Customer Reviews

Syba SD-VIA-5U 5-port (4+1) USB 2.0 PCI Card, VIA Chip

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I have window 7 pro x64 on my Pc, i ran out of Usb port on my dell xps so i decided to get this Usb pci card. it work right after the OS is loading up, no problem at all.

Tired of that slow usb connection warning each time you plug in your external hard drive? Legacy systems usually have usb1, upgrade to faster usb2 just by inserting this card into an open pci slot. XP installs it automatically without additional drivers. I searched all over the web and as usual the best price on was here for $7.

The card arrived well packaged. Installation was a snap and both the Windows XP and Mint Linus OSs found it with no problem.

OK, so this isn't really a "4+1" USB card. It's a 3+1, or a 4+0...your choice. The internal port, when in use (say, with a wi-fi adapter mounted to it), will conflict with port 2 (farthest to the right, looking at the back of the PC when installed), causing both ports to become dysfunctional when use of both ports is attempted simultaneously. Best of all, the only way to reactivate these two ports is to physically remove and reinstall the card. Thus, "4+1" isn't exactly truth in advertising (note: this fact is written on the card itself [USB 1 & 2 are shared]). Perhaps they could put this somewhere in the description, as well? Oh, wait...they did. "...sharing with an external port..." Perhaps they could add to this "do not attempt to use both at the same time, as both will become dysfunctional and require reinstallation of the card." There...much better. Perhaps this would have saved me the trouble of thinking that the first card was broken/dysfunctional, then ordering and installing a second card to find that the issue persisted...hopefully you won't make this mistake as well. Perhaps they could also have noted this somewhere on the slot itself? Maybe "do not use this port if internal port in use"...? Just thoughts, here...

p.s. since no one else has mentioned these very important design traits, I wonder if I'm the first person that has attempted to make use of the internal port (on an always-on basis)...

I have been looking for a USB PCI card that is compatible for windows 7. I upgraded my OS to windows 7 and the one that was installed on my computer wasn't compatible. I was hesitated at first because of the price. I did get one and installed it in less than 1 minute! Driver automatically installed. Awesome item and definitely worth the price!

I needed some extra USB 2.0 ports, and this card fit the bill. I run Windows 7 SP1 x86, and all I did was shut down, pop in the card, reboot, and drivers installed by itself. Didn't need the disc or anything. Shipping was fast, and all is good.

It is sad that I got this, not for expansion, but for upgrade. We are on the cusp of seeing USB 3.0, and I am just now getting to experience the advantages of a USB 2.0 port. FML... Works great

Many of us have been frustrated by the phrase "Plug and Play" but guess what! This product is it! All I had to do was plug it into a PCI slot and XP took care of the rest. Works great!

I bought this PCI usb 2.0 card in order to give my older computer the ability to run modern usb 2.0 devices instead of the 1.1 it had onboard. I like to be cheap, but buying this cheap hardware was a mistake.

It installed easily, and the drivers installed right away. I thought all would be good, but it was not. The first thing I noticed was the connections were loose and did not hold a device well. There is a lot of wiggle room, which makes me wonder how well the data is being read.

I wanted to use the new ports firstly on my usb hard drive, but after I plug it in the first time and take it out, it will not read the drive again until I do a check on it through another computer. I've never had a problem like this before. Now I just plug in the hard drive to the usb 1.1 port in order to save the heartache.

I also wanted to use the new 2.0 ports for a usb wireless adapter I bought. It also plugged in and worked fine, but then I noticed it kept cutting in and out of reception from my wireless router. It also sat in there so loose that i was afraid of it coming out every time I moved the computer. After losing reception several times in an hour, I just decided to plug that also into the onboard 1.1 usb port, which is working great. No thanks to this USB adapter.

The only reason I am keeping this card is because it technically works, and the computer I have it in is not my main computer, so I don't use it for much. I would not buy this again.

Bought one of these about a year ago, it worked the first time I tried it in a XP computer. I used it to download music, video, data from old computers I was working on for customers. I used that card in about 5 different computers without any hassle. Eventually I had to give the card up as a customer needed one because none of her usb ports worked any more. Snapped it in and everything worked perfect. I like this card so much I bought 3 more 4 or 5 months ago and I have been using them ever since. Windows XP gave me no issues and already had the drivers installed on all service pack 2 computers I tested it on. One feature I like was the internal usb port, allowed me to hook my hard drive, fans, and accessories with the side of the case off. Also tested the card with all ports full (1 hard drive, 2 flash drives, 1 keyboard, 1 mouse) little bit of lag on transferring files which is normal, but no issue with running any of the devices. Overall this is a great card for the price and if works on many old computers that do not have usb 2.0....Thanks Amazon