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    So slow T61p's internal card reader

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by barcarole, Nov 25, 2007.

  1. barcarole

    barcarole Notebook Enthusiast

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    I'm using T61p with RICHO built-in 4-in card reader. I've just purchased SanDisk 4GB Ultra II 4.0GB Memory Stick PRO Duo, and shocked its so slow speed!

    My desktop's reader showed around 10MB/s with this card. However, built-in reader only gives 3MB/s. Worse, CPU usage was around 50% :mad: while other r/w (including hdd and flash cards) shows less than 7~8%. Looks like very old programmed I/O. See the attaced capture.

    Overall r/w performance was extremely poorer than even a cheap and older card reader with CF.

    I guess this is a fault of RICOH card reader driver. Or, MS Duo isn't that good with my T61p? I don't have a SD card yet, so don't know about whether SD card would suffer this problem as well.

    p.s. I'm using Vista Ultimate 32-bit version now.
     

    Attached Files:

  2. ppan

    ppan Newbie

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    My Lenovo 3000 N200 also has a built-in Ricoh multi card reader and I have exactly the same problem. I tested a Lexar professional 133x 4GB SDHC card and an old Kingston 512mb SD card, both show the same slow 4mb/s read speed in HD Tune and CPU usage at above 50%. When I use an external USB 2.0 card reader, the speed is much better: The lexar reads at 20mb/s and Kingston at 7mb/s, and CPU usage is minimal. I tried driver update but Vista (32bit business) says I already have the latest driver.

    It totally defeats the purpose of having a internal card reader if you have to carry around an external USB reader.
     
  3. sprtnbsblplya

    sprtnbsblplya Notebook Deity

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    Unless you hate carrying around external stuff, the benefit outweighs the cons for me.
     
  4. itr025

    itr025 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Just thought I'd add that a Transcend Class 6 SDHC card I just purchased has a (large file) write speed of around 11MB/s under Vista 32bit using the T61p cardreader - a lot faster than the 6MB/s I was expecting (class 6).

    I also have a Sandisk Ultra II MiniSD card which could perform the same test at 5-6MB/s or thereabouts (it's rated at 9MB/s write).
     
  5. creatir

    creatir Newbie

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    @itr025

    What driver are you using?
     
  6. dimonay

    dimonay Notebook Consultant

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    My Memory Sticks don't even work in my card reader.... :(
     
  7. creatir

    creatir Newbie

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    I still have the same problem using an Asus A8JS.
    I tested 6 different drivers to no avail.
     
  8. mludwig

    mludwig Notebook Enthusiast

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    Same issue, an external reader manages 5x the speed of the internal Ricoh one.
     
  9. cheshirecat

    cheshirecat Newbie

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    I've got same problem with my HP Pavilion dv9700t with a RICOH card reader. Reader is very slow, when I transfer files, or view photos or watch videos off a memory card the computer really slows down and the sound becomes abrupt. When I play videos off a memory card they stop frequently.

    Is there any solution for it? Maybe some alternative drivers? Or is it a hardware design flaw?

    TIA