SilverStone SST-EC03B USB 3.0 PCI Express Card Review

SilverStone SST-EC03B USB 3.0 PCI Express Card

Bringing to bear the culmination of years of research and design, SilverStone continues to prove that they are at the forefront of the PC enthusiast industry. Offering an expansive array of PC accessories and peripherals, they have garnered many awards and accolades throughout their history. Since 2003, SilverStone continues to provide well-designed and manufactured products for discerning PC enthusiasts everywhere.

PC technology is a fickle thing. Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, the game changes and suddenly you’re placed in a situation where you either upgrade or fall behind. In many cases, upgrading can involve the replacement of entire systems and cost hundreds of dollars. Motherboards, processors and memory that were the pinnacle of PC technology suddenly become archaic relics in a vast landscape of deprecated and forgotten parts.

It doesn’t always have to be this way though. While many enthusiasts utter the term “stop-gap” with the same distaste as they did for the thermonuclear hot Prescott processors of yesteryear, for the PC user with limited funds or those not ready for a complete system overhaul, a stop-gap can be an extremely cost effective alternative. Enter the SilverStone SST-EC03B USB 3.0 PCI Express card, a peripheral intended to easily upgrade systems to the world of USB 3.0.

Offered in either black (SST-EC03B) or silver brushed aluminum (SST-EC03S), this accessory has the ability to breathe new life into systems lacking USB 3.0 connectivity. Leveraging on the power of an available PCI-e 2.0 slot on a motherboard, the SST-EC03B can deliver throughput up to 5Gb/s. With a 1-year warranty and attractively priced at Amazon for $32.50 USD.

SilverStone EC03 Expansion Card Specifications:

Model No.	SST-EC03B (black) SST-EC03S (silver)
Power requirement	5Vdc via peripheral 4pin power connector
Operating system support	Windows XP, Vista, 7(32bit/64bit)
Form factor	Single lane(x1) PCIe gen 2.0
USB 3.0 controller	NEC uPD720200
USB Ports	Dual port USB 3.0 support (one internal connector)
Enclosure Interface	USB3.0 (Max. 5Gbps) compatible with USB 2.0
USB bus power output	5Vdc / 900mA
Transmitting Speed	USB 3.0(5Gbit/s), USB 2.0(480Mbit/s), USB 1.1(12Mbit/s)

Can the SST-EC03B deliver on its promises? Let’s get cracking and find out!