Review on 🔌 Syba SD-CF-IDE-A: IDE to Compact Flash Adapter with UDMA Support for 3.5-Inch IDE Host Interface by Charles You

I installed this on an Intel SE440BX-2 MOBO, Pentium iii computer with Windows 98 SE. It replaces an old mechanical hard drive that has reached the end of its useful life. I compared my options: install a SATA controller card, buy another IDE drive, install DOM, or go the alternate route. I chose this one and I have this setup as my main master. The BIOS accepts this without problems. Combined with a 200x speed 32GB UDMA CF card, this works comparable to the ATA-33 drive I pulled out of the computer, actually faster when the old drive was dying. My tests showed that the transfer speed is stable at 30MB/s, the maximum is 34MB/s and the lowest is 26MB/s. This conforms to UDMA-2 standards and conforms to the ATA-33 interface. Newer interfaces are unlikely to see much performance gain unless the CF card is rated 400x or higher. Also, I have another 32GB 133X CF card with an average transfer rate of 24MB/s. Booting is pretty fast for Windows 98, apps and games load acceptable, and writing to the card looks smooth without unnecessary delays. I chose the slot adapter because I have another CF card only for Windows 95 and another only for MS DOS 6.22. If you want to go this route, don't skimp on the inserted CF card. The adapter itself does not cause any bottlenecks, the performance you will see is directly related to the actual CF card. A decent UDMA-capable CF card isn't much better than cards from previous, slower generations. Go shopping, even on eBay people are selling brand new ones for a very low price. I would recommend this to anyone looking to add a CF card to a desktop with a fully open expansion slot. Don't expect the performance of an SSD, at its core it's just a CF card and nothing more. Your expectations must remain realistic.