Z87-Deluxe/Dual USB3 ports failed. Added PCIe USB3.0 card. Oddness thereafter.

[Ronco]

So I came across something that appears to be well documented on this mobo - the 4 Asmedia USB3.0 ports on the motherboard failing.

The Z87 as configured (with the Define XL case) has a total of 6 (2 intel, 4 Asmedia failed) USB3.0 ports at the rear and 2 (Intel) on the case front. The mobo also has 4 USB2.0 ports at the back, and I've also connected 2x 2.0 ports up front on the case.

I really didn't want to set up an entirely new PC to resolve this issue, so I plugged in a Startech card with a Renesas chipset. And the card itself is perfect - UASP works, and the speed is great.

The problem is now that the front panel USB3.0 connectors have apparently gone 2.0. Anything I plug into the front USB3.0 ports now report "this device can work faster". This is different to the Asmedia ports, which don't appear in the system at all except in the BIOS USB port control screen.

Can anyone eplain what's going on here? I wanted to be back to 8 USB3.0 ports altogether, but even after adding a $125 card I seem to be down by a further two - i.e. I only seem to have two fully functional USB3.0 ports on the motherboard now, and I'm up to 8 USB 2.0 ports which I don't need.

 

[HeavensCloud]

I don't know in this instance, but the case panel front 3.0 ports always give me trouble. My Air 540 has 2 3.0 ports on the front, one reads at 3.0 and one is 2.0 for no reason. Good luck, I hate wonky ports.

 

[Ronco]

The 3.0 ports have worked since I built this thing. And as I said, they haven't stopped working - it's just that they seem to have magically become 2.0 ports since the Startech card was put in.

 

[bonehead123]

I don't know in this instance, but the case panel front 3.0 ports always give me trouble. My Air 540 has 2 3.0 ports on the front, one reads at 3.0 and one is 2.0 for no reason. Good luck, I hate wonky ports.

The front ports on my 540 have always been kinda flaky. They have never quit working per se, but have been very particular about working at full speed and/or recognizing certain devices and depending on what I have plugged into them. Flash drives are the worst, but it sometimes happens with ext. HDD's and DVD burners too.

This happened before I replaced that whole I/O/power module with a new one from Corsair, and continues to this day. I know its not the mobo, because I have had 3 different ones installed in it (z87 and 97, and my current z170) and they have all acted the same way at one time or another.

As for losing ports, it may be that you have a situation whereby either the voltage and/or bandwidth limits for each port connector is being exceeded frequently, or dropped way below whatever threshold the mfgr set for them.

As for your card, this forum is as close as I want to be to anything with that name on it

$125 or not, I have yet to see any of their devices work correctly, several of which I have literally ripped out of my rigs and set on fire, just to quell my anger and frustration at them for completely and utterly screwing up what were otherwise 100% perfectly running machines....