Question from Shelley Y.: Hi Rick. I read your article about and I was wondering if they can be added to a Mac too? My computer is an older Mac Pro MC560LL/A and it only has USB 2.0 ports. I’d really like to be able to use a USB 3.0 hard drive with this computer.
My question is can I add some USB 3.0 ports to my Mac Pro? Rick’s answer: Yes, you sure can Shelley, and it’s very easy to do. What’s more, it won’t cost you very much to do it. All you have to do is purchase a USB 3.0 expansion card and install it in an empty expansion slot. Just make sure you buy a card that’s designed to work with a Mac Pro instead of a PC.
[Optimized for Mac Pro, 4 Ports] Inateck 4 Ports PCI-E to USB 3.0 Expansion Card for Mac Pro (Early 2008 to 2012 Late Version) - Interface USB 3.0 4-Port Express Card Desktop for Windows XP/7/8/ Mac OS 10.8.2 or Above - No Additional Power Connection Needed.
But before we go any further, are you aware that USB 3.0 is backward compatible with USB 2.0? That means you could always just plug a USB 3.0 external hard drive into one of your Mac’s USB 2.0 ports if you wanted to and it’ll work just fine. But there’s a downside to doing that: The drive will transfer data back and forth with the computer at the much slower USB 2.0 speed, essentially negating the advantage of using a fast USB 3.0 drive. For that reason I recommend going ahead and adding some USB 3.0 ports to your computer as originally planned so you can take advantage of the much faster USB 3.0 speed. I only told you about the backward compatibility because I want you to be aware of all of your options.
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I did a little research and discovered that there are several USB 3.0 expansion cards available for Mac Pros. Plugs into an empty PCI-E slot and it will add 4 USB 3.0 ports to your computer. And by the way, you also have the option to skip USB 3.0 and add some USB-C 3.1 ports to your Mac Pro instead by installing from Ableconn. As you can see, you should have no trouble at all adding USB 3.0 or even USB-C 3.1 ports to your Mac Pro Shelley. Bonus tip: Want to make sure you never miss one of my tips?
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Just click one of the handy social media sharing buttons below. Great answer. Was concerned about the Inateck USB 3.0 card you linked to being compatible with the most recent OS but it looks like a reviewer has it going with High Sierra just fine! Can you please clarify one thing: “be sure to connect the included SATA power cable” — I don’t see any ‘power cables’ on the product photos — is that part of the card’s connection to the port? Or a separate cable?
Just want to make sure I’ve got everything together before I pop open my cheese grater.