Test USB 3.0 Cards (A ADWITS, Inateck, and Syba)

[geerlingguy]

I'm adding this issue mostly so I can reference it from elsewhere.

For my initial Pi CM4 review video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUamq0ey8_M) and blog post (https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2020/raspberry-pi-compute-module-4-review), I reviewed these three USB 3.0 controller cards, and found:

• The Syba worked great, always giving full 5000 mbps superspeed for USB 3 devices, and didn't require any external power
• The Inateck worked sometimes, but not always. It would always mount devices, but sometimes a USB 3 device would mount at 480 mbps speeds.
• The cheap A ADWITS would not work unless you provided it external power, and it would sometimes mount USB 3 devices at 480 mbps just like the Inateck

From my blog post:

(From left to right:) The first was a generic "PCI-Experss" card from A ADWITS—and no, I that's not a typo, that's how it's spelled on the box—has the VL805 chip in it, but it only mounted a couple of my USB 3.0 drives at that rate. The others, like the fastest one I've tested on a Pi 4, mounted as a USB 2.0 device, and was very slow, but worked fine otherwise.

I had higher hopes for the 2 port Inateck card, but was nervous about the Fresco Logic chip on it. As it turns out, it had similar issues, where it would mount some drives at USB 3.0 speeds sometimes, but not always.

The best USB 3.0 card I tested was the Syba SD-PEX20199, and it even includes a USB Type-C slot! It mounted all my devices at USB 3.0 speeds, and worked perfectly with the Raspberry Pi. Just be careful plugging in power-hungry devices; it can only put through a little power since it shares the 12v power supply with the IO board itself!

[6by9]

I think I made the comment elsewhere, but anyway.
With the USB3 VL805 card I have (Tamkyo - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08HLKCLX4/), if the plug was pushed in too slowly then it negotiated at 480Mbit/s presumably as the high speed USB3 pairs hadn't connected, however it didn't then renegotiate when pushed fully in. I don't see this as a big failing as it is more down to the connector (and probably protocol), but it is worth bearing in mind.

[geerlingguy]

@6by9 - Woah; that's an interesting find! I'll have to do a little more testing, and see if it's the case with these cards. Luckily they don't require a recompile of the kernel to use, so it's quicker to test with them :D

[Zbrooklyn]

So this Syba SD-PEX20199 PCIe x1 USB 3.1 & 3.0 adapter

Does it support display on the USB type c or only file transfer

[6by9]

DisplayPort Alternate Mode on USB-C requires a GPU that supports a DisplayPort connection first.
https://www.bigmessowires.com/2019/05/19/explaining-4k-60hz-video-through-usb-c-hub/

[jamesy0ung]

I got my CM4Lite Wireless 4GB today and my card (VL805-USB3.0-VER1.0) works. It is not the 'A ADWITS' one and everything I have tested mounts at USB3 speeds if it is plugged in quickly enough.

[electronicnerd11]

Hi,
I did some design change in CMIO board and used VL805 instead of PCIe slot (similar to Raspberry Pi4) but it is not working. The circuit is almost similar to the PCIe cards available in the market, I used Rasp-Pi4 and logilink card for reference (https://www.reichelt.de/de/de/usb-controller-3-0-4-port-pci-express-karte-logilink-pc0057-p112409.html?trstct=pos_2&nbc=1&&r=1 ).
The only difference in this card and my design is the flash memory. I haven't used flash IC in my design because it wasn't used in the initial version of Raspberry Pi4. But when I checked logilink card circuitry, I found that flash memory has been used in it and it works properly with CMIO board PCIe slot.
I do not know what could be the probable reason of failure.
Does this IC VL805, without flash memory, require firmware upload on each boot?

[DiomedesDominguez]

Hey, @geerlingguy , have you tested a 7x usb one?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z34BJYH

[jamesy0ung]

Hey, @geerlingguy , have you tested a 7x usb one? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z34BJYH

It might work. According the the amazon page, it has a VL805 and a VL813 controller on board. According to this message, it might not work. https://www.spinics.net/lists/linux-usb/msg159005.html

[DiomedesDominguez]

Hey, @geerlingguy , have you tested a 7x usb one? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z34BJYH

It might work. According the the amazon page, it has a VL805 and a VL813 controller on board. According to this message, it might not work. https://www.spinics.net/lists/linux-usb/msg159005.html

So, it have 50% of working?

[drlohwk]

yes.. I need to know if the 7x USB with VL805 and a VL813 controllers works with CM4 IO Board. Can't wait for the findings..