Part 2 - The Good USB Card (Safeway 2-port USB card)

Member Name: rob_writer

Product:	Safeway 2-port USB card
Date:	23/03/02 (344 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It works

Disadvantages: No bells and whistles

What do you do if your PC hasn't got any USB ports and you need some? Get a new PC? Of course not, simply add a USB PCI card and upgrade your PC to the modern world of USB plug and play. What happens if the PCI USB card you buy is made with a rather crap VIA chipset and it doesn't work? Then spend more money buying another one with a good chipset (i.e. Opti or Intel). And only then can you enter the modern world of USB plug and play!

You see, I bought a USB PCI card with a VIA chipset, but as it turned out the VIA USB chipset is flawed and doesn't work with all devices, so I bought this card which comes with an Opti chipset. My problem with the other card was that my Lexmark Z13 printer didn't work properly, but when using this card it works fine.

The card itself is PCI and rather simple to install. Open up your PC, slot it in one of the white slots and switch on your PC. Even a kid could do it! All the card does is add 2 USB ports to your PC, so you can use whatever USB devices takes your fancy.

The card cost about £12 (I bought it from an auction) which is about the going rate for such a card. It has 2 USB ports which both have 500mA, it can support 12Mps and 1.5Mps transfer rates and can have 127 devices daisy chained to it although you'll need a few hubs for that. Ain't that great!

Apart from that there's not a lot more to say; it's a nice green colour with a few chips on it, most likely they're made of silicon.

In short - pay £12, get the card and give your PC USB capabilities. Nothing more, nothing less.

Summary: