Most secure/fastest way to mount 4-6 external HDs to my PC with USB 3.0 connections?

First off, let me list some basic specs. Operating system is Windows 7 Professional (x64) SP1, case is a Cooler Master HAF-X and the motherboard is an ASUS P9X79 WS.

I have a significant need for quite a bit of data storage for my work and own ton of external hard drives, several of which I'd like mounted to my PC simultaneously via a USB 3.0 connection. Currently, I have two USB 3.0 ports in the rear of the tower from the ASUS P9X79 WS motherboard that I have two external USB 3.0 HDs mounted to and an additional two USB 3.0 ports on the front of the HAF-X case which are not connected to anything and thus do not function.

I'm looking for the best solution to hook up multiple external hard drives to my PC using the most secure and fastest USB 3.0 connection. I imagine I will need either one or both of these things; a way to make the two USB 3.0 ports on the front of the HAF-X tower operate and/or a USB 3.0 Hub. I'm a bit wary about using a hub as this is priceless data on the drives (even with backups) and relying on an unknown USB 3.0 hub from a place like Amazon to operate multiple large external HDDs (9 - 12TB total) has me worried.

So I guess my basic overall question is; what is the best way to securely connect 4 to 6 USB 3.0 External Hard Drives to my PC simultaneously, all using USB 3.0 ports with optimal speed?

And to break it down into 2 more specific questions; can anyone recommend a reliable USB 3.0 Hub (4 to 6 ports) that can match or come close to matching the read/write speed of the USB 3.0 ports from my P9X79 WS motherboard? Particularly one with a power adapter that I could plug into a battery backup for extra security?

Last question is; how exactly do I connect the two front USB 3.0 inputs on the HAF-X case so that they are operational? What equipment do I need/what do I need to do? I've found mixed answers on this topic throughout the web and was hoping to get a definitive one here.

Thanks in advance!

A USB hub may not be what you want.
It is fast enough to get near the max speed of one drive, but 2 USB drives on the hub copying different data at the same time will run close to half speed each.

Your motherboard does not have internal USB 3.0 connectors.
If you want to use your case front USB 3.0 connections, you need a PCI-E USB 3.0 adapter that has the same internal connectors as the leads.
If the internal connectors are not the same format, you can make an adapter.


Again, the type of PCI-E USB adapter you need will depend on how many drives need to be in use simultaneously at full speed.
You can get multi channel PCI-E USB 3.0 cards but they cost more and you may not get the internal connectors.
If you arent worried about them running full speed when more than one is in use, you can use a hub or a cheaper PCI-E card.
You can even use multiple cards to spread the load a bit, probably easier than finding a 6 port card anyway.


These are examples because I dont know what is available where you are

4 port, 2 internal, 2 external.
Use 2 of these to get 6 ports (2 front case, 4 rear) and get a bit of load balancing.
http://www.ebuyer.com/369064-starte...i-express-pcie-controller-card-2-pexusb3s2e2i

PCI-E x4, 4 port, quad bus for max throughput, all USB ports have separate controllers.
This particular card has UASP support (your motherboard also has) which improves simultaneous USB port use and can give 70% more bandwidth.
Use 2 cards to get 8 external ports.
http://www.ebuyer.com/620204-starte...ress-pcie-superspeed-usb-3-0-card-pexusb3s44v


Check what you can get where you are.

Thank you for the response!

Nenu said:

A USB hub may not be what you want.
It is fast enough to get near the max speed of one drive, but 2 USB drives on the hub copying different data at the same time will run close to half speed each.

Click to expand...

Didn't think of this, but you're right. So a hub is likely out.

Nenu said:

Your motherboard does not have internal USB 3.0 connectors.
If you want to use your case front USB 3.0 connections, you need a PCI-E USB 3.0 adapter that has the same internal connectors as the leads.
If the internal connectors are not the same format, you can make an adapter.

Click to expand...

Alright, I'll admit I'm not the most tech savvy individual and it's been 2 years now since this computer was put together so I don't quite follow the part in bold. How would I determine the format of the internal connectors and how would I make an adapter?

Nenu said:

Again, the type of PCI-E USB adapter you need will depend on how many drives need to be in use simultaneously at full speed.

Click to expand...

There will be an SSD and two internal HDs in use at all times. Externally there will be ideally be three (potentially four) external HDs in use and I'd like the option to add an additional three (or four) external HDs at any time for backup or transfer purposes, but those last three likely won't be in frequent use, though they will be transferring quite a bit of data for backup when I use them.

Nenu said:

These are examples because I dont know what is available where you are

Click to expand...

I'm in the United States. I typically get my computer hardware through sites like Amazon or any reputable online vendor with a good return policy.

Nenu said:

You can get multi channel PCI-E USB 3.0 cards but they cost more and you may not get the internal connectors.

Click to expand...

Just checking, would an example of this be the last link you referenced; (two) of the Startech 4 Port Quad Bus PCI Express 3.0 Adapter with UASP?
Follow up question; is there perhaps a better/more reliable model available? The Newegg reviews for it are pretty negative and some highly rated Amazon reviews for the same product mention the card causing "disaster," "chaos," "lost data," and "crashes" among other things so I'm not so sure that would be the most reliable choice for drives with lots of data I rely heavily on. Are there any other alternatives or similar PCI-E cards that are better reviewed and/or less prone to failure than that particular model?

Thank you once again, all the help is much appreciated!

I was once on a project that involved copying data to many external disks connected via USB 2.0 simultaneously. We learned that
a) the total throughput was roughly 32MB/s per controller (independent of make) and
b) the controllers were quite unreliable when under heavy load for hours.
-> Performing hash verification after data was written proved to be paramount

This might not apply to USB 3.0 and the mentioned card, but I'd definitely look carefully for data corruption issues.

ahphoto said:

Alright, I'll admit I'm not the most tech savvy individual and it's been 2 years now since this computer was put together so I don't quite follow the part in bold. How would I determine the format of the internal connectors and how would I make an adapter?

Click to expand...

My statement was to say that if the connectors are not the same, the pins can be routed correctly.
Ignore it unless this situ occurs.

There will be an SSD and two internal HDs in use at all times. Externally there will be ideally be three (potentially four) external HDs in use and I'd like the option to add an additional three (or four) external HDs at any time for backup or transfer purposes, but those last three likely won't be in frequent use, though they will be transferring quite a bit of data for backup when I use them.

Click to expand...

Have you considered removing the drives from the caddys and using them internally?
You can fit a removable drive caddy or buy a PC case that comes with removable drives.
This wouldnt give you the USB headaches.

I'm in the United States. I typically get my computer hardware through sites like Amazon or any reputable online vendor with a good return policy.

Just checking, would an example of this be the last link you referenced; (two) of the Startech 4 Port Quad Bus PCI Express 3.0 Adapter with UASP?
Follow up question; is there perhaps a better/more reliable model available? The Newegg reviews for it are pretty negative and some highly rated Amazon reviews for the same product mention the card causing "disaster," "chaos," "lost data," and "crashes" among other things so I'm not so sure that would be the most reliable choice for drives with lots of data I rely heavily on. Are there any other alternatives or similar PCI-E cards that are better reviewed and/or less prone to failure than that particular model?

Click to expand...

The examples were to show the type of product available.
You did well to establish if they are reliable, I would do the same for any others you come across.

As has been pointed out, there are problems with USB.
I would not use USB where performance and long term reliability need to be guaranteed or if data loss and downtime will cause a major issue.
I use a USB drive as a backup drive but it is not left plugged in for long periods.
USB controllers/PSUs dont seem to have the same lifespan as the drives.
A failure of either one could damage the drive, so you effectively multiply the types of failure you are open to.



Consider this, a case like the Coolermaster 690
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2010/02/18/cooler-master-cm-690-ii-case-review/2
This has a SATA drive slot on top of the case to plug a drive in directly.
Inside the case are 6 quick release SATA drive ports.
You dont need a screwdriver to add or remove a drive.
You can permanently fit more drives inside the case if you wish.

Get a motherboard with as many SATA ports as you will need.
If you have exhausted all the SATA ports you can get, buy a SATA 6Gbps card with as many more ports as you need.

This will give you the safest and fastest way of using lots of hard drives at once.