ExpressCard/34, whats it good for?

Using as boot SSD, using it as Firewire port, using it as e-SATA port, using it as .... . There are many ExpressCard /34 cards out there. Maybe you find one to your liking and even needs?

I use mine as a card reader, as my early 08 didn't have one built in.

You can add pretty much any kind of port to the MBP using the expresscard slot, esata, usb3 or more usb2 or fw800 ports. You can also get bluetooth mice or remotes that can be stored in there. Why you would want a mouse that size is beyond me but it does goes to show that there is quite a variety of expresscard accessories.

grahamnp said:

You can add pretty much any kind of port to the MBP using the expresscard slot, esata, usb3

Click to expand...

do share

USB3 and eSata are the big ones i can think of. There are various digital music interfaces too i believe.

I use it for CF Card reader, and eSATA. That was the main reason I got the 17" instead of the 15".

For 80 or so bucks you can buy an adapter that'll go Into your expresscard slot and give you 1 or 2 full sized desktop pci-e 16x slots. You can't run the very latest twin sli cards with 1 Gb of memory because of limitations of the Ex car itself, but lightweigt video cards as well as pretty much anything that has Apple drivers (windows drivers if you use bootcamp) can be installed on the MBP. expresscard owners don't know how blessed they are :').

personally i use it as an SD card reader, but the possibility's are endless.

mulo said:

do share

Click to expand...

USB2
USB3
FW400
FW800
ESATA
SPDIF I/O
Modem
Ethernet

Also, 3G and Wimax modems

I can't think of any other ports people would be interested in having on their laptop.

throughput & bottlenecks

OK, I've found an external 2.5" drive enclosure from AMS (called the DS-2188NEU3) which accepts an HDD or SSD at SATA I / II. It bridges the drive to USB 3.0. The other end is an ExpressCard/34 card with a USB 3.0 port. Now, with such a chain

SATA II > USB 3.0 > ExpressCard/34 (PCIe?)

what kind of throughput into the MBP could a guy expect? Where would be the weakest link / bottleneck? Would it be better (in real life terms) than FireWire800?

TIA

cheers,

Henry

henry999 said:

OK, I've found an external 2.5" drive enclosure from AMS (called the DS-2188NEU3) which accepts an HDD or SSD at SATA I / II. It bridges the drive to USB 3.0. The other end is an ExpressCard/34 card with a USB 3.0 port. Now, with such a chain

SATA II > USB 3.0 > ExpressCard/34 (PCIe?)

what kind of throughput into the MBP could a guy expect? Where would be the weakest link / bottleneck? Would it be better (in real life terms) than FireWire800?

TIA

cheers,

Henry

Click to expand...

And this my friends, is why we need Light Peak. It's like a compact version of EC/34.

SATA2 supported. USB1-2-3 supported, mDP supported, Ethernet supported, FW supported, HDMI supported, the list goes on and on.

grahamnp said:

USB2
USB3
FW400
FW800
ESATA
SPDIF I/O
Modem
Ethernet

Also, 3G and Wimax modems

I can't think of any other ports people would be interested in having on their laptop.

Click to expand...

I ment links to like a usb3 port that I could use. slim fit ofc.

grahamnp said:

Here you go

Click to expand...

Here, THIS is what you need:
Caldigit USB 3.0 Expresscard

And vidjyo of Speeds.