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Review on StarTech.com SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Card Adapter - Dual Port Flush Mount ExpressCard 54mm Controller with UASP for Laptop (ECUSB3S254F) by Michael Crossman

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Design and performance issues

This is another update. The review relates to the 54mm card in the Dell Lattitude e6520. These models only have one USB 2 port and one eSATA port. I was looking for a high speed transfer option with multiple external drives. The first few hours I had nothing but problems. The transfer speed was slightly faster than USB 2 and the card was too easy to physically remove from the slot. After emailing tech support, I decided to re-run the firmware update posted on the site. Wow, after a reboot the file transfer speed quadrupled from 25MB/s to 100MB/s. However, the card does not work as advertised for 2.5" eSATA drives. It doesn't provide enough power to rev them up. One of my use cases is backing up drives pulled from laptops. These are top of the line Seagate and WD drives. I used my own StarTech eSATA to USB adapter cable to connect it to the ExpressCard. There is an optional power cord that allows you to increase the performance of the card. Even with this cumbersome setup, plugging the card into a power outlet and trying other non-Star Tech eSATA to USB cables, it still won't spin up a single 2.5-inch drive. There is still a risk that the card will be physically pushed out of the slot, but this can be circumvented. I've done several longer backups with two cables attached and had no issues with the drive or card disconnecting. If you only need to use externally powered drives or other peripherals, this should be acceptable. If you want to connect 2.5" drives, look elsewhere.

Pros
  • Add two USB 3.0 flush mount ports to an ExpressCard-enabled laptop
Cons
  • Unreliable