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Will a PCI 2.0 USB Card Provide Increased Speed for a PC with USB 1.1 Port?

Hi Everyone;

        I have an older pc which has 2 onboard 1.1 USB ports.  Since all of my external USB devices are modern using the 2.0 standard, naturally, the pc makes these devices perform under their potential.  In other words, the devices run at the pc's USB 1.1 speed instead of the USB 2.0 speed.  With this point in mind, can I simply purchase a PCI USB 2.0 card and get 2.0 standard speeds?  Or, will the pc still default to 1.1 speed even with the PCI USB 2.0 card?  I have 5 free PCI slots, so, installing such a card will not be a problem if it will solve my USB speed concern.

          Any shared thoughts to this question will be appreciated.

          Thank you

          George
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Hi

      The application within this scenario is as follows:  The flash drive and external USB hard drive will be hooked up to the USB 2.0 card.  The keyboard and mouse will continue to use the PS/2 ports.  

       Sorry for omitting this information.

       George
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Hi

       Thanks so much for the followups.  After reviewing all of the information presented so far, I do have a couple of followup questions which should comprehensively wrap this thread up.  First, when I install a PCI 2.0 USB card, will I need to go into the BIOS and disable the onboard USB?  Or, can I basically just leave the old 1.1 ports enabled?  I ask this question out of the concern of possible hardware conflicts between the onboard 1.1 USB port and the new PCI 2.0 USB card.  And, secondly, if the PCI 2.0 USB card should ever become defective because of physical or mechanical reasons, is there any risk of the device hooked up to it, like an external USB hard drive, becoming damaged as well?  

           Any followups to these closing questions will be appreciated.

          Thank you

          George
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Hi Everyone;

         As closing remarks, I want to thank each person for participating in this thread.  I found each reply to be well thought out and rich in detail.  Using everyone's shared insights, I now have a much better understanding of what to expect when I install the PCI 2.0 USB card.

         Many thanks again.

        George