Laptop Expansion Card Reviews

Several years ago I developed a strange fascination with various card adapters (PCMCIA/CardBus/ExpressCard) offering expansion for laptops. Specifically I was focusing on adapters that sit flush with the chassis (for aesthetic/convenience purposes) and offer the most commonly requested expansion options:

USB2.0 for USB1.1-equipped machines
USB3.0 for USB2.0-equipped machines
Media card for machines without a card slot
(recently) SATA and eSATA adapters

I was interested in comparing the different devices to each other as well as to native controllers integrated with the laptop, when possible. As part of my hobby of sharing knowledge and discussing geeky computer-related stuff, I conveyed my findings in a multi-part story. From time to time I’ve been updating the information, as I got access to various additional adapters, but there have not been any updates recently. I do plan to run a few more USB 3.0 tests, as well as some SDXC and maybe eSATA, but nothing on the same order of magnitude that’s already been done.

Part 1 – CardBus to USB2.0

Part 2 – ExpressCard to USB3.0

Part 3 – SecureDigital Adapters

Part 4 – CompactFlash Adapters

Part 5 – USB3.0 Revisited

Part 6 – SATA/eSATA Adapters

Part 7 – SecureDigital Revisited

Part 8 – More USB3.0 and a little USB3.1