Not enough PCI Card slots

[Funkstar]

they are still surprisinglyexpensive to be honest.

PCI-E usb card - Google Product Search

Do you need all those internal host ports or could you just use an external USB hub coming off one of the motherboard ports?

[Webby]

Amazon.co.uk: Belkin PCI Express Card USB 2.0 5 Ports: Electronics & Photo: Belkin

Not 6 only 5 (4 external and 1 internal) and expensive at £35 but I'm sure the must be cheaper options out there but this proves they exist

[cougarslam]

Do you need all those internal host ports or could you just use an external USB hub coming off one of the motherboard ports?

which you can prob get from poundland lol

[chrestomanci]

What about one of these bits of kit:

PCI Express to PCI Expansion Box - PC & Macintosh

There was a thread about them 9 months ago, but because the vendor basically posted out of the blue, it degenerated into an argument about spam.

[Funkstar]

rediculously expensive though aren't they?

[acrobat]

You could also get rid of the soundcard and use onboard sound (if you have it). Not ideal though cause soundcards are usually better, but that may or may not be important to you.

[RoBe]

rediculously expensive though aren't they?

i'm not sure if you have to buy 4+ as that's all i can see on the site, but they seem to be about £37ish each if you can get them seperate

[peterb]

You didn't say whether your mobo native USB ports were USB 1 or 2 - te reason I mention it is that newer boards tend to have more USB ports on them natively, and one reason why people install USB cards is to get USB 2 speeds on a mobo that only ha USB 1.

However - this device would appear to offer a low cost solution, however the speed wil be limited to the host port it is plugged into.

Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK

However, as I don't know wjht you will be running off it, you should study the specs to see if it meets your technical requirement - if it meets your aesthetic one!

[arthurleung]

i'm not sure if you have to buy 4+ as that's all i can see on the site, but they seem to be about £37ish each if you can get them seperate

PCI-Express 1x to PCI Adapter card - DCT-FUTA1

Now I'm tempted to get one of these to fit my PCI-X (works with plain PCI though) RAID card

[Funkstar]

You didn't say whether your mobo native USB ports were USB 1 or 2 - te reason I mention it is that newer boards tend to have more USB ports on them natively, and one reason why people install USB cards is to get USB 2 speeds on a mobo that only ha USB 1.

If the board has PCIe slots, it's going to have USB2 on all ports.

PCI-Express 1x to PCI Adapter card - DCT-FUTA1

that could come is very useful

[oimi]

Okay, just to clarify this is a new custom built PC, which is the reason I refuse to buy a new tv-tuner or a new motherboard.

Using USB 2.0.

[oimi]

So far I like Funstars suggestion best.

A few queries though:

1. If I were to use the PCI-Express to PCI Adapter, would my current PCI USB Hub mount properly, as hardware is mounted using quick release tabs.

2. Can this product be found elsewhere, on a UK based website? I noticed the prices were in Euros. A website like eBuyer would be good.

[peterb]

Can you direct us to the USB hub you are planning to use? (I think it was arthurleung's suggestion)

Looking at the product he suggests, you probably have to remove the existing backplate on teh USB card - which may or may not be a problem.

The company selling it is based in France - it should be OK buying from them, paying by credit card.

[Funkstar]

Just to clarify something. USB PCI and PCIe cards are not hubs, they are USB controller cards. USB hubs are external and take one USB connection and turn it into many.

Advantage of a USB controller card:
Each port is usually a master port, so in theory, each device hooked to it can run at full speed and use as much of the 480mbps as it can. A hub shares this 480mbps between all its ports. Not really a problem unless you are transfering a large amount of data between devices on different ports of the same card.

Advantage of a hub:
No messing about with internal cards, and you can pick them up for next to nothing

[oimi]

This is the card I currently have: StarTech.com - Value 6 Port USB 2.0 PCI Card

I accept that I got the terminology wrong, thank you for correcting me and making me aware of the difference (although I didn't need to know that in order to build the system in the first place), it is useful all the same.

Problem with the product you linked to, is that if I order it from France P&P will be more expensive. A seller such as eBuyer.com provide cheap P&P/free over a certain price.

[directhex]

This is the card I currently have: StarTech.com - Value 6 Port USB 2.0 PCI Card

I accept that I got the terminology wrong, thank you for correcting me and making me aware of the difference (although I didn't need to know that in order to build the system in the first place), it is useful all the same.

Problem with the product you linked to, is that if I order it from France P&P will be more expensive. A seller such as eBuyer.com provide cheap P&P/free over a certain price.

do you need it, though? you can get a USB hub for about £5 which will turn one port into 4 (or 7), so you can simply add ports as needed without expansion cards. USB supports over a hundred devices without adding extra controller cards