M15x USB 3.0 Express Card 54

So I recently bought an expresscard usb 3.0 because it seems that usb 3.0 is starting to appear more and more, expecially in the newer laptops IE (m11xr3 and m14x etc)

With that being said I wanted to test the performance of the card itself to compare usb 2.0 vs 3.0 in real world comparisons.

in crystaldiskmark for usb 3.0 i get 66.11 MB/s transfer and 58.35 MB/s write

for usb 2.0 i only get about 21.2 MB/s write speed

Overall for just ~$20 it's a good deal for the upgraded performance

Make sure you download both the driver and firmware update from this website http://www.station-drivers.com/page/nec.htm
Dont even bother with the driver disk they give you, it's garbage

Version 2.0.34.1 Pour Windows Xp/Vista/7 32/64bits Driver
Firmware Version 3.0.2.7.0.8 (Windows 32 & 64bits)

Here's a link on where I bought it Express Card Expresscard 54 to USB 3.0 x 2 Port Reader | eBay

Here are some pics also, its a nice low profile factor. Also here's a top view

 

Thats a huge difference over usb 2.0. So if i where to get this card just for the extra USB ports would i be able to use devices that only support 2.0 with it too?

 

Yes USB compatible to USB 2.0 and obviously 3.0 bro also comes with a USB power adaptor if you need extra power so it's cool

 

I've been looking for one with such a small form factor. Thanks for the link!

 

What is the power adapter for? I'm confused. haha

 

Some external USB drives require a bit more power for example, 5400rpm vs 7200rpm requires a bit more power obviously but, some and some dont. either way your good because of the usb power adaptor. my 1tb usb 3.0 doesnt need an additional power source just the usb 3.0 iteself here's the like bro

Newegg.com - Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1TB USB 3.0/USB 2.0 Black Portable Hard Drive WDBACX0010BBK-NESN

 

This brings up a question I've had for a while. It appears that my expresscard slot is closed. Did my machine simply not come with one? Could I add one? I haven't seen anything in my documentation about "stripped down models, but I might have one.

Your thoughts?

Joe

Never mind -- it was just stuck.

J

 

Oh my days I have been looking around for a USB 3.0 express card and I might just buy one from the link you provided and those performance increase over the 2.0 is massive. I have a Western Digital 1TB mybook which is USB 3.0 and deffo considering getting the express card cause it takes so long to transfer over files such as all my videos/music/games and stuff. One question where do I actually fit the card too and how? and are all express cards the same speed or are there some better ones? and should i pull the trigger and get myself one you think? ^^

 

@TricksterMatt in the picture on the bottom right hand edge, there's a lot a link provided on the card itself, yeah express cards are mostly the same speed from the ones I've seen i havent seen any faster usb 3.0 express cards. for only $20 its not a bad price for a performance increase, plus it adds a bit more life on your laptop imo

 

Yeah I just looked on my laptop but the expansion card seems to be shut? :S there's like a plate type thing covering the slot how can I remove this? I'm gonna order one now thanks for this thread and post if this thread wasnt here i wouldnt of gotten the express card ever i think +rep to you. Can't wait to have USB 3.0 ports + extra 2 ports! Bi-winning

 

Why don't you get something for the esatap port? I have one and it is over 100MB transfers.

 

Thanks for this review +rep.
I ordered it from amazon; $19 + free 2 day shipping with prime.

 

Here are the links for the driver update, for both firmwire and driver - yeah i forgot to mention that the driver cd that they provide you is garbage.

SONY/NEC/RENESAS Drivers & Firmwares

Version 2.0.34.1 Windows Xp/Vista/7 32/64bits AND Firmware Version 3.0.2.7.0.8 (Windows 32 & 64bits)

 

It is just a "dummy" card to prevent things such as dust collecting in there. To remove it, press it in. It should click and when you release it should pop out and be ready to remove.

 

@widezu69

What exactly are you talking about?

Anyways what nice about the 54 expresscard is that you can easily remove it and replace it with something else. it's a win win imo tbh.

But it's all personal preference

 

@drkfire07 - Thanks a lot worked like a charm now have to wait for the bloody thing to arrive now I really want to see the improvements over USB 2.0

@Nivaku - Once again thanks for all the info and help

 

Hes talking about the esata port. its built in to the front right usb port. Its basically an external sata connection, but your drive has to support it

 

+rep @ Nivaku & taylrjones
Thanks for the review and for the heads-up on the amazon purchase! Thank you $4 one day shipping

 

Sorry for being stupid but i've never been able to reach one of these before in my country. So, where do u guys put it in ???

 

on the right side of your m15x bro, near the front there's a cover protecting it from dust and stuff, just push the cover in and it should pop out.

The pics provided should give you an idea on where it's at, if you still need more help hit me up bro

 

Holy @%#^$&*#^, how come i didn't see it XD. I know my M15x lacks an express card slot compared to other laptops and it's been bugging me this whole time. BIG HUGE LOL at me LOL XD
Thanks to you and lol to me ^^!! /facepalm

 

Np bro glad i could help

 

Thanks for the link to the adapter, I've been in need of more USB ports anyway, and with an adapter like this it pretty much adds more ports right into the laptop. And of course they're 3.0, so yippy

+ Rep

 

Don't feel too bad - if you look a few posts up, you will see that I made the same mistake. I've had my m15x for nearly 18 months - and all the time I thought I had a stripped down model without the Expresscard and SD slots!

Joe

 

Cant wait to hear more reports to see if others are experiencing the same speed increases!

 

Hey, little question about this adapter... when you take a look at this (scroll down to the pictures) then you see them using a cable between a regular USB jack and the middle of the card, for "additional power supply". Is this necessary to make this thing functional? Or does it only improve the performance? Or what is this for?

 

It's to power the thing. I don't think the expresscard slot delivers the same voltage as an ordinary USB port does.

 

So... Do you know whether it doesn't work at all without the power cable or does it simply work at slower speeds?

 

I think if your peripheral is powered in it's own way like a HDD dock bay or something, it should be fine. But I don't think it will be able to power a single cable external drive.

 

This is to accomodate the occasional USB device that draws more current than the laptop wants to provide. External hard disks and Blackberries are potential culprits - I've had this happen with other laptops.

However, I've never had a device complain about not enough power via USB with the mx15, so, maybe the power supply is more robust.

Joe

 

Ok, I'll see, it was dirt cheap anyway, even though it gets shipped from the states. Thanks guys.

 

Both my single cable external USB drives --Toshiba 1TB and WD 500 GB run happily on the standard USB from my mx-15 and from the USB 3.0 adapter without any external power. I have not tried running both at the same time.

However, not all laptops are created equal. I have had situations where a work laptop (smaller Dell) wouldn't support one of my drives - shorter USB cable seemed to help. And the same smaller laptop would not support my BlackBerry.

Joe

 

I gotta say, I highly recommend this upgrade Really I just wanted to add two extra USB ports (come on Dell, 3 USB ports on this thing? Really?), but I just bought an external drive to back up on and it uses USB 3.0. All I can say is HOLY CRAP. This thing is damn fast. Seriously, this is definitely a worthy upgrade, and it's only $20!

 

So I read the other pages, and I'm confused about the power supply, is it definitely needed?

 

I think the consensus is that it shouldn't be needed however, if your device fails to power up from the added USB ports, then you may need the power source.

 

Thanks widezu69, I swear you've answered every query I've had so far

 

Don't sweat it, I'm just a guy who wants to help

 

I agree. I have not yet found a device that the M15x couldn't power directly via USB, but I have seen this with other laptops. I recently bought a USB 3.0 double drive bay - all of these devices seem to have their own AC power.

Joe

 

Does anyone know if they ship to Canada? On the ebay page it seems that it only ships to the US

 

There's always Amazon. Amazon.com: Express card 54mm To 2 Port USB 3.0 expresscard: Electronics

 

Haha, now how did i forget about Amazon. Just ordered thx

 

I ordered my card from ebay as well and they even ship it to Switzerland... for free I guess it will be the same for Canada. Just search for USB 3.0 expresscard, there are a ton of sellers selling this thing.

 

Yeah there's a few Hong Kong merchants that ship internationally:

Express Card Expresscard 54 to USB 3.0 x 2 Port Reader (eBay item 220771667098 end time 17-Jun-11 20:33:49 AEST) : Computers Networking

Around $20 USD after shipping.

Already downloaded firmware and drivers . What a great find.

 

I got mine a couple of days ago, very fast and free shipping, card works fine so far and fits pretty good.

 

i have a stupid question about of this device, i buy one of this expresscard i try to update the firmware and allways show this msg:
No found the target device.

 

Misread the OP speeds, can some people who have bought it give me some idea of how fast this is, people saying "really fast" is not very helpful

It's only 20 bucks so I'll probably get it anyway, but it might be worth my money just to get an eSata external drive hmm.

 

See Sig link for details

 

I have the exact same problem, yet the device seems to work fine.

 

The Firmware 3.0.2.8 (only FW update I was able to find) only works on devices with firmware 3.0.2.7 or earlier. The firmware shown for my Renesas NEC USB 3.0 Host Controller (and probably yours) is 4015, so perhaps we have the most recent firmware or the firmware update just doesn't apply to our device?

 

That is a nearly perfect card, imo. 2 flush ports is perfect. The only thing I'd improve would be to put a right angle on the power adapter going into the card just to keep that power input from sticking out very far.

Nice find