USB 3.1 Gen 1 PCIe Expansion Card recommendations

[Kenadian]

As usual I've come to a point where I'm fresh out of USB ports and in desperate need of more. Sadly this is a repeat issue that plagues every PC I build exacerbated by the fact I power my Live-stream lighting via USB as well.

I've yet to own a USB Hub that has ever worked perfectly for more than 28 seconds so I think an internal USB PCIe expansion card may be the best bet.

Ideally I'd like USB 3.1 Gen 1 but whether or not that's necessary I remain unsure? I won't be powering a mouse or keyboard however I could use it for other controllers such as HOTAS or Wheel/Pedals.

I'd like at least 4 USB ports available.

I've read that it may be best to purchase a card with dedicated 5 GB/s channels else the card will split bandwidth between all. Not sure if this is an issue to be honest but worth mentioning.

Oh, and they're not cheap either.

This is what I've been looking at so far priced Low to High:

1. NewerTech MAXPower 4-Port USB 3.1 Gen 1 PCIe Controller Card: Up to 5 Gb/s total data transfer speed which I'm guessing is split as more devices are plugged in? $51.00 CDN.
2. Startech PEXUSB3S44V 4 Port PCI Express (PCIe) SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Card Adapter w/ 4 Dedicated 5Gbps Channels - UASP - SATA / LP4 Power: $124 CDN.
3. Vantec 4-Port Dedicated 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 PCIe Host Card with Dual Controller for PCIe x4/x8/x16 Slot Black/Silver Black/Silver (UGT-PCE470-2C): $143.00 CDN
4. StarTech.com 4 Port USB 3.1 PCI-e Card - 10Gbps - 4X USB w/ Two Dedicated Channels - PCI Express Expansion Card / Adapter (PEXUSB314A2V): $231.00 CDN.

I feel like Option 2 and 4 are near identical except Option 2 is USB 3.0 instead of 3.1.

Lastly, down the road it could have VR plugged into it.

Any help in the matter would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ogami Itto]

Couldn't find any of those cards with great ratings and I've got no personal experience, but what about this:? Don't know why you'd have no luck with hubs. Good luck.

 

[ElektroVodka]

Yeah. i'd rather go the Ogami way with a powered hub. Have the stream lights run over the powered hub (They don't use bandwidth just power) and have your low data throughput peripherals like a mouse and keyboard in that same hub.
I always make sure that USB with high data throughput gets directly connected to the mobo (Warthog, Vive etc.)

Also i don't think it really matters if every port on the hub supports 5GB/s as it is all getting pushed through 1 port on the pc side anyway (Which is limited to 5GB/s total)

I can't make any suggestions on what to get because i usually just grab mine from a 1$ bin and end up using it for ages.

 

[ShadniX]

Kinda late to this, I guess, but I was in a similar boat once and tried internal USB cards but always had issues with that. So, I went down the USB hub route as well. I got myself one of these ( https://www.amazon.de/dp/B076YRSWGW/ ) in January 2019 and never had any issues with it, with currently 5 devices plugged into it.

Seems like the model is also available in Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B076YN6CSG/ - If you plan to get that one, keep in mind that you can choose which cable it comes with (USB-A or USB-C).