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Making a FAST card reader for less! (compact flash)
Overfocused
Registered Users Posts: 1,068 Major grins
I get excited about this stuff and I must share. You can have a super fast CF card reader/writer for around $20-40 (depending on your setup), that performs as well or better than firewire 800 readers! Want that? Want to learn a bit more about computers in (mostly) common man's language so you know what you really need? Read on!
A few imporant things first:
I did some testing on the second item in the list (the CF/SATA converter) and it seems to have issues with UDMA (ultra direct memory access) backward compatibility. UDMA comes in ratings 1-6. This adapter can't use UDMA 5 or 6 and seems it can't scale them down to UDMA 4 either. I unfortunately sold my Lexar 300x UDMA 4 cards 2 weeks before I got the idea to do this test, so I wasn't able to test their speeds. (If I knew I'd be doing this I would have kept them) I acknowledge this article has a nice big flare of amateurism with a lack of card variety, but I hope it still sparks some interest. You'll at the least be educated about a few computer parts.
So, for UDMA4 (60MB/sec) or lower cards (most cards in existence) the results compared to USB2 can make you want to kill USB2 and bury it forever.
In other words: if you have a card up to 400x, you will want this setup.
However, I cannot guarantee brand compatibility.
If anyone wants to do their own testing with this hardware and submit their data in replies feel free to as I believe it would benefit everyone. 233x, 300x, and 400x would be great popular speeds to benchmark.
So, to the numbers:
Transcend 16GB CF 133x (20MB/sec rating)
Average Read (single 2.38GB movie file): 50.10MB/sec: +%248 to rating
Average Write (single 2.38GB movie file): 26.9MB/sec: +%34.5 to rating
Average Read (2.12GB/100 RAW photos): 22.31MB/sec: +%11.5 to rating
Average Write (2.12GB/100 RAW photos): 9.81MB/sec -%49 from rating
These are great speeds for HD video. Just make sure a card this rating is not cluttered before recording.
Also, in less expensive cards write speeds are usually half the rated read speed.
Lexar 16gb 600x CF (90MB/sec rating) (incompatible)
Well this was a let down. Possibilities of incompatibility could be:
The converter is compatible up to CF specification 3.0. The newest is 4.1.
(I couldn't find what the adapter specification is rated)
The converter cannot use UDMA 4 on a UDMA 6 card
The external drive enclosure's hardware doesn't recognize UDMA 6
(If I had 300x cards I would be able to figure out the problem precisely)
Still want to make a reader?
It requires 3 parts
The external 2.5" e-SATA compatible HDD enclosure. ($8-12) (Search: 'eSata 2.5 external')
MAKE SURE IT COMES WITH THE e-SATA CABLE. Mine didn't and I had to wait for it.
Something like this:
Next of what you need is the SATA/CF card adapter. (search: 'SATA to CF' or vice versa) They are inexpensive, fast, and most of them at the moment are UDMA 4 (max rating 60MB/sec read write). If you can find a UDMA 6 enabled version, pounce on that and you can use the 600x cards max speed. Be careful of the cheap adapters because they won't perform as fast or be as compatible if they're older. These particular units are high volume mass production cards, so you'll find them all over the internet, not just ebay. They come in green and red color. Some versions will be re-branded or marked up by more popular stores, even though they are the exact same chip and the pictures will show it. Whether or not it is a quality item it's best to ask the seller if it can work with the specifications of your CF card (I.E. 600x, 400x, UDMA, etc)
Last of what you need for the above hardware is the e-SATA port. You can use an ExpressCard slot but there will be a difference in what you get for it. If you have an e-sata port, you can buy just the two items above. Otherwise for laptops and PCs there are some options:
For laptops
There are 2 slots for laptops capable of high bandwidth. One is the ExpressCard 34/54 slot (500MB/sec bandwidth), two is an e-SATA port (300MB/sec bandwidth). If you already have an e-sata port, you only need to buy the enclosure and CF/SATA adapter. If you have just an ExpressCard slot, you can still do 2 things. If you have neither, you're out of luck. Soon USB 3.0 readers will be out as well and this article will only be good for computers without native USB 3 support (especially laptops without it)
Option One: No e-sata, but ExpressCard: If your laptop has no e-Sata port, and you want more than just a CF card reader, buy an express card to e-SATA expresscard adapter. This will allow you to be able to use e-SATA for fast external hard drives, as well as reading CF cards quickly.
(Search: 'eSATA ExpressCard Adapter')
Dynex is one good brand for reliability and performance per dollar for this type of card. It shouldn't cost more than $20 to find a good one.
Option Two: ExpressCard only: Buy an ExpressCard CF reader. There are UDMA CF card readers made just for the ExpressCard slot. There are cheaper ones for that run from $10-25 (Typically 40MB/sec) and the best ones available are UDMA 6 (133MB/sec) by Sandisk and Lexar. At the time of this writing, Lexar is $34 and Sandisk is $40. Be careful as I've heard some Mac users having compatibility issues with the Lexar. However, windows users will be fine as long as they install the included driver. (search: 'SanDisk ExpressCard' or 'Lexar ExpressCard')
If you choose option 1, you'll be able to read/write CF cards, really damn fast (up to 133MB/sec)
If you choose option 2, you'll trade half the bandwidth for the CF (UDMA 4 60MB/sec),
but you'll get the capability of hooking up external hard drives or other eSATA drives and using them quickly as well a CF memory card reader.
A hard drive's speed will only be limited by its speed rating and enclosure that its in.
Both options run about the same cost.
For newer PC/Mac boxes
For e-SATA the PCI Express x1 Slot eSATA card adapter is needed. (search: 'esata to pcie') They go into the tiny white slots on your motherboard (shown below) Again, Dynex is a very good brand and this exact pictured card can be gotten for $8 on Ebay. I use it and it works very well. Note: you need a free 4-Pin Molex power cable to power the 5V out plugs on the card, otherwise be sure your device has it's own power source. If your system power supply is too new it may not have a Molex. Converters can be gotten for a buck or two. (search: molex to sata cable)
For those who wish to use ExpressCard on their PC/Mac Box, you can get a Pci Express x1 ExpressCard adapter for roughly $10 and up.
For old computers
eSATA PCI expansion cards (old format in the photo) are more expensive but allow you to keep up with the future and not lose speed. Lacie (premium brand) even makes them still for $29 at are sold at B&H. (You may find a deal somewhere on a different brand) Keep in mind these ports are good for fast external hard drives not just this CF card application.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/594414-REG/LaCie_130823_2_Port_eSATA_PCI_Adapter.html
The cheapest (but risky) alternative
An internal SATA to eSATA cable. (search: 'SATA to eSATA') They are $1-3 shipped. The risk involves plug-and-play or "hot swapping" ability. Some drives are unpluggable while the machine is on and can be plugged in with a new card, just like a normal reader. Depending on your computer however, because the drive is being treated as in internal SATA hard drive, there's a good chance you will have to plug in the card before the computer is started so it can recognize the card. It is terribly inconvenient, but if you'd want to gamble $3 to see if it would work first, go ahead. I wouldn't do it unless I was %100 sure my PC could hot swap SATA hard drives. Some computers and drivers allow for hot swapping internal SATA drives, but most don't. Do it at your own risk since data loss can occur when unplugging internal drives while the computer is on.
A little computer education
If you asked: "What the hell is a molex?"
It's an old power plug in PC/Mac boxes:
Here is a photo showing the different kind of PCI slots in existance inside PC/Mac boxes. The PCI express slots are awesome and fast slots for data transfer of 500MB/sec per x1. For most people they are good for USB 2.0/3.0 cards, e-SATA cards, tv tuners, etc. For professionals there is more crazy hardware out there.
Last but not least: How to hook it up
Common sense. Just plug in what fits!
If you have none (sometimes I don't) here's how:
Plug the CF card into the adapter. Take the external drive apart, and take the circuit board out. Plug the adapter into the circuit board's SATA hard disk port. Plug in the USB power port, then the eSATA cable. Your computer will detect a new drive. Viola! It will show in My Computer (windows) or the desktop (Mac.)
ALWAYS UNPLUG YOUR PC/MAC BOX BEFORE ADDING/REMOVING CARDS. IF A PCI CARD DOESN'T FIT DO NOT GRIND, BEND, OR BREAK PINS TO DO IT. Some people do crazy stupid things, and break their hardware this way. Sometimes the metal mount tabs on the PC/Mac box cards need to be cut because they are too long but NEVER tamper with the pins. The metal mount ALWAYS FACES OUT THE BACK of the computer.
Once you're done, download and write in record times you aren't used to!
I hope you at least enjoyed learning about the options available on computers today or now have some questions answered. I ordered the Lexar ExpressCard adapter and I will update on those findings next week. If you are inspired to do some bandwidth tests with the adapters, post your benchmarks as well! Thanks for reading!
A few imporant things first:
I did some testing on the second item in the list (the CF/SATA converter) and it seems to have issues with UDMA (ultra direct memory access) backward compatibility. UDMA comes in ratings 1-6. This adapter can't use UDMA 5 or 6 and seems it can't scale them down to UDMA 4 either. I unfortunately sold my Lexar 300x UDMA 4 cards 2 weeks before I got the idea to do this test, so I wasn't able to test their speeds. (If I knew I'd be doing this I would have kept them) I acknowledge this article has a nice big flare of amateurism with a lack of card variety, but I hope it still sparks some interest. You'll at the least be educated about a few computer parts.
So, for UDMA4 (60MB/sec) or lower cards (most cards in existence) the results compared to USB2 can make you want to kill USB2 and bury it forever.
In other words: if you have a card up to 400x, you will want this setup.
However, I cannot guarantee brand compatibility.
If anyone wants to do their own testing with this hardware and submit their data in replies feel free to as I believe it would benefit everyone. 233x, 300x, and 400x would be great popular speeds to benchmark.
So, to the numbers:
Transcend 16GB CF 133x (20MB/sec rating)
Average Read (single 2.38GB movie file): 50.10MB/sec: +%248 to rating
Average Write (single 2.38GB movie file): 26.9MB/sec: +%34.5 to rating
Average Read (2.12GB/100 RAW photos): 22.31MB/sec: +%11.5 to rating
Average Write (2.12GB/100 RAW photos): 9.81MB/sec -%49 from rating
These are great speeds for HD video. Just make sure a card this rating is not cluttered before recording.
Also, in less expensive cards write speeds are usually half the rated read speed.
Lexar 16gb 600x CF (90MB/sec rating) (incompatible)
Well this was a let down. Possibilities of incompatibility could be:
The converter is compatible up to CF specification 3.0. The newest is 4.1.
(I couldn't find what the adapter specification is rated)
The converter cannot use UDMA 4 on a UDMA 6 card
The external drive enclosure's hardware doesn't recognize UDMA 6
(If I had 300x cards I would be able to figure out the problem precisely)
Still want to make a reader?
It requires 3 parts
One:
The external 2.5" e-SATA compatible HDD enclosure. ($8-12) (Search: 'eSata 2.5 external')
MAKE SURE IT COMES WITH THE e-SATA CABLE. Mine didn't and I had to wait for it.
Something like this:
Two:
Next of what you need is the SATA/CF card adapter. (search: 'SATA to CF' or vice versa) They are inexpensive, fast, and most of them at the moment are UDMA 4 (max rating 60MB/sec read write). If you can find a UDMA 6 enabled version, pounce on that and you can use the 600x cards max speed. Be careful of the cheap adapters because they won't perform as fast or be as compatible if they're older. These particular units are high volume mass production cards, so you'll find them all over the internet, not just ebay. They come in green and red color. Some versions will be re-branded or marked up by more popular stores, even though they are the exact same chip and the pictures will show it. Whether or not it is a quality item it's best to ask the seller if it can work with the specifications of your CF card (I.E. 600x, 400x, UDMA, etc)
Three (If you don't have a port):
Last of what you need for the above hardware is the e-SATA port. You can use an ExpressCard slot but there will be a difference in what you get for it. If you have an e-sata port, you can buy just the two items above. Otherwise for laptops and PCs there are some options:
For laptops
There are 2 slots for laptops capable of high bandwidth. One is the ExpressCard 34/54 slot (500MB/sec bandwidth), two is an e-SATA port (300MB/sec bandwidth). If you already have an e-sata port, you only need to buy the enclosure and CF/SATA adapter. If you have just an ExpressCard slot, you can still do 2 things. If you have neither, you're out of luck. Soon USB 3.0 readers will be out as well and this article will only be good for computers without native USB 3 support (especially laptops without it)
Option One: No e-sata, but ExpressCard: If your laptop has no e-Sata port, and you want more than just a CF card reader, buy an express card to e-SATA expresscard adapter. This will allow you to be able to use e-SATA for fast external hard drives, as well as reading CF cards quickly.
(Search: 'eSATA ExpressCard Adapter')
Dynex is one good brand for reliability and performance per dollar for this type of card. It shouldn't cost more than $20 to find a good one.
Option Two: ExpressCard only: Buy an ExpressCard CF reader. There are UDMA CF card readers made just for the ExpressCard slot. There are cheaper ones for that run from $10-25 (Typically 40MB/sec) and the best ones available are UDMA 6 (133MB/sec) by Sandisk and Lexar. At the time of this writing, Lexar is $34 and Sandisk is $40. Be careful as I've heard some Mac users having compatibility issues with the Lexar. However, windows users will be fine as long as they install the included driver. (search: 'SanDisk ExpressCard' or 'Lexar ExpressCard')
If you choose option 1, you'll be able to read/write CF cards, really damn fast (up to 133MB/sec)
If you choose option 2, you'll trade half the bandwidth for the CF (UDMA 4 60MB/sec),
but you'll get the capability of hooking up external hard drives or other eSATA drives and using them quickly as well a CF memory card reader.
A hard drive's speed will only be limited by its speed rating and enclosure that its in.
Both options run about the same cost.
For newer PC/Mac boxes
For e-SATA the PCI Express x1 Slot eSATA card adapter is needed. (search: 'esata to pcie') They go into the tiny white slots on your motherboard (shown below) Again, Dynex is a very good brand and this exact pictured card can be gotten for $8 on Ebay. I use it and it works very well. Note: you need a free 4-Pin Molex power cable to power the 5V out plugs on the card, otherwise be sure your device has it's own power source. If your system power supply is too new it may not have a Molex. Converters can be gotten for a buck or two. (search: molex to sata cable)
For those who wish to use ExpressCard on their PC/Mac Box, you can get a Pci Express x1 ExpressCard adapter for roughly $10 and up.
For old computers
eSATA PCI expansion cards (old format in the photo) are more expensive but allow you to keep up with the future and not lose speed. Lacie (premium brand) even makes them still for $29 at are sold at B&H. (You may find a deal somewhere on a different brand) Keep in mind these ports are good for fast external hard drives not just this CF card application.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/594414-REG/LaCie_130823_2_Port_eSATA_PCI_Adapter.html
The cheapest (but risky) alternative
An internal SATA to eSATA cable. (search: 'SATA to eSATA') They are $1-3 shipped. The risk involves plug-and-play or "hot swapping" ability. Some drives are unpluggable while the machine is on and can be plugged in with a new card, just like a normal reader. Depending on your computer however, because the drive is being treated as in internal SATA hard drive, there's a good chance you will have to plug in the card before the computer is started so it can recognize the card. It is terribly inconvenient, but if you'd want to gamble $3 to see if it would work first, go ahead. I wouldn't do it unless I was %100 sure my PC could hot swap SATA hard drives. Some computers and drivers allow for hot swapping internal SATA drives, but most don't. Do it at your own risk since data loss can occur when unplugging internal drives while the computer is on.
A little computer education
If you asked: "What the hell is a molex?"
It's an old power plug in PC/Mac boxes:
Here is a photo showing the different kind of PCI slots in existance inside PC/Mac boxes. The PCI express slots are awesome and fast slots for data transfer of 500MB/sec per x1. For most people they are good for USB 2.0/3.0 cards, e-SATA cards, tv tuners, etc. For professionals there is more crazy hardware out there.
Last but not least: How to hook it up
Common sense. Just plug in what fits!
If you have none (sometimes I don't) here's how:
Plug the CF card into the adapter. Take the external drive apart, and take the circuit board out. Plug the adapter into the circuit board's SATA hard disk port. Plug in the USB power port, then the eSATA cable. Your computer will detect a new drive. Viola! It will show in My Computer (windows) or the desktop (Mac.)
ALWAYS UNPLUG YOUR PC/MAC BOX BEFORE ADDING/REMOVING CARDS. IF A PCI CARD DOESN'T FIT DO NOT GRIND, BEND, OR BREAK PINS TO DO IT. Some people do crazy stupid things, and break their hardware this way. Sometimes the metal mount tabs on the PC/Mac box cards need to be cut because they are too long but NEVER tamper with the pins. The metal mount ALWAYS FACES OUT THE BACK of the computer.
Once you're done, download and write in record times you aren't used to!
I hope you at least enjoyed learning about the options available on computers today or now have some questions answered. I ordered the Lexar ExpressCard adapter and I will update on those findings next week. If you are inspired to do some bandwidth tests with the adapters, post your benchmarks as well! Thanks for reading!
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Neil
http://www.behance.net/brosepix