PCI-E or USB 3.0 based internal media card reader: which is faster?

dwillis · May 26, 2015

Hi,

I am looking to buy and internal media card reader. (mainly for micro SD, but others like SD are nice)

I know I can buy an adapter thats a micro SD to USB, but wouldn't PCI-E or USB 3.0 connector on my MB be faster?

When transferring data from micro sd to my computer which would be faster, a PCI Express based or USB 3.0 based card reader?

For example:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA34P2AV9377 - (PCI-E)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820506002 - (USB 3.0)

I have an available PCIE x16 slot and a USB 3.0 20 pin connector on my MB available.

I want to be able to transfer data ( like pictures and video) from my phones micro SD card to my computer as fast as I can.

I just transferred over 16gb of pictures and video from micro sd card to PC with another card reader and it took about an hour or so using cases front usb 3.0 port thats plugged into MB's 20 pin usb 3.0 connector

I used - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820270008&Tpk=N82E16820270008

-----------------------
Also, wouldn't it better faster to use the 3.0 ports on the back of the computer directly, which are soldered to the MB, instead of routing the cases front 3.0 ports to the back and into the soldered MB ports externally? I would assume yes due to lack of cable the data would have to go through. I'm mainly just looking for verification on this.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

beetlejuicegr · May 26, 2015

Unfortunately whichever choice you choose, or even try them both, the speed of getting files out or inside the sdcards will be determined from the SDCARD speed and not from the connection type, meaning that sdcard read write maximum speeds are way less than what PCIE based data or usb3 connections can handle. And i think it will be even harder to find a front end media card slot that can catch theoretically the speeds of usb3 or pcie..but the main problem as i told you are the max speeds of sdcards being way lower than usb3 / pcie speeds.
random google search of fastest sd cards. check the speeds... you will understand what i mean. Even the extreme ones are inside usb3.0 power, and this is what worries me, will the media card front end you buy can handle as a board this speed? i wonder.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/hands-review/fastest-memory-cards-money-can-buy
Imo go for the usb 3 connection, using PCIE lanes for data is perhaps not good idea, considering that this way you cut PCIE lanes from graphics or sometimes from how many sata you can use. And if you ever want to go SLI or crossfire, bad idea too.

PS

CFast 2.0 Cards

Despite the fact that CFast cards look almost identical to CompactFlash cards they represent a completely different standard, and will not work in CompactFlash card slots or devices. They are not backed by the CompactFlash association, but are beginning to pick up some steam due to the slow adoption of XQD cards. CFast Cards use SATA connectors to interface with computers and cameras, and the new CFast 2.0 cards use SATA III, meaning they allow for the same maximum transfer rate of 6 Gb/s (750 MB/s) as SATA III drives. While the interface isn’t quite as fast as XQD 2.0, there still aren’t any cards in either format that come close to the maximum possible speed so, at this point, it isn’t really an issue.

now that looks interesting, but you need a camera to have this in

dwillis · May 26, 2015

Would you please reiterate what you mean by ''they are hardwired in to the system anyway'' and ''pci-E lanes are cut up permanently with the alternate devices''

Thanks!

dwillis · May 26, 2015

Thanks for the reply,

So, unless I wanted to buy an expensive UHS Class 3 card thats 280 MB/s or something similar I would probably be good with a 2.0 micro sd to usb adapter since my card probably wont be fast enough to utilize the 3.0 adapter?

This is the card I have - http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/2014-New-Hot-Sale-Toshiba-micro-SD-SDHC-Class-10-UHS-I-30MB-s-Memory-Card/1358508_32229908293.html

beetlejuicegr :

Unfortunately whichever choice you choose, or even try them both, the speed of getting files out or inside the sdcards will be determined from the SDCARD speed and not from the connection type, meaning that sdcard read write maximum speeds are way less than what PCIE based data or usb3 connections can handle. And i think it will be even harder to find a front end media card slot that can catch theoretically the speeds of usb3 or pcie..but the main problem as i told you are the max speeds of sdcards being way lower than usb3 / pcie speeds.
random google search of fastest sd cards. check the speeds... you will understand what i mean. Even the extreme ones are inside usb3.0 power, and this is what worries me, will the media card front end you buy can handle as a board this speed? i wonder.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/hands-review/fastest-memory-cards-money-can-buy
Imo go for the usb 3 connection, using PCIE lanes for data is perhaps not good idea, considering that this way you cut PCIE lanes from graphics or sometimes from how many sata you can use. And if you ever want to go SLI or crossfire, bad idea too.

PS

CFast 2.0 Cards

Despite the fact that CFast cards look almost identical to CompactFlash cards they represent a completely different standard, and will not work in CompactFlash card slots or devices. They are not backed by the CompactFlash association, but are beginning to pick up some steam due to the slow adoption of XQD cards. CFast Cards use SATA connectors to interface with computers and cameras, and the new CFast 2.0 cards use SATA III, meaning they allow for the same maximum transfer rate of 6 Gb/s (750 MB/s) as SATA III drives. While the interface isn’t quite as fast as XQD 2.0, there still aren’t any cards in either format that come close to the maximum possible speed so, at this point, it isn’t really an issue.

now that looks interesting, but you need a camera to have this in

beetlejuicegr · May 31, 2015

ye, just to be safe make it usb3

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PCI-E or USB 3.0 based internal media card reader: which is faster?

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