Just upgraded my computer and wanted to take advantage of the claimed speed boost of USB 3.0. Purchased the Lexar USB 3.0 CF card reader and found to my surprise that file transfer times are no faster than the Lexar USB 2.0 that I already had. As far as I can tell, I have all of the correct drivers installed (USB 3.0 driver for the mobo; upgraded firmware for the card reader).
Are there any troubleshooting steps that I should try before returning the card reader for a refund?
First, you also need fast CF cards. 60MB/s cards (400x) will only read at said speed. 600x or 1000x cards should read faster.
Separately, make sure you're using a USB3 cable. It sounds retarded, but USB2 cables won't work, even though they are identical pinwise. Make sure your cable has the blue USB3 connectors on it and is connected to the blue usb3 connector on the motherboard.
Something's wrong. My Lexar USB 3.0 reader gives approx. twice the download speed (half the time) for CF cards, in comparison with my older USB 2.0 readers. This is for both my current (new) computer with native USB 3 connectivity, and my previous (old) computer, with an el cheapo add-on USB 3 board (~$30).
First, you also need fast CF cards. 60MB/s cards (400x) will only read at said speed. 600x or 1000x cards should read faster.
Thanks for the comments. Daniel, your point about card speed is right on the mark: my cards are the older SanDisk extreme cards with only a 30MB/sec speed rating. I foolishly didn't do my homework on this part of the computer upgrade -- which means I now have to decide whether to keep the USB 3.0 reader or do still more upgrading (new CF cards!).
danielutzu wrote:
First, you also need fast CF cards. 60MB/s cards (400x) will only read at said speed. 600x or 1000x cards should read faster.
Separately, make sure you're using a USB3 cable. It sounds retarded, but USB2 cables won't work, even though they are identical pinwise. Make sure your cable has the blue USB3 connectors on it and is connected to the blue usb3 connector on the motherboard.
A USB 2.0 reader will only read at about 30 MB/sec., so the difference will be apparent with anything faster than a 300x card.
The USB 3.0 cable "A" connector has the USB 2.0 connections, but also the separate ones for USB 3.0. In any case the "B" end is clearly different. A standard USB 2.0 cable (D connector on the B end) will work on a USB 3 device, albeit in UAB 2.0 mode.
just for reference a micro usb2 connector (ones used to charge most non apple phones today) will fit in the wide side of the female portion of the reader and any of the wide micro connectors in 2.5 external drives and such. they will power and deliver usb2 support to to the devices and be operable
sjms wrote:
just for reference a micro usb2 connector (ones used to charge most non apple phones today) will fit in the wide side of the female portion of the reader and any of the wide micro connectors in 2.5 external drives and such. they will power and deliver usb2 support to to the devices and be operable
Yes they do, but I've had some problems due to insufficient power. A cardreader should be fine though.
do you hve the updated usb3 driver for your machine? what machine did you upgrade to?
I'm pretty sure I have the most up-to-date USB 3.0 driver for my system, but I will double-check that. My upgraded computer now has a core i7-3770K CPU, ASUS P8Z77-V LK mobo, 16GB RAM, and a 128GB SSD.
I've gone ahead and ordered a Lexar 16GB 1000X UDMA 7 CF card. This should take full-advantage of the Lexar card reader's speed.
New computer and Lexar 3.0 card reader 2X faster compared to Lexar 2.0 reader on same machine and same card...FYI.
Not the five times of advertising hype but a nice improvement.
matt4626 wrote:
New computer and Lexar 3.0 card reader 2X faster compared to Lexar 2.0 reader on same machine and same card...FYI.
Not the five times of advertising hype but a nice improvement.
What card was it? If you check my link above, the 1000X card was six times faster on USB 3.0 vs. USB 2.0. Very awesome.
