal, best of both worlds

Not a bad idea per se, but its a potential minefield and I severely doubt that the IT department in question will go along with that...

 

[yinan]

They would never really know.

 

[mfenn]

Hi,

Thanx for the input. By the way, my x16 port is empty and not used since I already have on-board graphics, so my next query is...

Do you think my speeds will increase or support more drives if I get a USB 3.0 PCIe x4 card like this one...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16816115104

OR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16816115126

I know the above cards are Gen2 but will it improve performance if I plug these into my Gen1 x16 PCIe slot ?

Thanx a lot for help

A single drive's speed will not increase by going with a x4 card. Neither will multiple drives if only one is being heavily accessed at a time. If you heavily use multiple drives at the same time, then yes a x4 card would be faster.

It should work fine in your x16 slot, but some motherboards have weird BIOS bugs related to putting non-GPU cards into the first x16 slot.

 

[ravihpa]

Convert the work machine into a VM and run Windows 7 bare metal, best of both worlds

Not a bad idea per se, but its a potential minefield and I severely doubt that the IT department in question will go along with that...

They would never really know.

I would so love to do that but I can't take any risks. My livelihood depends on it Might as well get a laptop later in the future

A single drive's speed will not increase by going with a x4 card. Neither will multiple drives if only one is being heavily accessed at a time. If you heavily use multiple drives at the same time, then yes a x4 card would be faster.

It should work fine in your x16 slot, but some motherboards have weird BIOS bugs related to putting non-GPU cards into the first x16 slot.

Thanx a lot for the info. I actually went through the D945GCNL manual and it said and I quote...

The Intel 945G chipset contains two separate, mutually exclusive graphics options. Either the GMA950 graphics controller (contained within the 82945G GMCH) is used, or a PCI Express x16 add-in card can be used. When a PCI Express x16 add-in card is installed, the GMA950 graphics controller is disabled.

If I manage to get my hands on a 4x card on trial basis (may be borrow one from a friend), will give it a shot. If not, I'll just order the 1x card

Thank you so much for all the help guys. Really appreciate the effort