USB expansion card is not compatible on Gigabyte GA-970A-D3

[Mr.Ryszard]

Right now I am using the new Gigabyte GA-970A-D3 motherboard. I have installed the USB 2.0 expansion card. Whenever I plug a device in, the system shows a message that device can work faster if it is connected into USB 2.0 socket. So think that expansion card is not compatible with Windows 7 x64. I am going to buy USB3.0 card but before that I would like to know whether the motherboard is supported or not?

[Himalayan]

I don’t think that there is any problem using the USB card in this motherboard either it may be USB 2.0 or USB 3.0. There is no reason you can give that USB card is not working in theory. But sometimes you can notice incompatibilities. This might be due to the BIOS version or the drivers. There are many people who have already installed the USB3.0 cards and it is working fine. Just make sure that you have got a branded one which is Windows 7 compatible.

[Ramona19]

Right now I have installed the white PCI slot. The Gigabyte notes tell that this is slower than USB 2.0. So I think that due to this I am getting error. Here what I have on my motherboard:

• PCIE x1 slots: Usually these slots are white and they are 1 1/4 inches long. The manual says that these are PCI Express 2.0 standard so the throughput is 500Mb/s which is same as USB 2.0
• PCI slots: These are also white and 3 inches long. Either 133Mb/s or 266Mb/s throughput.

[Gimbya]

The PCI slots are just less than 3.5" long. On the other hand PCIE x1 slots are almost 1" long. However the PCIE x4 slots at 4.24" which is similar to PCIE x8 and x16 slots. All are differ in voltages they output. Since you are using the USB2.0 card, it is hard to say which slot is compatible. PCI and PCIE interchangeable. If the card is meant for PCi only, then you should put it on PCI slot. If the card is PCIE compatible, then you could have more choice. The USB3.0 expansion cards are PCIE only because you can get plenty of throughputs.

[Cain]

Gigabyte has launched GA-USB3 PCI Express expansion card which is compatible with old and current system which will facilitate USB 3.0. It is offering to speed enthusiasts. It has two external USB 3.0 ports using an NEC USB 3.0 controller chip and powers using the 4-pin power socket. The 4 pin power socket is for adding extra power if only required by USB 3.0.