X200 ExpressCard Slot - What do you use it for?

[chongyixiong]

Hi everyone,

As I have an unused slot on my X200, and I am always on the quest to outfit my X200 to be the most powerful mobile workstation, I need to know what have you guys used to outfit your X20x series' ExpressCard slot?

I was mainly thinking of getting either one of these.. so I could interface with an external drive for backup solutions:

1. ExpressCard USB3.0
2. ExpressCard eSATA

However, I have heard rumours (or maybe read it somewhere) that the ExpressCard slot on the X200 is nothing but a 'splitter' option - meaning that it does not have access to a dedicated PCI lane for communication.. hence performance of it when connected to an eSATA interface might show similiar results as just using the USB2.0 slots on the laptop itself.. is that true?

Thanks for your help on this.

Much appreciated!

[bill bolton]

hence performance of it when connected to an eSATA interface might show similiar results as just using the USB2.0 slots on the laptop itself.. is that true?

I have an eSATA Express card, and while the results are quite variable (for a whole host of reasons, but mostly dependent on what is on the other end of the eSATA cable), the speeds I get using it with my X200 are always higher than for disk connections via the USB 2.0 ports.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[lead_org]

i use it for DIY Vidock.

[bacciagalupe]

I think you're just looking for a simple - common thing you might use it for, so...

I purchased a 3.0 USB Expresscard, which will enable me to use a new USB 3.0 portable/external hard drive for backup and media storage. The data transfer rates are much MUCH faster and saves me a lot of time.

[chongyixiong]

I have an eSATA Express card, and while the results are quite variable (for a whole host of reasons, but mostly dependent on what is on the other end of the eSATA cable), the speeds I get using it with my X200 are always higher than for disk connections via the USB 2.0 ports.

[lead_org] i use it for DIY Vidock.

[bacciagalupe]I purchased a 3.0 USB Expresscard, which will enable me to use a new USB 3.0 portable/external hard drive for backup and media storage. The data transfer rates are much MUCH faster and saves me a lot of time.

Thanks alot for the replies guys!
I think then there should be no bottlenecking on using the expresscard slot!

Guess its time for me to get that USB3.0 expresscard then! Was thinking of eSATA but if it needs to be powered externally, what's the point?

[Maryland, USA]

- ThinkPad X201 (wife's, brand new): MoGo Presenter Mouse X54 Pro. My wife claims she'll never use it, but I couldn't think of anything else she'd use, and an empty ExpressCard slot seems like such a waste.

- ThinkPad R61 (my home workhorse): a flush-mounting two-USB 20 card. I use the extra slots so I can double the current that feeds the Logitech V20 speakers that I've Dual-Locked to the LCD bezel.

- Dell Latitude E6400 (at work): a FireWire 400 and 800 card so I needn't fiddle with the Dell's tiny mini-Firewire port each time I reconnect my RAID-1 external drive. [/list][/list]

If you spend a lot of time in Gmail, consider buying the FaceVsion (no "i") FVExpress, a 34mm Expresscard that encodes your outgoing Gmail Videochat video in real-time high-definition. NewEgg has it for a terrific price for another 4 days.

[LegendaryKA8]

I use mine for a Expresscard-based flash drive to store and backup critical information on. As I use a T500 as well as my X200, it's a very handy, useful way to have some additional storage attached to my machine while keeping it available to both systems.

My particular one is rather slow, but newer ones have gained significant advances in speed. They're marketed as ExpressCard-based SSDs, and the more expensive ones apparently are fast enough to be used as OS drives.

[donzoomik]

Smart Card reader inserted 24/7. Thank god for digital IDs!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estonian_ID_card

[Eduard]

Lexar Professional ExpressCard CompactFlash (CF) Reader with my x201. Unbelievably fast transfers!

[mc2sgp]

I DIY'ed a used dummy ExpressCard and housed a 16GB SDHC and a micro-USB flash drive that contains a bootable Acronis True Image with an image before installing any applications. So I basically use it as a storage space.

See... http://forums.vr-zone.com/photopost/dat ... 44_251.jpg

[billp117]

mc2sgp...now that is cool. I love your modified adapter.

[503ducati]

I purchased one of these based on good reviews of the product but I cannot get my X201 to install drivers for it. I do not know exactly/specifically what to do to install this device. I've been taking guesses thus far, no idea at this point.




http://www.amazon.com/Express-card-54mm ... B0046XUMDW

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 2361wt_905


http://i52.tinypic.com/2jbuzb6.png

http://i54.tinypic.com/2hn2g78.png

[brettmansdorf]

UDMA CF Card writer (StarTech from New Egg)... Love it. HDTach is just shy of 20mb/s - so not as fast as my lexar USB USDMA, but at least its small and no cables.

[Initial D]

i use it for DIY Vidock.

This!