IOGEAR
IOGEAR 5-Port Hi-Speed USB 2.0 PCI Card GIC251U
Bottom line: The IOGEAR 5-Port Hi-Speed USB 2.0 PCI Card GIC251U: Adds 5 USB 2.0 ports at 480 Mbps to older desktops with a free PCI slot; main trade-off: PCI-only interface, so it will not fit PCIe-only modern motherboards.
As an Amazon Associate, SpecPicks earns from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure →
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✓ Adds 5 USB 2.0 ports at 480 Mbps to older desktops with a free PCI slot
- ✓ Backward compatible with USB 1.1 devices, so legacy peripherals still work
- ✓ Half-height-friendly 5.25 x 0.91 x 4.75 inch board fits most retro ATX cases
- ✓ Five ports on one card free up bandwidth-hungry devices from a shared hub
Cons
- ✗ PCI-only interface, so it will not fit PCIe-only modern motherboards
- ✗ IOGEAR lists no form factor, so low-profile case fitment is unconfirmed
- ✗ USB 2.0 caps out at 480 Mbps, far slower than USB 3.0 and later cards
- ✗ Driver support for current operating systems is not stated in the listing
Manufacturer description
IOGEAR brings you new five-port USB 2.0 PCI Card (GIC251U). USB 2.0 moves data at a blazing rate of 480 Mbps (Megabits per second), and is fully backward compatible with the first generation of USB devices. With the increase in speed, USB 2.0 offers enhanced functionality, allowing more devices to share the increased bandwidth. The new USB 2.0 PCI card will allow you to take full advantage of the USB 2.0 technology on your current USB 1.1 systems.
SpecPicks Verdict
SpecPicks scored IOGEAR 5-Port Hi-Speed USB 2.0 PCI Card GIC251U using a rating × review-volume × price-fit model applied to published specs and reviews across the expansion cards category. IOGEAR's expansion cards lineup sits within the broader category mid-tier; price and specs are the deciding factors over brand loyalty here. Judge it on the specification table and the price rather than on sentiment: check the figures that decide your use case, then put it side-by-side with two or three close alternatives in the Compare tool before clicking through.
Common buyer scenarios for expansion cards of this kind: matching it to an existing build, replacing a failing part, or upgrading from a previous-generation equivalent. Check the spec table below against your current setup — particularly socket / form-factor / power-rating fields — and confirm compatibility on the retailer's listing before purchase. Prices and stock are set by the retailer and may have moved since this page was last updated.
Key Features
- Device Type - PCI Card
- Form Factor - N/A
- Interface Type - Hi-Speed USB 2.0 + 1.1 Backward compatible
- Dimensions WxDxH - 5.25" x 0.91" x 4.75"
Full Specifications
| Brand | Iogear |
|---|---|
| Style | Classic |
| Style Name | Classic |
| Connectivity | USB |
| Model Number | GIC251U |
| Mfr Part Number | GIC251U |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Hardware Interface | PCI, USB |
| Global Trade Identification Number | 00672792550270 |
Ready to buy?
IOGEAR 5-Port Hi-Speed USB 2.0 PCI Card GIC251U is listed on Amazon. Price, availability, shipping and returns are set by Amazon and its sellers — check the listing for current terms. SpecPicks earns a small commission on qualifying purchases — thank you for supporting independent review work.
Related Expansion Cards
More guides & deep dives from the SpecPicks archive
Browse all articles & guides →- The Complete Voodoo5 5500 AGP Driver Guide (2026 Edition)
- RTX 4070 Super vs RX 7800 XT — Which to Buy in 2026
- How to Build a Windows 98 Retro PC in 2026
- Best Budget Gaming PC Build 2026 — ~$1,000 ($800 on Sale)
- Emulation Hardware in 2026: FPGA, Software, and Cart-Reader Ecosystems
- Best 1440p Gaming GPUs in 2026
- Best Retro Handhelds in 2026 — From $35 to $500
More reviews from the SpecPicks archive
Browse all reviews →- VibeThinker-3B Local: 3B Reasoning Model on an RTX 3060 12GB
- Best Controller for Emulation and Fighting Games in 2026
- Qwen3.6-27B vs Coder-Next: Local Code Accuracy and VRAM on AMD Rigs
- Ryzen 5600G vs 5700X vs 5800X: Best CPU for a 1080p Gaming Build (2026)
- Enthusiast Hides Gaming PC Inside Living Room Fan
- vLLM vs llama.cpp for Single-User Chat on a 12GB GPU (2026)
- Asus ROG Harpe II Extreme Lands With a 65K-DPI Sensor
- Linux Beats Windows 11 on AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X3D2
- Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus vs Ryzen 5 7600X3D: The Mid-Range Faceoff
- Building a 3dfx Voodoo2 SLI Win98 Rig with a CompactFlash Boot Drive
- How to run Qwen 3 32B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070
- Optimizing LTX-2.3 Inference Speed on an RTX 3080 Ti
- How to run DeepSeek-R1 32B on AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
- Best 12GB GPU for Stable Diffusion: RTX 3060 in 2026
- Best Storage for a Raspberry Pi Homelab: SATA SSD over USB vs microSD
- Ryzen 5 5600G as a Budget Local-LLM Host: iGPU + System RAM in 2026
- DFlash Speculative Decoding on Qwen3.5-35B-A3B: How an RTX 2080 Super 8GB Hits 60+ tok/s
- GLM-5.2 on 12GB VRAM: Quantization and Speed on the RTX 3060
- Best Budget AM4 CPU for a 2026 AI + Gaming Build: 5800X vs 5700X vs 5600G
- CUDA 13.3 and the RTX 3060: What Changes for Local LLM Inference
- GPT-5.5 Instant Shipped: What an RTX 3060 12GB Local Stack Covers When OpenAI Retires a Model
- Best Game Controller for PC in 2026: 5 Picks Tested Against Real Use
- Best SATA SSD for a PS4 Upgrade in 2026: BX500 vs 870 EVO vs WD Blue
- PCIe Gen2/Gen3 1:2 Analog MUX: Practical Maker Implementation
Earliest SpecPicks reviews
Browse full archive →- Best GPU for Llama 3.1 8B (2026)
- Best GPU for Qwen 3 14B (2026)
- Best GPU for Qwen 3 32B (2026)
- Best GPU for Llama 3.1 70B (2026)
- Best GPU for DeepSeek-R1 32B (2026)
- Best GPU for Llama 3.1 405B (2026)
- How to run Llama 3.1 8B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Qwen 3 14B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Qwen 3 32B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Llama 3.1 70B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run DeepSeek-R1 32B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Llama 3.1 8B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090