Heading into Computex 2023, MSI is introducing an interesting USB4 PCIe expansion card. The card not only provides two full-bandwidth USB4 40Gbps Type-C ports, but it can also power devices connected to the card up to 100W, making it ideal for powering high-power devices such as laptops. can also be used for
The MSI USB4 PD100W expansion card (MS-4489) has two DisplayPort inputs and two USB Type-C connectors. The Type-C port supports USB data rates up to 40 Gbps, but also supports DP alt mode and USB power delivery.
The really remarkable thing about this card is the power delivery function. Most USB4/Thunderbolt 4 expansion cards are PCIe bus powered and can only deliver around 15 watts maximum. MSI’s card, on the other hand, can deliver up to 100 watts of power on its highest Type-C port. That’s enough power to charge a high performance notebook or power demanding things like displays. Meanwhile, the card’s second Type-C port can deliver up to 27 watts, enough for smartphones and other mid-power peripherals.
The card uses the physical PCIe x8 form factor and looks like an electrical x4 interface. So far, MSI has not disclosed which version of the PCIe protocol it supports, or for that matter, which USB4 controller it uses. PCIe 3.0 x4 is enough to fully drive a 40Gbps port. However, it is rare for an external USB controller to be able to drive two 40Gbps ports simultaneously at full bandwidth.
On the other hand, since this USB4 host card has exceeded the amount of power that the PCIe slot can supply, the card also features an auxiliary 6-pin PCIe connector to supply the remaining power. According to the PCIe specification, a x4 card can draw up to 25W from the slot, so the 75W auxiliary connector brings the card’s max to 100W. However, this also means that if MSI sticks to the PCIe specification, it will not be able to offer a full 100W + 27W at the same time.
MSI’s USB4 PD100W expansion card is primarily aimed at users who need to connect bandwidth-hungry peripherals (such as direct-attached storage and some specialty devices) or USB-C displays to their desktop PCs . This board works equally well on both modern PCs that don’t support USB4 connectors (or need an additional Type-C port) and machines that are already in use and need advanced connectivity.
MSI has not disclosed the pricing or availability of the USB4 expansion card, but it is expected to be competitively priced compared to similar Thunderbolt 3/4 expansion cards that have been on the market in the past.
