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    Best use for expresscard slot?

    Discussion in 'Accessories' started by B4TCH, Jul 3, 2007.

  1. B4TCH

    B4TCH Notebook Consultant

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    I'm thinking about using my expresscard slot (54mm), but am unsure what for. I've seen that it can be used for a TV tuner, SSD drive, Mini remote and more. Any opinions as to which would be the best option, how many people actually watch tv on their notebook?

    Thanks

    Batch
     
    B4TCH, Jul 3, 2007
    #1
  2. nightfox91

    nightfox91 Notebook Evangelist

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    I don't use my expresscard slot right now, but if I was to get anything for it I would get a TV tuner for my consoles or just to watch TV on the road.
     
    nightfox91, Jul 3, 2007
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  3. Thomas

    Thomas McLovin

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    mobile broadband if your always on the go and alot of people watch tv on their notebooks but more on there desktops
     
    Thomas, Jul 3, 2007
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  4. Kdawgca

    Kdawgca rotaredoM repudrepuS RBN

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    I would personally use it for Broadband internet or esata or memory/hard drive

    BTW here are other uses for express cards
     
    Kdawgca, Jul 3, 2007
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  5. Jeff

    Jeff Notebook Retard

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    nice list. i didn't know what to do with mine. now i have a few options :)

    one question, wouldn't the speed of the sata interface be bottlenecked by the speed of the expresscard?
     
    Jeff, Jul 3, 2007
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  6. flyboy84

    flyboy84 Notebook Enthusiast

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    flyboy84, Jul 3, 2007
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  7. Kdawgca

    Kdawgca rotaredoM repudrepuS RBN

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    That is nifty :). A mouse and a media remote that fits in the express card slot.

    I am waiting for a keyboard that fits in the express card slot ;)
     
    Kdawgca, Jul 3, 2007
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  8. kahlel7

    kahlel7 Notebook Consultant

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    TV tuner is the best option for me.
     
    kahlel7, Jul 5, 2007
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  9. Rsaeire

    Rsaeire Notebook Guru

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    I'm thinking of something too as it seems a bit of a waste having it there and not using it. One thing I can think of would be this
     
    Rsaeire, Jul 6, 2007
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  10. Liquidx

    Liquidx Notebook Evangelist

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    That's horrible, the X-fi doesnt show a buy now link for the america's. I would have considered that. Well since I can't use that, then I suppose I would throw my vote to a tv tuner card, but only if you could use it for tivo functions. Might as well use that second core....lol
     
    Liquidx, Jul 6, 2007
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  11. lupin..the..3rd

    lupin..the..3rd Notebook Evangelist

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    It's for whatever you want to put in it! If you have external hard drives, consider a Firewire-800 expresscard since most laptops only have firewire-400 onboard.

    This is like asking "I have an empty drawer in my desk, what should I put in it?"

    Only you can answer the question - you don't need to fill it just for the sake of filling it.
     
    lupin..the..3rd, Jul 7, 2007
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  12. Cancer777

    Cancer777 Notebook Evangelist

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    Anybody knows why the x-fi hasnt been released in the US???? or if its going be released someday??? when??? (sorry lots of question)
     
    Cancer777, Jul 7, 2007
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  13. nightfox91

    nightfox91 Notebook Evangelist

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    If you're reffering to the X-Fi ExpressCard I think it is already out, check Buy.com .
     
    nightfox91, Jul 7, 2007
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  14. Liquidx

    Liquidx Notebook Evangelist

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    Why go firewire, when you could drop in a e-sata card and get 3.0 Gbps? The firewire only gives you 800Mbps.
     
    Liquidx, Jul 7, 2007
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  15. Liquidx

    Liquidx Notebook Evangelist

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    Liquidx, Jul 7, 2007
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  16. Lil Mayz

    Lil Mayz Notebook Deity

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    No. eSATA is a very much faster than the transfer rates of the Express Card Interface, but the Express Card slot is very much faster than USB or FireWire, which is a big advantage when you use an external HDD as a primary drive. So theoretically, compared to USB and FireWire, eSATA and express Card have no bottlenecks.
     
    Lil Mayz, Jul 7, 2007
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  17. Liquidx

    Liquidx Notebook Evangelist

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    actually sata is not THAT much faster, the expresscard is just like plugging in a single lane Pci-express card, that means it has a transfer rate of 2.5Gb/s, where SATA II has a transfer rate of 3.0Gb/s. Either way, those numbers are way higher then any HDD of today can transfer at. They can come close on SATA I at 1.5Gb/s, but no hard drives are transferring info that fast as of yet. What they can do is outpace a firewire or USB connection. So if you want the speed of having a HDD plugged directly into your computer (meaning, like plugged in inside of it) Then go E-sata.
     
    Liquidx, Jul 7, 2007
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  18. eugenes

    eugenes Notebook Evangelist

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    I've got a Verizon V740 in my expresscard slot.
     
    eugenes, Oct 1, 2007
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  19. DogBreath

    DogBreath Notebook Guru

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    I have a Sprint aircard which I use pretty much 24/7, but if it weren't for that I'd probably go for a TV tuner card as well.
     
    DogBreath, Oct 1, 2007
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  20. kanehi

    kanehi Notebook Deity

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    I have a TV tuner card for non-wifi watching and Slingbox if there's a high speed access. What I would like to have is an HDMI express card so I can connect to an HDTV.
     
    kanehi, Oct 3, 2007
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  21. ArmageddonAsh

    ArmageddonAsh Mangekyo Sharingan

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    i might go for

    Wi-fi or

    Wireless WAN/Wireless Broadband Internet (3G, CDMA, EVDO, GRPS, UMTS, etc.)

    as the laptop im getting has a built in tv tuner^^
     
    ArmageddonAsh, Oct 3, 2007
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  22. R4000

    R4000 Notebook Virtuoso

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    For those that use your Expresscard slot for whatever device, does it get pretty hot when in constant use?
     
    R4000, Oct 3, 2007
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  23. Byakko

    Byakko Notebook Geek

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    I also have another question: if I was using the expresscard for an SSD, how much of a battery hit would i take? It must use some power from the battery, but I don't know what the draw is for an expresscard.
     
    Byakko, Oct 4, 2007
    #23