Front bay SD card and USB

[Vitaljarv]

Is there a recommendation for a front bay SD card unit. I know HP had an actual accessory part but can’t find one. I see lots of aftermarket ones but they look pretty shabby. 

[SDH]

Yes, there are nice HP ones.  I have prior notes from a project below, and most of the critical answers are in there.  You also can search eBay under "HP card reader".  Look for the part numbers I give to get an idea of what you want.  The suggested google search down at bottom for the BH Photo listings will still get you to the quoted review and also to some high resolution pictures.  The difference between the G and the F kit option part numbers is the type of 5.25 to 3.5 adapter from all I can see.... I think the 3.5" card reader device is the same. 

How can you add in a "motherboard-type" USB3 2-channel connector for the butt end plug on the USB3 2-channel I/O cable?  It turns out that the HP USB3 add-in card I've posted about HERE  in the forum here uses the same TI chipset as used on the ZX20 motherboards.  Those work fine also in the ZX00 workstation family too.  These motherboards don't have a spare USB3 motherboard header, so you just use one of those HP USB3 PCIe cards to create one.  The same drivers run the motherboard and add-in card chipsets, and are fully supported under W10.

Here are my notes:

F4N90AA has SD "UHSII" capability (which is visible in the printing on the device faceplate).  Our current USB3 HP card readers do not show that feature.... they must be another *earlier* USB3 version.  Below is a review on the F4N90AA, slightly edited, in bold: "I searched a long time for an internal card reader for my new PC build. I wanted one that was well constructed and used USB 3.0. Too many I found would claim USB 3.0 support, but only used it for the their extra Type A ports (out added onto the front faceplate of the card reader) and were still 2.0 for the card reader itself.  The rear cable from the card reader to the motherboard was USB2 only.  Others just looked cheap and reviews seemed to agree. From the specs and documentation, this HP reader seemed to meet all my criteria.  It comes with extra metal rails and a front plate (not shown in the product photo) so you can also mount it in a 5.25 inch bay without buying a separate adapter.  I've only used it for SD cards, and the card goes in about 3/4 of the way with little effort and you can easily tell when it makes contact. The LED only lights up when a card is mounted, so you don't have any annoying power light at other times.  I've owned it for about a month and it's working fine with Windows 10.  The only criticism I have is the USB cable is permanently attached to the reader and lacks strain relief.  You just have to be careful when installing this in your case and tie down the cable so the connection to the reader isn't damaged.  Overall I am really happy with this product."

(SDH: very easy to add strain relief with short zip ties for the type of HP 5.25 to 3.5" adapter we use).  Here is some HP marketing info:

HP 14 in 1 USB2/3 3.5 inch Media Card Reader 736299-001 MCR15IN1-U2U3 has 20 pin adapter plug end & is
UHS I/II capable (= G1S79AA).            I think this card reader is the same one used in the F4N90AA kit, but it has G1S79AA as its option part number. I think the G version comes with the more expensive 5.25" HP carrier and the F version has the cheaper side rails with front plate approach to adapting into a spare 5.25 bay.  When you buy off eBay you often only get the card reader.

G1S79AA per the BH Photo specs has SD UHSI/II with stated compatibility from ZX00 through ZX40, and the F4N90AA has the same printing on its face in the pictures you'll see from searching for it there.  Here are some different card readers from HP:

Older one:  HP 698877-001 USB Media Card Reader (MCR), 22-in-1 Support, 3.5-inch Form Factor (Jack Black Color), only has a USB2 cable/connector.

The one we're using now:  Older but new enough to use a USB3 interconnect cable with the 19-pin USB3 plug end:  HP 14-in-1 USB2/3 3.5in Media Card Reader 716390-001 742863-001 698661-001 We use this in Z420s and Z620s, and HP states it has a 20 pin USB3 plug (it really is only 19 pins), but only "UHS1" is listed on the SD area of the faceplate.  Once you have the device in hand you can get the part numbers off its labels for easier internet searching.

To see the newer ones (F and G types) still shown , but not available for sale, at BH Photo:
Search google for the following two and zoom in on the product pictures of the faceplates:
F4N90AA BH Photo
G1S79AA BH Photo

I have a F version coming and will update this post with some added pictures.  When buying off eBay you'll often not get the whole kit... just the card reader.

[SDH]

From that review and from looking into this in the past it is possible to have USB3-looking ports out front but then the USB3 cable going back to a 19-pin plug is adapted down to a USB2 connector.  The spare USB2 headers along the bottom edge of the ZX20 motherboards won't get you the full speed you want.  So, you want to be able to plug the USB3 "2x10 plug with one blank" end to a proper USB3 header.  The ZX20 workstations have only one... it is the blue one along the bottom edge to the rear of the motherboard.  However that already is used for the front USB3 ports.

So, if you want USB3 speed from a HP SD Card reader you need to get the right HP card reader and add in a second USB3 header.

Plus, there is the issue of the UHS I/II capability.  I have one that is full USB3 but no UHS-I/II capability.  Another is USB3 but only UHS-I capable.  You can look UHS-I/II up.... from what I understand the whole chain of in/out devices including the card need to be UHS-I/II enabled to get the benefit of this newer faster technology.  So, getting a card reader that is UHS-I/II capable might be a waste of money/time if you don't also get compatible cards to use in it.  You might even lose some compatibility.  I ended up being happy with just getting USB3 speeds.  Finally, remember that if the SD card itself is slow then having a fast reader hooked to a USB3 header will still not make that slow card any faster.

You need to put that HP Texas Instruments card in a properly chosen PCIe slot too so you get full USB3 speeds through its 19-pin "motherboard type" header.... use a PCIe Gen 2 slot.

More than you wanted to know.....

[Vitaljarv]

736299-U3C Will this work.? It’s on eBay new with the pci card for for $50

[SDH]

That looks fine..... and I like the Alan guys.  They have been fair and honorable to deal with...

Let me add... go look for 468770-001 as your 3.5 to 5.25" adapter.  You will find a very good buy at 9.00 total.

[Vitaljarv]

As usual I hope the pci card has driver support

thanks again

[SDH]

Don't worry about driver support.  The exact drivers you need to support the card are those that are needed to support the same chipset built into the Z420/Z620/Z820 workstation USB3 capabilities.  I've loaded from scratch both W7Pro64 and W10Pro64 builds with that card in place during the OS load, and the drivers are automatically included for ZX20 USB3 capabilities from the motherboard and from the card simultaneously.

The single caution to share is to have the card attached to power before rather than after the OS load.  If you have a build you are adding the card to without starting from scratch it should not need any added drivers if the workstation is a ZX20.... the drivers are already present.  For a critical feature such as USB3 on a whole family of HP workstations (ZX20 family) you can be sure that HP and MS have done good work behind the scenes.  I've upgraded a bunch of our boxes to the latest "2004" W10Pro64 build... zero issues so far.  But, I do run a clean machine.

[SDH]

A thing to add into this thread.... remember that USB3 has higher wattage ratings.  An adapter that downgrades to USB2 from the USB3 19 pin plug plug for the true USB3 card readers means that any side USB3 ports fed through that adapter will only see USB2 power and performance.  They may have blue plastic showing inside but it really is black (USB2).

That HP TI chipset "2x2 " card provides the higher USB3 power feeds over 2 channels (other quality PCIe USB3 cards do also).

Dan_in_WGBU, our favorite HP engineer, once posted here on the lengths HP engineers went to to get USB3 running to full specs on the ZX20 workstations.  They did the same for these particular HP USB3 cards which were originally developed to bring quality USB3 performance to the ZX00 family workstations.

[Vitaljarv]

Great. Exactly what I needed to know. Everyone keeps cutting support for hardware. Impossible to buy with confidence these days  

thanks all

[SDH]

Here's the update.  I got lucky on the F4N90AA kit purchase... it came in its original unopened HP box.  I've attached a scan of most of what I got.  The black plastic 5.25 to 3.5 faceplate is shown in the illustration there.  The "G" kit shown by BHPhoto would have the nicer 3.5 to 5.25 HP adapter included, which would have been more expensive originally.

There is a nice related post on this issue  HERE .

The data sheet shows all the different cards that could be used in this one card reader.  Overall a high quality product which when run off of the HP USB3 card in a ZX20 workstation will give excellent speed and service.  I won't be using the USB3 to USB2 adapter shown in the scan.... loss of speed and USB3 wattage.  See attached PDF...  it may not be visible until a moderate releases it.