NewerTech
MAXPower USB/eSATA 2x2 Host Adapter for Macs and PCs
Mac / PC / USB 3.0 / eSATA
Maximum Versatility
Designed specifically for OS X 10.8.3 and later, the MAXPower USB/eSATA 2x2 Host Adapter for Macs and PCs utilizes your computers built in xHCI drivers and is the perfect companion card for systems with Apple's current OS. For systems which are running 10.8.2 or earlier, a
MAXPower USB/eSATA 2x2 Host Adapter with custom driver is also available.
Maximum Integration
The power of USB 3.0 and SATA 6G high-speed interfaces are brought together on a single PCIe 2.0 card with the MAXPower USB/eSATA 2x2 host adapter. With both high-speed USB 3.0 and 6Gb/s eSATA connectivity, the MAXPower USB/eSATA host adapter provides connections to the latest technology. This highly integrated I/O card saves valuable PCIe slots while adding the throughput desired for demanding applications like video editing, audio mixing, and photography.
Maximum Performance
The MAXPower USB/eSATA 2x2 host adapter provides two eSATA ports that are compatible with the latest 6G technology such as SSDs, allowing for speeds up to 6Gb/s. It is fully compatible with SATA I (1.5G), SATA II (3G) and USB 2.0 and supports legacy devices, hubs, and external optical drives. Simple to integrate and operate, it requires no drivers and supports hot-plugging, eliminating the need to restart the computer when connecting or disconnecting a USB or SATA device.
Maximum Power
The MAXPower USB/eSATA 2x2 Host Adapter maximizes the performance potential of USB 3.0 and 6Gb/s SATA storage devices. The revolutionary, dedicated per-port performance architecture allows each device to run flat out without interference from other attached devices. Each of the two USB 3.0 ports can utilize the UAS (USB Attached SCSI) protocol to transfer data to and from USB storage devices such as hard drives, solid state drives (SSDs) and thumb/flash drives. Faster transfer speeds and lower CPU utilization can be achieved than with the slower queue system of BOT (Bulk Only Transport), which only provides single-task commands - each task must complete before the next begins.
For applications in servers or other specialized computers where space is limited, the MAXPower USB/eSATA 2x2 features a removable bracket design to fit into low profiles machines. The small size accommodates most Mac and PC workstations. Using less power than most PCIe cards, the MAXPower has been designed to run faster and cooler than other cards on the market.
All MAXPower products are designed with superior quality components for long life reliability and the USB/eSATA 2x2 card is no exception. Every component from the card to the cables has been tested to ensure optimum performance.
Important Note: Apple OS X Sleep not recommended with this card. Sleep should be disabled when using devices with this card as you may otherwise experience volume ejections when waking from sleep. This issue is not present under Windows. NewerTech has reported a potential xHCI bug to Apple regarding sleep and we hope that Sleep support will exist in the future.
Features
- PCI Express 2.0 x4
- Two USB 3.0 ports with Type A connectors (female)
- Two 6Gb/s eSATA Ports
- 20Gb/s transfer bandwidth
- Dedicated per-port performance architecture
- Optimized for all USB 3.0 & eSATA 6G/s storage devices
- Thunderbolt compatible
- Backwards compatible with USB 2.0 & 1.1, and eSATA 3Gb/s
- eSATA Hot-Swap and Hot-Plug
- Compliant with xHCI (Extensible Host Controller Interface) Specification v1.00 Thunderbolt™ Technology Enabled
Product Specifications
NewerTech Part Number
Hardware Requirements
- Intel-based Mac with available PCI Express 2.0 x4 lane slot
- Backwards comaptible with PCI Express 1.0a at reduced speeds*
Form Factor
Operating System Support
- Mac OS X 10.8.3 and later
- Windows 7, Windows 8** and later
Data Transfer Rate
- USB 3.0: up to 500MB/s per port
- eSATA: up to 500MB/s per port
- Up to 20Gb/s total card bandwidth.
Dedicated per port performance architecture fully utilizes the PCIe 2.0 x4 bandwidth
Bootable
- Via USB 3.0: No
- Via eSATA: No
Port Multiplication
- Via USB 3.0: No
- Via eSATA: No
External Connectivity
- x2 USB 3.0 Type A ports
- x2 eSATA 6Gb/s ports
Internal Connectivity
SuperSpeed USB 3.0
- Supports all USB communication speed data rate of Low-speed (1.5 Mbps) / Full-speed (12 Mbps) / High-speed (480 Mbps) / SuperSpeed (5Gbps)
- Supports all USB compliant data transfer type as follows; Control / Bulk / Interrupt
- Compliant with Intel's USB3.0 Host Controller Interface (xHCI) Specification revision 1.00
- UAS (USB Attached SCSI) enabled for multiple simultaneous data transfer requests
- Compatible with both USB 3.0 & USB 2.0 hubs
SATA 6Gb/s
- Compliant with Serial ATA Specification 3.0
- Supports all SATA communication speed data rate of 6.0 Gb/s, 3.0 Gb/s, 1.5 Gb/s
- Supports AHCI 1.0
- Supports Native Command Queuing (NCQ)
Hot Swappable
Hot Plugable
Thunderbolt™ Support
Notes
- In Mac OS X, you may experience disk ejections when waking from sleep. It is a known issue for add on PCIe cards used with Mac OS X. This issue is not present with Windows 7 or 8 operating systems. It is suggested that you manually eject USB 3.0 devices prior to putting your Mac to sleep.
- eSATA ports do not support port multiplication
- Bootcamp Compatibility: this card is not compatible with MacPro3,1 models that have both an OS X startup volume and a Windows Boot Camp startup volume installed. The computer will fail to boot either OS in this scenario.
Agency Approvals & Compliance
- FCC Rules, Part 15, Class B
- WEEE
- CE
- European Standard EN55022 (1998) Class B
- European Standard EN55024 (1998)
- RoHS Compliant
Dimensions
- 4.72" x 4.53" x 0.75" (12.0 x 11.5 x 1.9 cm)
Weight
Operating Temperature
- 0°C ~ 70°C (32°F ~ 158°F)
Non-Operating Temperature
- -65°C~ 150°C (-85°F ~ 302°F)
Relative Humidity
*Use of a PCIe 1.0 slot would reduce bandwidth to 1000MB/s (250MB/s per port)
**Enclosures using Oxford chipsets do not work over eSATA in Windows 8. No issues with USB 3.0.
Manufacturer provided specifications for Newer Technology p/n MXPCIE2E2U3 UPC#: 816643013488
Mac Pro 4-Core (Early 2008)
(January, 2008)
Model ID: MacPro3,1
2.8GHz
Mac Pro 8-Core (Early 2008)
(January, 2008)
Model ID: MacPro3,1
2.8GHz, 3.0GHz, 3.2GHz
Mac Pro 4-Core (Early 2009)
(March, 2009)
Model ID: MacPro4,1
2.66GHz, 2.93GHz, 3.33GHz
Mac Pro 12-Core (Mid 2012)
(June, 2012)
Model ID: MacPro5,1
2.4GHz, 2.66GHz, 3.06GHz
Mac Pro 6-Core (Mid 2012)
(June, 2012)
Model ID: MacPro5,1
3.33GHz
Mac Pro 4-Core (Mid 2012)
(June, 2012)
Model ID: MacPro5,1
3.2GHz
Mac Pro 12-Core (Mid 2010)
(July, 2010)
Model ID: MacPro5,1
2.66GHz, 2.93GHz
Mac Pro 8-Core (Mid 2010)
(July, 2010)
Model ID: MacPro5,1
2.4GHz
Mac Pro 6-Core (Mid 2010)
(July, 2010)
Model ID: MacPro5,1
3.33GHz
Mac Pro 4-Core (Mid 2010)
(July, 2010)
Model ID: MacPro5,1
2.8GHz, 3.2GHz
Xserve Quad-Core (Early 2009)
(April, 2009)
Model ID: Xserve3,1
2.26GHz
Xserve 8-Core (Early 2009)
(April, 2009)
Model ID: Xserve3,1
2.26GHz, 2.66GHz, 2.93GHz
OWC Mercury Helios
Thunderbolt PCIe
expansion chassis
PC Desktops
PCs compatible with the specifications listed.
Customer Ratings
Write a Review
4.7 / 5
58 out of 63 (92%) reviewers would recommend this product
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: zigangpan2002
Rating: 4/5
Good product! But seemed to have one flaw.
December 26, 2023
This is a good product. But, after I put my mac to sleep while not ejecting the disk (an OWC Mercury Elite Dual), the next time I wake up the computer, the mac complains that the disk was not properly ejected before disconnecting the drive. I don't know whether it is the problem with the PCIe Expansion Card or with the OWC Mercury Elite Dual.
This review is from NewerTech MAXPower 4-Port USB 3.2 (5Gb/s) PCIe Expansion Card.
Response from OWC, Support
December 26, 2023
Thank you for the feedback! We're thrilled to hear that you're loving your OWC Mercury Elite Dual. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the issue with ejecting the disk. Our team is here to help troubleshoot and find a solution for you. Please reach out to our customer support team, and we'll do our best to assist you. Thank you for choosing MacSales.com!
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: BlondTahr-4704
Rating: 5/5
It works
December 13, 2023
This pci card fit finally and didn’t need any drivers or software so I’m super happy it fit and has made my computers up to date, very pleased I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from NewerTech MAXPower 4-Port USB 3.2 (5Gb/s) PCIe Expansion Card.
Response from OWC, Support
December 13, 2023
Thank you so much for your fantastic review! We're thrilled to hear that the pci card fit perfectly and didn't require any additional drivers or software. It's great to know that it has helped bring your computers up to date. We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you again in the future.
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: victorpanlilio
Rating: 5/5
Does what it's supposed to
April 9, 2022
Installing it was a breeze: open up the MacPro 5,1, remove the retaining bar for PCI cards, plug the card in, put back the retaining bar, close up the MacPro, reattach cables, fire it up, and try a USB3 memory stick—it mounted on the desktop and I was able to transfer files much faster than using the built-in USB2 or FireWire800 ports. So now I can hook up an 8TB external USB3 drive instead of my much-slower Drobo FW800. I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from NewerTech MAXPower 4-Port USB 3.2 (5Gb/s) PCIe Expansion Card.
Response from OWC, Support
April 11, 2022
Thank you GentleWalrus-6399 for leaving your awesome feedback! We are so thrilled to hear that your new PCIe card is meeting all of your expectations and you are able to work at a much faster pace. We just wanted to reach back out and say thank you as your review means a lot to us. Have a great day!
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Ash
Rating: 5/5
Works in Catalina and Monterey. PCIe x2 slot, NOT x1
February 17, 2022
PCI Vendor ID 0x1B21 Device ID 0x1060
Works over Thunderbolt 1 & 3 in an Echo Express SE I, which fortunately has a 8x slot with 4 lanes attached.
Important to note that this WILL NOT FIT IN A x1 SLOT. It has an additional 4 pins (22 total, although 1 and 2 are combined) on the card edge for Lane 1 TX/RX, making this a x2 card. I don't know of any x2 slots anywhere, so you're going to NEED A x4 SLOT wherever this goes. They appear to be actually hooked up as it shows as a x2 card in FreeBSD 12 when I put it in my PC (which is how I discovered it wouldn't fit in an x1 slot). I've got a x1 card (a SIL3132 that doesn't work on recent macOS anymore, necessitating this new one) that I compared and measured against. 11mm past the notch vs 7mm. I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G Pro PCIe Expansion Card with 2 x eSATA 6G Ports.
Response from OWC, Support
February 18, 2022
Thank you so much for that recommendation. PCIe cards are a great way to add more functionality and usability to a computer whether it's by adding more ports, storage, or providing some other way to enhance a device. Glad to hear that this could be of help to you and let us know if you ever need any other solutions. :)
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: presley3-6947
Rating: 5/5
Works as advertised
December 6, 2021
It's really great to be able to update my 2009 Mac Pro to cope with certain modern demands like connecting multiple modern USB devices that demand a lot of resources, such as those I have that carry high resolution audio in both directions, along with MIDI and other data in just a single cable. This PCIe device solved that problem. It was easy to install and works great. I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from NewerTech MAXPower 4-Port USB 3.2 (5Gb/s) PCIe Expansion Card.
Response from OWC, Support
December 9, 2021
Always very nice to hear about keeping the classics going strong! Enjoy the new USB3 expansion and keep using your amazing Mac Pro 2009 as long as possible!
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: ThoughtfulPenguin-16820
Rating: 5/5
Wonderful
September 25, 2021
Item was easy to. Put in ! I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from NewerTech MAXPower 4-Port USB 3.2 (5Gb/s) PCIe Expansion Card.
Response from OWC, Support
September 28, 2021
Thank you for your feedback! Happy to hear install was easy.
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: frankfaarramirez
Rating: 5/5
Just as advertised
August 24, 2021
Just as advertised. This PCIe card went into a 2010 Mac Pro 12-core desktop and added 4 USB3 ports, breathing new life into my 11-year old machine that originally has USB2 ports. I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from NewerTech MAXPower 4-Port USB 3.2 (5Gb/s) PCIe Expansion Card.
Response from OWC, Support
August 25, 2021
Glad to hear your PCIe card is working well, please let us know if you have any questions!
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: livesoundguy
Rating: 5/5
Excellent addition to my old Mac Plus!
July 2, 2021
This card allows my MacPlus 4,1 to have the same or better USB speed that my current computers have!
And with NewerTech reliability, I don’t have to worry about it ever failing! I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from NewerTech MAXPower 4-Port USB 3.2 (5Gb/s) PCIe Expansion Card.
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: ElatedTortoise-6175
Rating: 5/5
EXCELLENT product!
May 20, 2021
Real plug and play hardware, simple and easy to install....just the right solution for a mac pro 2012 on High Sierra. I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from NewerTech MAXPower 4-Port USB 3.2 (5Gb/s) PCIe Expansion Card.
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: GleamingOrca-73715
Rating: 5/5
Great upgrade for MacPro 7,1
April 30, 2021
This card adds 4 USB 3.1 ports to my MacPro 7.1. Definitely the best bang-for-buck upgrade to this machine. I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from NewerTech MAXPower 4-Port USB 3.2 (5Gb/s) PCIe Expansion Card.
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: oldmac128
Location: Virginia
Age: 55-65
Experience Level: Home User
Owned Product: 3-4 months
Rating: 5/5
Bootable
September 19, 2020
While not as fast as usb 3 on my Mac pro 3,1, it has he advantage of supporting OS boot.
This allows me to use a toaster external bay for backing up and testing with out needing to open my Mac and place the drives into sleds and restart.
I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from (*) NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G Pro PCIe Expansion Card with 2 x eSATA 6G Ports.
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: wbg10
Location: Denton, TX
Age: Over 65
Experience Level: Power User
Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5
Using Two of These
July 31, 2020
I am using two of these in my MacPro5,1 to provide four external eSATA connections. They work reliably and get the job done. Thanks. I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G Pro PCIe Expansion Card with 2 x eSATA 6G Ports.
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: OleGaffer
Location: Maryland
Age: 55-65
Experience Level: Home User
Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 3/5
Disk Not properly ejected
February 11, 2020
Installation worked great and so I have a faster USB connection now. However, when my Mac Pro goes to sleep it powers down this USB 3.1 card and so the External Drive is improperly ejected. This isn't a problem with the original USB connections. This review is from NewerTech MAXPower 4-Port USB 3.2 (5Gb/s) PCIe Expansion Card.
Rating: 5/5
Great product
April 2, 2019
My mid-2012 MacPro is great except it lacks newer connection technologies like USB-C. FW800 at .8 gb/s was not cutting it. But this card has added eSATA speed of 6 gb/s, which compares favorably with USB 3.1/gen 2 (10 gb/s). It's especially fast if used with an SSD drive like OWC's Mercury Elite Mini that has an eSATA interface. I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G Pro PCIe Expansion Card with 2 x eSATA 6G Ports.
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: bennygale
Location: Detroit USA
Age: Over 65
Experience Level: Power User
Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 5/5
Excellent speed
July 23, 2018
In one of my two 2009(flashed 2010) MacPros. Speeds over 300 MB/sec, faster than the internal bus. I can't comment on what happens when the computer sleeps as the machine shuts down instead of sleeping. That's been the case for a long time, nothing to do with this card. I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from NewerTech MAXPower 4-Port USB 3.2 (5Gb/s) PCIe Expansion Card.
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: OMDDoudou
Location: France
Age: 55-65
Experience Level: IT Professional
Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 5/5
Nice in High Sierra without driver ! <);o)
October 13, 2017
Mac Pro Mi-2010, 2 x 2,66 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon, Installation = 30 seconds Setup = nothing ! Result = OK in High Sierra, 3x faster than firewire on my Mac And well, the life is beautiful! "Et voila, la vie est belle !" I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G Pro PCIe Expansion Card with 2 x eSATA 6G Ports.
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Alanlunchan
Location: Hong Kong
Age: 35-44
Experience Level: Home User
Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 3/5
Power Auto off!
August 8, 2017
I was disappointed it will auto power off when the Mac sleep, If i connect a HD to this adaptor, it is very not good ! This review is from NewerTech MAXPower 4-Port USB 3.2 (5Gb/s) PCIe Expansion Card.
Verified Buyer Top 250 Contributor
Reviewer: eanbadean
Location: Boston, MA
Age: 55-65
Experience Level: IT Professional
Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 5/5
Since we'll never see Thunderbolt on an old Mac Pro...
March 15, 2017
Has the flexibility of USB 3 and eSATA ports. It's not Thunderbolt but, for an old Mac Pro tower, it is just the thing. No drivers required. I would recommend this item to a friend!
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: 1BigWiel
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Age: 55-65
Experience Level: Home User
Owned Product: over 6 months
Rating: 5/5
Best RAID Set Up Yet
March 10, 2017
I replaced my Apple Mac Pro RAID card with this one, and it's been trouble free ever since. I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from NewerTech MAXPower RAID Mini-SAS 6G-1e1i PCIe Expansion Card.
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Shashin
Location: Japan
Age: 55-65
Experience Level: Power User
Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 5/5
It works!
February 27, 2017
After mistakenly purchasing the wrong card for my Mac Pro tower I replaced the card with this one. After installing the card, my Mac's screen went grey and went into recovery mode, just like it had with the previous card. After switching the SATA 6 card with my SSD on it to the top slot in the PCIe bus and installing this card underneath it, the Mac booted quickly and the card was put into immediate use with my new Mercury Elite QX2 raid drive. I let it churn in the background for a week to backup all four of my drives in my computer using the eSATA connection. Thanks to the great tech support people OWC for helping through all this and their gracious consideration in exchanging the previous card. I would recommend this card to anyone with a previous tower Mac who wants the higher speed busses offered with this card. I would recommend this item to a friend!
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: cammedypa
Location: Colorado
Age: Over 65
Experience Level: Home User
Owned Product: 3-4 months
Rating: 5/5
MaxPower POCIe eSATA Controller
February 12, 2017
I needed to connect my eSATA hard drive enclosure to my PC. I jut plugged it in and my computer recognized the drive right away. No problems. I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from (*) NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G Pro PCIe Expansion Card with 2 x eSATA 6G Ports.
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Flyboy
Location: VT
Age: Over 65
Experience Level: Power User
Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 4/5
Works but...
February 1, 2017
I installed this board in my Mac Pro 4,1 running 10.6.8 with no issues. I have no idea how fast it is on my external ssd, but it works fine, What I found is that it does NOT work through a usb3 hub, powered or not. I noticed on one hub description on Amazon that pcie usb3 ports are not compatible with their hubs, and I presume that applies to any usb3 hub. I went to the system profiler in OS X and found that this board is seen as a SCSI board and each port has its own SCSI address. That probably explains why usb3 devices cannot be daisy-chained from this pcie board. I guess it's a clever way to pry a high speed usb3 port onto an old system, but it does have a down side. I do not know if other pcie USB3 boards that are compatible with OSX 10.8.5 and above use the same trick since usb3 is native to those OS versions, if not the hardware. I have not checked to see if the same SCSI trick is is used for the SATA ports, that is, whether they access the system through scsi. Probably not, since SATA is native to the Mac Pro hardware. This review is from NewerTech MAXPower 2x2 USB + eSATA 6G PCIe Expansion Card for Mac OS X 10.6 to 10.8.2.
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: BassyBrooks
Location: New Jersey
Age: 45-54
Experience Level: IT Professional
Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 5/5
"The place to go if you really want to get going"
December 29, 2016
I've been a very long time satisfied customer of OWC now Mac sales. I can promise you that no matter how many internet searches you may go through seeking Apple/Mac technology or knowledge old and new, you will find yourself at Macsales.com. The truth of the matter is, Mac Sales is "The place to go if you really want to get going" I would recommend this item to a friend!
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