$22 for a PCMCIA CF card reader worth it?

Murcielago · 9th November 2007

just to elaborate. I saw this PCMCIA card reader for CF cards at a local IT shop. for those not familiar with it, it's a credit card sized but 5mm thick card that slots into yr laptop at the side.

it costs $22 and carried a sandisk logo, i didnt enquire abt it as I was in a hurry for lunch. the reason why i am thinking of getting it is because my not so modern laptop does not come with a cf card reader or any other memory cards.

opinions guys?

zhikang · 10th November 2007

get a USB all-in-one card reader. much cheaper. arnd $15 or so

Hitman · 10th November 2007

If your laptop has got USB slots, it's better to get a multi-card reader which costs about the same price. PCMCIA will soon be outdated technology...

Hope this helps.

Have a good weekend!

Canew · 10th November 2007

I bought my PCMCIA CF card reader for $12 from Make Fine Computer (S) Pte. Ltd., #04-24, Funan The IT Mall.
The reader is permanently in my PCMCIA slot.

(http://forums.clubsnap.org/showpost....23&postcount=2)

Denosha · 10th November 2007

16-bit PCMCIA or 32-bit Cardbus? If it's the former, it's going to be PAINFULLY slow. If it's the latter, that's really cheap cos normally it should be $50-60+. Cardbus readers are actually faster than quite a few generic usb 2.0 card readers. I have a lexar one permanently in my laptop.

I think you can tell which is which by the colour of the interface at the end of the card that goes into the slot. If it's gold, it's Cardbus.

Murcielago · 10th November 2007

I see. thanks for all the responses.

reason why i was thinking abt it is because my laptop only has 2 usb ports. possibly 1 for mouse and 1 for thumbdrive. yea i could carry a usb hub but that adds more things dangling around.

Murcielago · 10th November 2007

Originally Posted by Denosha

16-bit PCMCIA or 32-bit Cardbus? If it's the former, it's going to be PAINFULLY slow. If it's the latter, that's really cheap cos normally it should be $50-60+. Cardbus readers are actually faster than quite a few generic usb 2.0 card readers. I have a lexar one permanently in my laptop.

I think you can tell which is which by the colour of the interface at the end of the card that goes into the slot. If it's gold, it's Cardbus.

Didnt notice.

where did u get the cardbus ? does it work with all laptops or are there any design specifications?

Canew · 10th November 2007

Originally Posted by Denosha

16-bit PCMCIA or 32-bit Cardbus? If it's the former, it's going to be PAINFULLY slow. If it's the latter, that's really cheap cos normally it should be $50-60+. Cardbus readers are actually faster than quite a few generic usb 2.0 card readers. I have a lexar one permanently in my laptop.

I think you can tell which is which by the colour of the interface at the end of the card that goes into the slot. If it's gold, it's Cardbus.

Mine is the 16-bit version la. Slow, but I've learned to live with it.

hacknet · 10th November 2007

how slow is it? the mic usb 2.0 one i got is not only slow, its unreliable.

ExplorerZ · 11th November 2007

Originally Posted by hacknet

how slow is it? the mic usb 2.0 one i got is not only slow, its unreliable.

try for sandisk extreme reader... not cheap but works d**n well... got a read/write speed of about 7-8MB/s on my kingston 50x SD.

Denosha · 11th November 2007

Originally Posted by Murcielago

Didnt notice.

where did u get the cardbus ? does it work with all laptops or are there any design specifications?

Last time i got it from Alan Photo in SLS. They don't seem to sell it anymore. Most "middle-aged" laptops should support cardbus. But i think those newer ones with only ExpressCard slots (the replacement for PCMCIA/Cardbus) are NOT backward compatible so you need to get a ExpressCard reader which i think is even faster than the Cardbus one.

Originally Posted by hacknet

how slow is it? the mic usb 2.0 one i got is not only slow, its unreliable.

The 16-bit PCMCIA card readers would be many times slower than a USB2.0 one.

Originally Posted by ExplorerZ

try for sandisk extreme reader... not cheap but works d**n well... got a read/write speed of about 7-8MB/s on my kingston 50x SD.

The Transcend usb2.0 multi-card reader is cheap (not as cheap as those generic brand ones though) and more importantly fast. Check out the benchmarks: http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/mul...?cid=6007-8462. I've got that reader and I really do get about 16MB/s with my transcend 120x CF cards. It's since been replaced with a newer model with SDHC support. Not sure if the performance is still as good or maybe possibly better.

coffee3in1 · 11th November 2007

I have it too, it's seems to be slower than USB type. But it's always on my laptop so it will not be misplaced when travel (unless the laptop is lost too... )

9th November 2007	#1
Murcielago Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 551	$22 for a PCMCIA CF card reader worth it? just to elaborate. I saw this PCMCIA card reader for CF cards at a local IT shop. for those not familiar with it, it's a credit card sized but 5mm thick card that slots into yr laptop at the side. it costs $22 and carried a sandisk logo, i didnt enquire abt it as I was in a hurry for lunch. the reason why i am thinking of getting it is because my not so modern laptop does not come with a cf card reader or any other memory cards. opinions guys? __________________ [quote=dan_1337;2947523]if it was painted white, it would cost twice as much as Sigma =P[quote]

10th November 2007	#2
zhikang Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Yishun Posts: 661	Re: $22 for a PCMCIA CF card reader worth it? get a USB all-in-one card reader. much cheaper. arnd $15 or so __________________ When life hands u lemons.... ASK FOR TEQUILA AND SALT!

10th November 2007	#3
Hitman Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: 22° 11' N, 113° 33' E Posts: 793	Re: $22 for a PCMCIA CF card reader worth it? If your laptop has got USB slots, it's better to get a multi-card reader which costs about the same price. PCMCIA will soon be outdated technology... Hope this helps. Have a good weekend! __________________ Pictures always should have a special story behind it or a special meaning to the photographer.

10th November 2007	#4
Canew Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Tampines Posts: 2,092	Re: $22 for a PCMCIA CF card reader worth it? I bought my PCMCIA CF card reader for $12 from Make Fine Computer (S) Pte. Ltd., #04-24, Funan The IT Mall. The reader is permanently in my PCMCIA slot. (http://forums.clubsnap.org/showpost....23&postcount=2)

10th November 2007	#5
Denosha Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Bukit Timah Posts: 1,298	Re: $22 for a PCMCIA CF card reader worth it? 16-bit PCMCIA or 32-bit Cardbus? If it's the former, it's going to be PAINFULLY slow. If it's the latter, that's really cheap cos normally it should be $50-60+. Cardbus readers are actually faster than quite a few generic usb 2.0 card readers. I have a lexar one permanently in my laptop. I think you can tell which is which by the colour of the interface at the end of the card that goes into the slot. If it's gold, it's Cardbus. __________________ My Photo blog \| Photo gallery \| My music profile

10th November 2007	#9
hacknet Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1,090	Re: $22 for a PCMCIA CF card reader worth it? how slow is it? the mic usb 2.0 one i got is not only slow, its unreliable.

11th November 2007	#12
coffee3in1 Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Simei Posts: 582	Re: $22 for a PCMCIA CF card reader worth it? I have it too, it's seems to be slower than USB type. But it's always on my laptop so it will not be misplaced when travel (unless the laptop is lost too... )