On April 4, 2014 in USB 3.0 was added to the 2013 Mac Pro. For the rest of us, who are still rocking the older gear, adding a dedicated USB 3.0 card isn’t something Apple want to offer. There are a few of dedicated USB 3.0 cards for the Mac Pro, such as • at an eye watering £137 • the at £120 (ouch!) • or the Inateck KT4004 at about $26 (but only available in the USA as far as i can tell). However, other Inateck USB 3.0 cards are also available in the UK, and although the cards over here do require an external power supply, they are easy to fit and better still, they are based on the FL1100 FRESCO Logic chip. This is the same device used in Apple’s new Mac Pro machines so no drivers are required for Mountain Lion or Mavericks – it just works™ – it’s the cheapest way to add USB 3 to a Mac pro I have found. Inateck KTU3FR-4P USB 3.0 Expansion Card showing the FL1100 Chip The bits you will need to add USB 3 to a Mac Pro for under 25 quid • – a whopping £18.99 from Amazon • – £5 • Dremmel or a file (only minor surgery required) Step 1 – Prepare the power lead Getting power to the board requires a 15pin SATA feed.

This is based on the standard power connector used by SATA disks. A simple 12 inch (which is plenty if you are going to pick up the power from the drive bay nearest the back of the machine) lead should suffice. The drive bays have a combined SATA power and data connector as they are intended, obviously, for hard disks. In order to get the extension lead to plug in we need to do a little surgery. Enter the Dremmel – or a file. Modify the SATA power lead being careful not to damage the connector itself.

For several years, I have used an Orico PFU3-4P USB 3.0 4-Port PCI Express to USB 3.0 Host Controller Adapter card that I got from Amazon. Quick, stable, no issues with sleep with my 2010 Mac Pro. To connect to Mac Pro motherboard, I also purchased NSI LK-13814 15-pin SATA Male To 4-pin Molex Female Power Adapter Cable, and used the power from.

I run my app in full screen mode, so now I just leave it up thru the day - I am still only at about 12 GB of my 16 GB used with about 5 Mac apps also up, and I can 4-finger swipe to go right to the Windows app, and to go back to the Mac world. Integration is great - I do Shift Command 3 to snapshot a screen in Windows, and it drops on my Mac desktop. Printers, cut and paste, everything integrates. You can run in a window too of course, Cmd-Tab works to go to it even if full screen, etc., but like you I like seeing the full Windows desktop when I am using the Windows app. How do i install windows 11 for mac on a 2017 macbook pro.

As shown above just trim away the shoulder from one end of the male connector. This will not prevent a proper and secure location of the connection, because there is still the shoulder at the other end, and the tiny lip/key on the other end of the connection edge itself. Once you have doctored the lead correctly, and removed any debris.

Step 2 – Fit the male end into the drive bay SATA power socket Take the side panel off the Mac using the lever at the back. Pull out the drive caddy for the fourth drive bay (I’m assuming your aren’t already using it, otherwise you will have to work out how to get power from the CD/DVD drive with molex adaptors). Now take the extension lead male end (the one you just modified) and plug it into the hard drive bay power feed. Make sure you have the remaining large shoulder/locator on the outside of the connector (the yellow wire) and the orange one on the innermost side. It should fit snug and secure. Leave the other end dangling for now. The card fitted and almost ready to go That’s it – now just secure the expansion cards by refitting the expansion slot cover securing plate you removed at the start of Step 3.

Replace your side panel, and close the lever on the back of the machine, and that’s it – well done – you should be ready to go! Step 4 – Testing all is well Boot this baby up! There are no drivers to install, so the boot process should be as normal. Log in, and click on the Apple logo at the top left of the screen and choose About This Mac. Click the More Info button to open a window showing you your basic system information.

Click on the System Report button. Hi, thanks for this, I have an early 2008 Mac Pro which I’m looking to upgrade a bit, and as my new external hard drives have USB 3.0 ports I was looking to add that connectivity. Can I ask, why do I need to get the additional cable when the Inatek seems to come with cables? Also can I power 2 of these using the SATA power from a hard drive bay? Any other upgrades you can suggest for this model would be much appreciated.

Perhaps an SSD for the OS before I upgrade to Mavericks? New graphics card. BTW I’m not a techie but just trying to get most out of my existing kit. Steve, your a star!! I ordered the card and lead from Amazon UK using your links and they came in two days, lead first.