G434 with Z390 Phantom 4s/ac - Where is the C port?

Shawnre

My specs show that I have an NVIDEA USB Type-C port policy controller. However, the port that's supposed to be a Type-C looks like a USB 2.0 or 3.0. It's still the fastest port on my G434 at up to 170mb/s.

Is the Z390 Phantom Gaming 4S/AC a hybrid that replaces the typical Type-C port?

Would a typical Type-C yield faster read and write speeds?

Hardware

Prograde USB 3.1 Gen 2.0 Dual Slot Reader

Wise CFast 2.0 3500x 1TB

Seagate Expansion HDD STKP6000400 6TB

Machine

OS Name Microsoft Windows 10 Pro

Version 10.0.19042 Build 19042

Other OS Description Not Available

OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation

System Name DESKTOP-8EOQ4MP

System Manufacturer MicroElectronics

System Model G434

System Type x64-based PC

System SKU 029702

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-9700K CPU @ 3.60GHz, 3601 Mhz, 8 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)

BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. P1.30A, 3/19/2020

SMBIOS Version 3.1

Embedded Controller Version 255.255

BIOS Mode UEFI

Ian

Greetings. The G434 doesn't have a USB-C port included. Looking at the specs, they are all USB 2/3 Type A ports.

The NVIDIA Type-C port policy controller is part of the NVIDIA video card drivers, as some as their video cards include a USB-C port intended for easier support for VR headsets, but it does not appear your card has this port.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@Shawnre

All the Turing architecture Nvidia GPU's had a USB-C controller built in, but only some cards actually offered the port. This was removed on Ampere.

Shawnre

Let me get this straight.  So I:

1) have a motherboard that’s supposed to have a C-Port (per photos and documentation that I’ve seen) and 
2) have a C-port driver on my G434

but I don’t have the actual port or the capability of a C-Port.  

I would at least think that if the driver was there then I could upgrade to a C- Port. 

Why would ANY manufacturer produce a motherboard without listing the deviation?  Why would Microcenter sell a desktop that lists the port without adding that note to the package?  On top of that, none of the usb drives are labeled 2.0, 3.0, etc.  

PowerSpec_MikeW

@Shawnre

We'll do everything that we can to clarify the specifications for you. I'm not aware of any pictures or documentation that indicate a USB-C port, aside from the Nvidia USB-C controller in device manager. Please let us know where you've seen this and we will correct it.

The system has the following USB ports.

(Rear)

4x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A (Blue)

2x USB 2.0 Type-A (Black)

(Front)

2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A (Blue)

As for potentially adding USB-C there is an optional add in card for the ASRock boards. Checkout the ASRock Thunderbolt AIC add in cards. They'll add two Thunderbolt 3 ports to the rear I/O.

PowerSpec_MichaelB

https://community.microcenter.com/discussion/comment/39924#Comment_39924

A few things to clarify.

1. The ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 4S does not support USB Type C (both internally or externally). Nothing from the specification page suggests this functionality exists: https://www.asrock.com/mb/intel/z390%20phantom%20gaming%204s/index.asp#Specification.
2. The driver exists through Nvidia's GPU architecture. The card itself has a USB Type C controller on the physical GPU die, but the board partner that designed your specific graphics card did not include a physical port. More information can be found here: https://images.nvidia.com/aem-dam/en-zz/Solutions/design-visualization/technologies/turing-architecture/NVIDIA-Turing-Architecture-Whitepaper.pdf (Pages 12, 16, 29, 60 & 66).

Going back to your original question of whether a Type C port will be faster than the original Type A ports, not quite. Type C is the physical interface. The speed is dictated entirely by the revision and generation of the port. Your board supports USB 3.2 Gen 1, which implies a max throughput of up to 5 Gigabits per second, or 625MB/s. A type C 3.2 Gen 1 port will provide the exact same transfer speeds.

If you need USB C functionality, you'll need to purchase an expansion card to provide this support. If you are looking for Type C functionality that is faster than your current USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, I would recommend the following: https://www.microcenter.com/product/636284/vantec-5-port-usb-32-gen2x2-(20gbps)-with-2c-and-3a-pcie-host-card. This will get you 3 additional Type A ports that operate at USB 3.2 Gen 2 ( up to 10 gigabits per second, or 1250MB/s). The Type C ports on this card are wired to the new USB 3.2 2x2 standard, meaning you can achieve a max throughput of up to 20 Gigabits per second, or 2500MB/s. To saturate this speed, you'll need to ensure you have a portable drive fast enough such as an external NVMe SSD.

As mentioned by @TSMikeW , we haven't been able to locate any specifications on our website for this model that lists Type C support. If you can provide any documentation with that incorrect specification we will ensure it gets corrected immediately.

Let us know if you have any additional questions, we'd be happy to assist in any way that we can.

Shawnre

Motherboard - Evidently, I was looking at this model instead of the one that I have. It has the USB - C.

https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z390%20Phantom%20Gaming%204/index.asp

USB Performance - Over the last several months, I've been using the USB port that's in the place of the USB - C port because it was considerably faster than the other. Hence my comment regarding regarding the lack of labels.

I noticed a listing for a NVIDIA USB Type - C Port Policy Controller which made me believe that my computer had a USB - C port. I'm guessing that the Gen SuperSpeed USB Hub is the port that I've been using.

Spec Listing - I don't see a listing for the USB - C on the G434 product specs. I saw the USB - C on the Asrock specs and figured that I should've had it on my motherboard.

Speeds - I've been clocking in at 130 mb/s with Lacie 5tb rugged drives and a Seagate portable. I saw the fastest transfer between a new Seagate Expansion and my CFast 2.0 device (170 mb/s).

I appreciate the clarification on the product. Consider this post closed.