How to Add USB-C to Any Windows PC

Does your Windows PC lack USB-C? Or, maybe you only have a single USB-C port and want more. There are quite a few ways to add the latest connection standard to your desktop or laptop. Here are a few of my favorite ways to add USB-C to any Windows PC.

If you only need to adapt a single USB-C device to your PC, then I recommend going with a USB-A to USB-C adapter. Getting a multi-pack of these adapters on Amazon is relatively affordable at under $5 each, and these are great to leave on individual devices to use them with your system. The adapters simply plug into a USB-C cable that comes off, say, a webcam, and plug it into a standard USB-A port on your desktop or laptop.

Basesailor

However, while those adapters work well for single devices that you'll constantly leave attached, if you are plugging and unplugging USB-C cables often, there might be a better option for you.

To start, I'd recommend using a USB-A to USB-C adapter like I mentioned and pair that with something like an Anker dock. It's sub-$20 and delivers two USB-C ports, along with a few USB-A ports. This is a simple solution to add two USB-C hookups to your computer and have them positioned more conveniently than wherever your PC's USB-A ports are.

Adapters Hooked Into Adapters Can Be a Good Solution Too

However, for the ultimate solution that works with both laptops and desktops, I'd recommend going with a 13-in-1 dock like this one from Anker paired with a USB-A to USB-C cable. While the A to C cable won't give you the HDMI functionality of this dock, it'll still enable all the other ports on it. That gets you two USB-C ports, three additional USB-A ports, Ethernet, and both microSD and SD ports at your desk. All through a single USB-A cable to your PC.

Anker

If you have a system with zero USB-C ports, this is the best (though most expensive) option to go with. It adds the most versatility, and also gives you a lot of features to use in the future. For example, this specific dock supports 85W charging over USB-C, so if you plug in a compatible laptop to it, the dock will not only handle all data requests, but also the power needs of the system.

Additionally, if your desktop has even a single USB-C port, and you connect using that, you will be able to leverage the two HDMI ports as well (if your desktop has USB-C with DisplayPort Alt output.)

And, if you need a plethora of USB-C ports, Plugable just announced a massive new hub that turns one USB-C port into ten. Yes, you read that right. One USB-C to ten. Simply use the aforementioned USB-A to USB-C adapter and Plugable's new hub will give you ten USB-C ports with ease.

Desktop Users Enjoy Even More Extensibility With PCIe Expansion Cards

The best solution if you have a desktop is to add in a PCIe expansion card. Adding an expansion card works with any desktop that has an empty PCIe slot. For a single USB-C slot, StarTech has a PCIe expansion card that gives you a 20Gbps USB-C port. StarTech also has you covered with a PCIe card that packs four external USB-C ports, as well as an internal USB-A port.

StarTech

Or, if you don't mind ditching the name brand, this expansion card on Amazon costs just $26 and delivers two USB-C and two USB-A ports to the back of your system. In addition to that, it gives both a USB 3.0 header and a front panel USB-C header to use in your case, if your motherboard doesn't have one.

If you need something that can deliver more power, there are PCIe cards that provide power and ports. This PCIe card, for example, provides 30W of charging via two of the ports and 45W of charging from the other two. All four ports offer a maximum bandwidth of 10GBps.

And, for those with newer systems, there are even Thunderbolt 4 adapters that can mount into a PCIe slot on your motherboard. These are a bit more specialized, and require a Thunderbolt header on your motherboard to function. But, once installed, you'll gain two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports on the back of your system.

USB-C is a standard that is becoming more mainstream with each passing day. While most modern PCs include USB-C in some capacity, older systems might not have it. And, if your older PC doesn't have USB-C, it's likely it's missing other modern features too. Luckily, you can just add any number of useful PCIe cards to your desktop and gain even more capability than you had before.