is expresscard on a vaio VPCF116FX fast enough for USB 3 adapter

This VPCF116FX laptop was purchased in the US in spring 2010. It has an expresscard 34 slot. I'd like to get a USB adapter for it but only if that's going to be faster than standard USB 2, even if it's not full USB 3 speed.

Would a USB adapter on this laptop support faster USB than USB 2, even if not full USB 3? And how much faster could I expect it to be??

Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

I have a VPCZ115GG. My expresscard adapter gets me 90+ MB/s (sustained) from my Seagate Expansion 1 TB USB 3 external drive. The VPCF should be similar. You could compare specs of both and draw your own conclusions.

 

Thanks anytimer. It sounds like enough of an improvement that it's worth having the adapter.

Do you happen to know whether your expresscard is version 1.0 or 2.0?? Or I might ask whether your computer is as old as mine (spring 2010)? If not then possibly you have expresscard 2.0. I may not have that but it seems like it I could still perhaps get better speeds than with USB 2. I wonder.

 

Mine is just as old, although I bought it in summer 2010. The cheap expresscard USB 3.0 that I have has an NEC UPD720202 chip. The difference in speed to and from an external HDD is about 3 times over the USB 2.0 ports. The USB 2.0 ports give me a maximum throughput of less than 30MB/s. The expresscard USB 3.0 port (I can only use one at a time - not enough power to drive two external HDDs) gives me over 90.

 

Thanks again! That's good news!! Also that that adapter has an NEC chip because on Ubuntuforums somebody wrote me that they only had success with expresscard-USB adapters that had NEC chips. I'll look for that same model.

 

One last question if I may: with your USB 3 adapter do you have to use an external power supply?? I assume so since I believe that the expresscard slot only supplies 3 volts, or even if it supplies 5 I expect it won't supply enough current to power an external drive(?)

 

The slot provides enough juice to drive ONE external HDD. Works fine with my Seagate Expansion 1TB drives that are USB powered. If I want to use more HDDs together I have to use a USB 3.0 powered hub, but I haven't been able to get it to do file transfers from one HDD to another without using the main computer, so the overall throughput is disappointing.

Bottom line - single external drive - great. Multiple external drives - not so much.

 

Wow amazing. I'm surprised that even one drive can be powered from that port. But that's real good news. Thanks a lot again.

 

Actually one last question (then I promise to stop bothering you): what brand and model adapter do you have?? I'm impressed that it can power even one drive. So I'd like to get the same one!

 

Mine looks like this.
http://geb.ebay.in/g/ImportHubViewI...34mm-to-5Gbps-Dual2-Ports-USB-3-0Adapter-Card
Will be a lot cheaper for you because GEB (Ebay's global easy buy) includes shipping and import duties for India.

Look for the chip number. There a several variants of this; I wanted one that was flush with the laptop body; that was my over-riding criterion. Some have a power socket where a short cable can be plugged in, letting it draw power from a USB 2.0 port.

 

Thank you again!!! I'm gonna try to get that same adapter. Or at least as close as possible.