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What do you use the P50/70 ExpressCard slot for?
What do you use the P50/70 ExpressCard slot for?
I have found a lot of old discussions on best usage of the expresscard slot. Most of them are from 5 years ago. I am not sure if anyone is actually using/planning to use the expresscard slot for something? What I found:
1. Expresscard SSD. I only found ~150MB/s write and slower read speeds at the best, which is much slower than a usual SSD disk. No recent models? It is ridiculous expensive and easy to get hot.
2. Expresscard adaptors for USB 3.0/eSATA and others ports. My favorite is the USB 3.0 adapter idea.
3. 4G cards.
4. external GPU (didn't find modern GPU that can be useful for this machine).
5. wifi/internet adapter.
6. TV/camera transmitter.
Any real story or thoughts? I am not wanting it to be empty all the time...
1. Expresscard SSD. I only found ~150MB/s write and slower read speeds at the best, which is much slower than a usual SSD disk. No recent models? It is ridiculous expensive and easy to get hot.
2. Expresscard adaptors for USB 3.0/eSATA and others ports. My favorite is the USB 3.0 adapter idea.
3. 4G cards.
4. external GPU (didn't find modern GPU that can be useful for this machine).
5. wifi/internet adapter.
6. TV/camera transmitter.
Any real story or thoughts? I am not wanting it to be empty all the time...
X31 (since 2003), X61T (2007), X200T (2009), ThinkPad Tablet 2 (2013), P50 (2016).
Considering more Thinkpads. Retiring my X200T. PM me if anyone wants to home it.
OS: Ubuntu and Windows 10.
Considering more Thinkpads. Retiring my X200T. PM me if anyone wants to home it.
OS: Ubuntu and Windows 10.
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Re: What do you use the P50/70 ExpressCard slot for?
This reminds me of a situation like "a solution in search of a problem".I am not wanting it to be empty all the time...

You don't need to use the ExpressCard slot, but simply want to. To me that sounds like some form of fixation, which is understandable when you think about how some of us Thinkpadders can be so obsessed with our machines.
But, we must learn to temper that with a bit of pragmatism, especially when we're short on time, money, and maybe sanity.

Do you need extra USB 3.0 ports? Do you know the problems they have with supplying enough power to external hard drives? I do: I use a USB 3.0 ExpressCard in my X220, and I definitely need it because my Thinkpad doesn't have any USB 3.0 ports.
Daily driver: X220 4291-C91 i7-2620M
Backup: X220 4291-P79 i5-2520M
In pieces: X60s CS U1300 [board only], two retired but working X61Ts
RIP: 760XD 9546-U9E, X61 T7500
Backup: X220 4291-P79 i5-2520M
In pieces: X60s CS U1300 [board only], two retired but working X61Ts
RIP: 760XD 9546-U9E, X61 T7500

Re: What do you use the P50/70 ExpressCard slot for?
The major point of having PCCard or ExpressCard slots is not what you can do with them now but what you will be able to do when new devices appear that did not exist when your laptop was designed (e.g. USB 3.0 for older laptops or USB 2.0 for even older ones). With high-speed external buses like USB 3.x and Thunderbolt 3 the expansion slots are probably not as important as they formerly were but they are still basically future-proofing.
Current Thinkpads:
X31, X40, X61T, X61, X201, X220 (i7 IPS), W520 (2720QM/2000M/FHD), T440p (i7-4800MQ/GF730GT/FHD)
Dells: Latitude C840, Precision M70, Precision M4400, M6400 (WUXGA), M6600, M6700
Daily driver: Dell XPS 13 w/Kaby Lake+Iris Pro+TB3
X31, X40, X61T, X61, X201, X220 (i7 IPS), W520 (2720QM/2000M/FHD), T440p (i7-4800MQ/GF730GT/FHD)
Dells: Latitude C840, Precision M70, Precision M4400, M6400 (WUXGA), M6600, M6700
Daily driver: Dell XPS 13 w/Kaby Lake+Iris Pro+TB3
Re: What do you use the P50/70 ExpressCard slot for?
I have to second that and the post from axur-delmeria...jdrou wrote:The major point of having PCCard or ExpressCard slots is not what you can do with them now but what you will be able to do when new devices appear that did not exist when your laptop was designed (e.g. USB 3.0 for older laptops or USB 2.0 for even older ones). With high-speed external buses like USB 3.x and Thunderbolt 3 the expansion slots are probably not as important as they formerly were but they are still basically future-proofing.
Given that I have never used any of the EC slots on my old TPs, I can generalize this trend to my current one. Just in a small chance of case I need, I will do the plugin-n-go.
X31 (since 2003), X61T (2007), X200T (2009), ThinkPad Tablet 2 (2013), P50 (2016).
Considering more Thinkpads. Retiring my X200T. PM me if anyone wants to home it.
OS: Ubuntu and Windows 10.
Considering more Thinkpads. Retiring my X200T. PM me if anyone wants to home it.
OS: Ubuntu and Windows 10.
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- Location: Friedrichshafen, Germany
Re: What do you use the P50/70 ExpressCard slot for?
Unfortunately, ExpressCard is way too slow for that purpose nowadays.jdrou wrote:With high-speed external buses like USB 3.x and Thunderbolt 3 the expansion slots are probably not as important as they formerly were but they are still basically future-proofing.
However, ExpressCard is a great way to add legacy ports like RS-232, eSATA or FireWire to a ThinkPad.
Re: What do you use the P50/70 ExpressCard slot for?
It is interesting how things went a full circle.fb1996 wrote:Unfortunately, ExpressCard is way too slow for that purpose nowadays.
However, ExpressCard is a great way to add legacy ports like RS-232, eSATA or FireWire to a ThinkPad.
In its early days, ExpressCard was a great way to add new technology to legacy systems, and now it's a great way to add legacy technology to new systems.

Current: Thinkpad 25 (20K7), Yoga 14 (20FY), X220 4291-4BG, T410 2537-R46, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G
Collectibles: T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X32 (IPS Screen)
Retired: X61 7673-V2V, T60 1952-F76, A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad
Collectibles: T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X32 (IPS Screen)
Retired: X61 7673-V2V, T60 1952-F76, A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad
Re: What do you use the P50/70 ExpressCard slot for?
For any option that remains flush with the chassis, I err towards keeping it in the slot that not.
That tells me to have another 3.0 or eSATA card (or combined) inserted rather than leave empty.
Other than this, the stashcard was a great idea, but I think production stopped with PCMCIA versions (still a nice option for those).
That tells me to have another 3.0 or eSATA card (or combined) inserted rather than leave empty.
Other than this, the stashcard was a great idea, but I think production stopped with PCMCIA versions (still a nice option for those).
- T61 - 6465CTO - T9500 - 15.4" LG WSXGA+ - 8GB OCZ- 120GB EVO 850 SSD - X3100 - Win 8.1 Pro 64-bit
X301 - 2774W8Q - U9400 - 13.3" BOEHYDIS WXGA - 8GB Elpida - 128GB C400 mSATA SSD - 4500MHD - Win 10 Pro 64-Bit
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