Overview
The idea behind this device is very simple. It screws into a
floppy drive bay, connects to a usb pin header on your motherboard, and gives
you 4 little slots which will read 6 different types of portable media. It
takes CompactFlash, IBM Microdrives, SmartMedia, MultiMediaCards, Secure Digital
cards, and Sony Memory Sticks. The card reader identifies itself as a set
of USB hard drives, and doesnt need drivers for Windows ME, 2k, or XP.
Value
The Transcend Internal USB 2.0 6 in 1 Card Reader will set you
back £15. a quick look around the net showed the going price for one
of these devices is between £10 and £15. The USB 2.0 and the solid
build quality easily justify spending another fiver.
Performance
Sandra clocked the Compact Flash reader at 1178KB/s, a third
of the speed of a typical modern ATA100 hard drive. I think this should be
fast enough for anyone.
Modding Potential
The best selling point of this little gadget is its solid construction.
It is built in a nice metal box, and held together with screws. No glue anywhere!
The plastic front panel unclips easily, and replacing the LEDS is a simple
task. The good build quality means you are not restricted to just using it
in a floppy drive bay, you can easily dismantle it and put it anywhere you
like
Compatibility
The USB connection is a thin silver lead, about 40cm long. It
is terminated with a pin header, which could cause complications for some
people. If your motherboard doesnt have any internal usb pin headers, you
won't be able to use the reader at all. If your pin headers are non standard,
as many older motherboards are, the manual recomends you re-arrange the wires
inside the connecter, and warns you that getting it wrong could be fatal to
the reader. If in doubt, I would strongly suggest buying an external model.
Of course, the card reader is compatible with USB1.1 as well as 2.0, and comes
with a driver CD for Windows 98, and drivers for ME and 2000, which seem to
do nothing other than give the drives that appear in My Computer apropiate
labels, so you know which drive refers to which slot.
Conclusions
If you have a digital camera without its own USB connection,
or need to use any of the media this reader supports, you will find a card
reader is essential. The Transcend offering is a high quality option, at a
sensible price. The only catch is possible incompatibility with old motherboards.
The extra speed of USB 2.0 is worth it, but not worth upgrading for.
