Thinkpads Forum

I need to get a memory card reader (for memory stick) for my T60 and wanted to get either express card or pc card format.

1. Express card should be able to transfer data faster than pc card, right?

2. Is the top slot on the left side of the T60 for express card and bottom slot for pc card?

3. Does anyone have or can take a picture of their T60 with a 34mm express card plugged in and/or pc card plugged in?

Thanks for the help, and in case anyone was interested I was thinking of going with this: http://www.siig.com/product.asp?pid=1051&catid=128

1. In theory yes but I think that in reality there will be no difference as the data transfer rates of the memory cards will be much lower than what either slot is capable of.

2. Yes that is correct.

3. Unfortunately i don't have any express cards yet - thanks for that link as i didn't know any card readers were available to buy yet - not sure if $50 is worth it though just to keep my pc card slot free

thanks snife. i appreciate your help.

so, I got both an express card reader and a pc card and did my own simple test to check the speeds:

EXPRESS CARD (Siig brand):
1. Copy 426MB of pictures from computer to memory stick pro took 1 minute 52 seconds.

2. Move 426MB of pics from memory stick pro to computer took 25 seconds.

PC CARD (CompUSA brand):
1. Copy 426 MB of pics from computer to MS pro took 9 minutes 50 seconds.

2. Move 426MB of pics from MS Pro to computer took ~1 minute 30 seconds.

Didn't realize Express Card would be that much faster...

akordz wrote:so, I got both an express card reader and a pc card and did my own simple test to check the speeds:

EXPRESS CARD (Siig brand):
1. Copy 426MB of pictures from computer to memory stick pro took 1 minute 52 seconds.

2. Move 426MB of pics from memory stick pro to computer took 25 seconds.

PC CARD (CompUSA brand):
1. Copy 426 MB of pics from computer to MS pro took 9 minutes 50 seconds.

2. Move 426MB of pics from MS Pro to computer took ~1 minute 30 seconds.

Didn't realize Express Card would be that much faster...

Nice; thanks for posting the results of your test. Looks like that Express Card really is much faster than the PCMCIA card.

Both PCI and PCIe have more than enough bandwidth for a memory card reader... my guess would be that the performance difference you're seeing is simply due to better hardware or drivers on the expresscard device.

Interesting...what other devices use express cards nowadays? Is it pretty similar to PCMCIA?

From the guys using the PCMCIA slots on their Thinkpads (even older models), did you have any problem with the plastic cover loosening up or the thing plastic release button breaking eventually?

I had a PCMCIA CF card reader on my old Panasonic W2 and had those problems after less than a year so I'm curious about the Thinkpad's construction.

jagged wrote:Interesting...what other devices use express cards nowadays? Is it pretty similar to PCMCIA?

From the guys using the PCMCIA slots on their Thinkpads (even older models), did you have any problem with the plastic cover loosening up or the thing plastic release button breaking eventually?

I had a PCMCIA CF card reader on my old Panasonic W2 and had those problems after less than a year so I'm curious about the Thinkpad's construction.

Never had that happen on any of my Thinkpads since my 701c Butterfly Thinkpad that I got in 1995. I used to plug the PCMCIA cards in and out alot, considering that there was no built-in optical drive and I backed up the stuff to an external IBM Travelstar HDD, all of which went in through the PCMCIA ports. All the way up until now, I haven't had one of them loosen or break off.

The Compaq 1900 Presario and HP, however, were other stories entirely.

I use an Express54 Card in my T60 and have found it much quicker than standard PC card adapters. I use it because I keep a SCSI adapter in the PC slot.

However the transfer speeds are not as different if you compare the EX54 card to a PC CardBus adapter.

Standard PC card < Cardbus PC card < Express54 in my experience.

My biggest gripe with the Ex54 card is that you can't leave it in the slot as it protrudes significantly from the box making it impractical to travel with. My A31p always had the SCSI card and CardBus CF adapter in the slots so I didn't have to worry about leaving them behind or wear & tear on the slots.

difference you're seeing. I use a CardBus 32-bit Delkin reader for my Compact Flash card transfers, and it's five times faster than a 16-bit reader.

jagged wrote:From the guys using the PCMCIA slots on their Thinkpads (even older models), did you have any problem with the plastic cover loosening up or the thing plastic release button breaking eventually?

I have used a variety of devices over the years which have the PCMCIA card interface. Beginning with my T20 and going forward. I currently use a PCMCIA, CF card adapter for transferring photos from my digital Nikon SLR. I have not had one single problem with any doors, eject buttons or any other case part of a ThinkPad. My ThinkPads get a tremdous amount of use. I really enjoy these laptops as they are so incredibly durable. Just one more feature that one enjoys when using a ThinkPad.