Depends on what USB version is your card reader connected to, Version 2 or Version 1. Obviously Version 1 and 1.1 have relatively slower speed than 2.0. Also, it depends on your reader. I usually connect my camera directly to my camera to download my images, and with 7GB of data, takes about a minute or less than that, though I never actually timed the download timings.
Of course, with firewire, you need a firewire connection on your computer. Check which firewire connector your computer supports, 4-circuit or 6-circuit. Check this link about what sort of connector you have
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_1394_interface
HTH.
Cheers!