Flush USB 3.0 Expresscard Adapter

Looks like flush USB 3.0 expresscards finally came out.

Cheapest USB 3.0 flush expresscard out there right now is from AKE.
I found the 34mm version with 1 USB 3.0 port on ebay for a little over $17. If you don't like ebay, you can buy it from here for a little more.
The 54mm version with 2 USB 3.0 ports sells for a little under $20 on ebay.

The 34mm version uses a Fresco Logic chipset and the latest drivers can be found here.
The 54mm version uses a NEC/Renesas chipset and the latest drivers can be found here or by using the Auto Update Utility found here.

If you are having disconnect problems, it may be because you are not supplying your device with enough power. If you are getting slow speeds, it may be because you laptop has an expresscard 1.0 slot instead of 2.0.

Edit:

So I just recieved my 34mm AKE USB 3.0 expresscard. Here are some benchmarks. This is with a 2TB Hitachi 5k3000 in a Sunbeamtech USB 3.0 enclosure.

 

If you've already looked around....

Amazon
TigerDirect
ZZF (I hate this retailer personally)
CompUSA
Microcenter
Fry's
Best Buy
Provantage
PC Connection
NewEgg

...

and of course done the obligatory Google and Bing searches, there probably isn't anything out there yet.

 

I don't think flush fit exists...

 

I'd say it's a great product but it needs to have an AC plug adapter right next to that USB3 port rather than use the included Y-USB3 cable something something, for devices that demand more power than 900mA.

 

There are reasons I've been waiting for USB 3 to come pre-installed in notebooks. Power is going to be a difficult thing to get past in the expresscard versions. However it's better to have it than to not have it.

The Photofast is a very good design. Beats the dongle hanging out the side. Only thing better would have been fitting two USB ports in the card.

Give it another month or two. The thing is brand new. Should come to the US by then.

 

Registered just so I could reply to this post. I found these two items. Can anyone figure out if they are legit or not?
Discount High-Speed Expresscard 34mm to USB 3.0 Express Card
harmoncity.com. AKE expresscard Express To USB 3.0 FL1000 34mm
Thanks
Mike

 

I'm interested in finding one too. Looks like some good prospects are already linked here, just wonder how reliable they are.

 

Yeah, I'm wondering that same thing. Found another at bit higher price point.
Opentip.com: Single Port SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Slim Express Card
And here is that Ake one at Amazon now!
Amazon.com: AKE expresscard Express To USB 3.0 FL1000 34mm: Electronics
very tempting...
Mike

 

I have found this one and I would probably get it soon:
Express card 54mm To 2 Port USB 3.0 expresscard ca - eBay (item 330506041045 end time Jan-07-11 06:10:12 PST)

 

@damaph

Here you Go

You can buy it from China ? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1-port-USB3-0...CMCIACards&hash=item255fbb009f#ht_4870wt_1139

 

I always wondered if there is a case for misrepresentation with these expresscard to USB 3.0 products?
Expresscard is implemented as a single x1 PCIe link, and runs at 2.5Gb/s in Gen-1 implementations (most everything in existance; I could only find one Dell XPS that has Gen-2 ExpressCard, though I am sure there are a few others).
USB 3.0 is capable of 4.8gb/s so how on earth can these expresscard devices run at anything like USB 3.0 full speed? Hmm.... they can't!

Also the power issue is a big PIA. I'd wait until USB 3.0 becomes standard on notebooks....

- Tim

 

True, they can't.
But if you consider the main reason people buy these adapter, that is to attach usb3.0 external hard disk, they are more than adeguate, cause HHD doesn't even saturate the 2.5gb/s of expresscard.
Maybe you can have some limitation if you use a fast SSD as an external storage disk, but that is, at least, a rare situation.

About power issues i just don't know...

 

And now TELL ME did the USB 2.0 been running on earth full speed since it was here ?? please answer this question!
Why you want talk about full speed? Does SATA running full 300 MB/s full speed?
NOTHING RUNNING FULL SPEED you didnt noticed? no sata no firewire no usb no esata AS STATED !
you think anythin what been said by speed is true?? not real world?
Think man its not about full speed its about to make better and better step forward!

 

OF course it wont be full speed
USB 2.0 is from 25 to 30 MB/s
USB 3.0 is from 70 to 100 MB/s and that is very nice step forward dont you think mr timfountain ?
YouTube - USB 3.0 vs. USB 2.0 Speed Test at GIGABYTE with new UD6 mobo

 

Agreed - very good point Musata.

I just got a USB3.0 Iomega portable hard drive and am waiting for my USB 3.0 expresscard 34 adapter to arrive. It works fine via the current USB2.0 port (no additional power supply required) and running a quick test I got around 25 MB/s transfer rate.

Can't wait for the USB 3.0 expresscard 34 adapter to arrive so I can max the drive's potential, but I know I can't expect anywhere near 5GB/s. The Iomega drive box has a '10x faster!' sticker on, so over-optimistic advertising may be partially to blame for unrealistic expectations.

A couple of ad's for USB 3.0 expresscard ports I read mentioned the expresscard imposes a limit of 2.5GB/s. The most likely bottleneck will be the speed of the drive itself which is 5400 rpm. I'm hoping for around 100MB/s which will indeed be a nice step forward!

 

I just ordered this beautiful 3.0 enclosure and cant wait to arrive too.. due to christmas shopping all posting is delayed aaah .. i hope tmrw package will be here.
Ill put there one of my SSD and check speed ...

 

I needed more space in an external HDD so I went with a Western Digital MyBook 3.0. I spent the extra $10 for the version of this drive that doesn't include any pre-installed WD software, which I read is a real pain to get rid of. For a USB 3.0 Expresscard, I went with this one. It's not flush, which isn't a big deal because my laptop is docked 90% of the time. When it isn't, I'm traveling and wouldn't have the external HDD anyway. Regardless, the nice thing about this particular Expresscard is that it actually includes a power adapter. I just made sure to install the latest driver from NEC/Renesas, plugged in the card, plugged in the MyBook, and all is well so far. Transfer rates over USB 3.0 versus my old eSATA enclosure are at least 10 MB/s faster.

I'm very pleased with the MyBook and USB 3.0 add-in card.

 

2011 will be the year USB 3 goes viral

 

i think the real question is whether an external hdd (or any other device) run at the same speed with a built in usb 3 versus a usb 3 expresscard adapter. and if that expresscard can supply the same power that a built in usb 3 can.

im interested to know myself. i have an esata connection but the problem with esata is the need for an auxillary power cable plus the stiffness of the esata cable itself which can make for a cluttered desk.

 

That's good point !

The ExpressCard has a maximum throughput of 2.5 Gbit/s through PCI Express
480 Mbit/s through USB 2.0 dedicated for each slot, while all CardBus devices connected to a computer share a total 1.06 Gbit/s bandwidth.
In USB 3.0 case it will be obviously more than USB 2.0 - need real test ..

About extra power you right in my case I dont have additional power .
And I HAVE tried to connect USB 2.0 enclosure with any HDD and there was no power .. I had to connect Double USB and use second normal USB Slot .
But in USB 3.0 there is 5 pins so extra power should be there I suppose - need try .
There is one NEC Flush module which DOES have aux power added .
here are some pictures below

 

do you have a link to the 54 version of this? with one usb 3 instead of 2?

 

@trvelbug
Yes there is on ebay
I found 2 same one is from USA and second from Hong Kong
I can see in the middle of module is aux power ..
USA : Expresscard 54 to USB 3.0 Adapter (Fully Inside Laptop) on eBay (end time 01-Jan-11 02:54:20 GMT)
Hong Kong : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Express-Card-...ultDomain_0&hash=item4155456ac4#ht_2257wt_905
All : http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?LH_Av...t=nc&_sc=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_sop=15&_sc=1

 

Like the design. Easy to plug in to usb 2 for addl power.
Run that to a USB 3 hub and you have multi device connections in a jiffy

 

hopefully someone could do a test comparing a builtin usb 3.0 versus a usb 3.0 expresscard adapter. it would be interesting if he could use them on a 7200rpm hdd, a 10k, and a fast ssd.

ive also seen some reviews on amazon stating that the expresscard can only power one of the two slots at the same time (with regards to hdd enclosures), even with an external usb power source. can anyone confirm this?

 

Hi, i just stumble upon this thread.
I bought the AKE express card 54 to 2 usb 3.0 port and i find it to be extremely slow, heres the thread i created in Accessories section http://forum.notebookreview.com/accessories/542821-usb-3-0-so-slow.html

EDIT: Btw, im using a 3.5" 7200rpm hard drive externally powered in an enclosure.

 

+rep for the link to the 2-port flush Expresscard 54 adapter. Just ordered one and am sending back the one I purchased last week.

I have a Belkin mini surge protector that I picked up for $7 a while back. It has two USB ports so I can plug the power cord for the USB 3.0 card into one of those slots so I don't take up one of my notebook's other USB 2.0 ports when the machine is docked.

You were given links to two other forum threads that will answer your question. You're not going to get anywhere near the theoretical limit of USB 3.0. Read the links 1ceBlu3 posted.

 

I do know that, i was never expecting 10 times the speed, i was expecting what i see in most USB 3.0 tests. Currently im only getting a 10mb/s improvement. Videos show at least twice the speed.

 

What's really important is can it handle a heavy duty data stream like HD video. Answer? Yes! After that, everything else is a matter of convenience.

 

not really. my main reason for getting usb 3 is for fast file transfers. also i am planning on running some programs of it so it does matter.
my usb 2.o connection can run hi bitstream 1080p mkvs and mt2s. so obviously i dont need usb 3.0 for that.

 

Hello Guys
I just received the USB 3.0 enclosure yesterday
and I am very pleased with it box contains enclosure cable and nice pouch
you can check the pictures
BUT
What am NOT pleased is that it doesnt work over ExpressCard ..
I need aux power .. I tried to connect HDD and there was no enough power..
And I dont have aditional usb plug to power it up they sent me just normal USB 3.0 cable ..
My Verdict on ExpressCard is : ---->> IT SUCKS !!
I will try put SSD in later because SSD consuming less power so it might work?

 

Guess that makes more reason to wait for built in USB 3

 

that means buy new laptop .. am not doing that .....

 

Just because express card is not a perfect solution, doesn't mean it's still not a viable one. The same issue exists with my sata enclosure.

 

In my case I need to sell my current flush USB 3.0 Expr. Card and buy that Shentek

 

The Expresscard interface is going to be a limiting factor. Are the reviews you're watching being conducted on desktop systems or notebooks that have built-in USB 3.0 ports? If so, that's where you're seeing the much higher transfer rates.

 

I received my card today from the U.S. seller mentioned in this post. Two business days via USPS 1st class mail from California to Illinois is pretty good.

Once installed, it's not completely flush with my GX740, but it's a darn sight better than the traditional bulky cards you see for sale on most major retail sites. It came loaded with the latest firmware, and I pulled the drivers from elsewhere on the web. The DC-USB power cable was a bit difficult to insert into the card, but it got there. I have it plugged into a wall adapter so it's not taking up one of my system's USB ports. So far, it seems to be working OK. My WD USB 3.0 drive was detected right away, and file transfers are notably snappier versus USB 2.0. Overall, a decent investment of $20.

 

Still looking for the adapter right now?
if yes,recommend two online shop for you
one is chinadist.com
the other one is cmaera2000.com

I know they sell adapters,but I am not sure if there have the one you want..just a suggestion..

 

could you run cdm with and w/o the wall adapter. 100mb 5x on all tests if possible.

 

USB 2.0 --> USB 3.0 w/o AC --> USB 3.0 w/AC



Seems to be a small performance increase while using the AC adapter. Probably not enough to justify using it all the time, or at least taking up a USB port in the process. I'm not sure if I'll keep it on AC or not since I have mine plugged into the wall.

 

@saturnotaku
thanks. seems decent enough performance for an external.
now if we could just comapre the adapter toa built in usb 3.0 with cdm using the same drive...

 

Is that the 54 Expresscard version or 34 that you got? Do you know if there would be a speed diff between the two? I can only fit an expresscard 34 in my laptop.
Thanks
Mike

 

It's a 54 card. 34 wouldn't be enough to have 2 USB ports side by side.

 

Hmm,
What did I say upthread? Cheap untested junk. I'm sure the benchmarks will be less than steller as well, assuming you even get it working.

 

Here is the one I bought from ebay. Should be in in a few days. Check it out.

Also ordered this enclosure. This should help speed up my imaging process. KINGWIN ATK-25U3-BK Aluminum 2.5" Black USB 3.0 External Enclosure

 

ooh yeah definitely .. all sellers talking about HUGE speeds transfers and reality is somewhere else ... that's the marketing cheat ..

 

Hey, Man,

Got myself one from that exact vendor as I'm waiting for my Iomega EGO 1TB USB 3.0 portable external hard drive.

30 to 75 MB/s is a very nice speed upgrade indeed , I guess I can expect the same (since it's the same thing - I assume it's an AKE?)

Could you comment on the construction? Seems a bit flimsy to me. How solid is the connection? Seems a bit loose to me...

Thanks...

 

It fits securely in my system, and when I travel I won't be taking it with me. It doesn't seem any better or more poorly built than the other Expresscard adapter I had before, but it fits better because the eBay one is 54. Most other USB 3 adapters are the smaller size.

 

Thanks, Man! It's just that the connection doesn't seem to be as solid as, say, the onboard USB 2.0 connections, that's all. I am a bit concerned with the flimsiness / looseness of the connectors, as I would install this adapter permanently for use with the USB 3.0 portable drive that I ordered.

 

i am also thinking about buy one for my E6400, does it require driver under win7 system?

 

Yes. They can be downloaded from here.