The Bottom Line
With the six tested readers all averaging 49-51 MB/sec transfer speeds with a cross section of top-of-the-line SDHC/SDXC cards, the bargain of the bunch is the first USB 3.0 reader to hit the market, the Pretec P240. At just $16, it’s a real steal for a reader that supports multiple card formats, including both UHS-I SDHC cards and UDMA 6 CF. Use the link below to order from our sponsor Newegg, and support this site:
Pretec P240 USB 3.0 Multi-Card Reader
The Test
Each of the six readers was tested with 7 cards: Lexar 133x, Kingston 233x, Patriot LX, Panasonic, and three flavors of SanDisk: HD Video, ExtremePro 45 MB/sec, and ExtremePro 95 MB/sec. All of the cards except the Lexar were UHS-I enabled. Each card was measured three times for download speeds for 200 D7000 files (100 NEF + 100 JPG) – a total of 1.83 GB of data. Average download speeds in MB/sec under Windows 7 were as follows:
USB 3.0 Readers - SDHC/SDXC Speeds
Note that the Delkin DDREADER-42 would not recognize either the Panasonic or SanDisk 95MB/s cards; and the Rosewill RDCR-11002 rendered inconsistent results with the Panasonic card, with two passes around 52 MB/sec and the third pass at the more typical speed of 69 MB/sec.
The Readers
KINGWIN KWCR-121U3 USB 3.0 SD/MMC Card Reader – $16.99
If you’re looking for the smallest solution, this non-descript entry from Kingwin is a great choice. Supporting only SD/SDHC/SDXC cards, this handy little device is about the size of a USB thumb drive.
KINGWIN KWCR-121U3 USB 3.0 SD/MMC Card Reader
Koutech IO-RC530 Multi-in-1 USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Card Reader/Writer
The half-moon shaped Koutech reader has one thing to recommend it: the highest transfer speeds with the fastest of cards, the SanDisk ExtremePro 95MB/sec card. It’s doubtful that result is meaningful, as even the slowest reader was within 10%. At $25, and with the most inconvenient shape, it’s probably best passed over.
Koutech IO-RC530 Multi-in-1 USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Card Reader/Writer
Rosewill RDCR-11002 All-in-one USB 3.0 Card Reader
This card yielded inconsistent results with the Panasonic UHS-I card, although otherwise it performed reasonably well. At $20, though, it is still pricier than the Pretec which has similar capabilities.
Rosewill RDCR-11002 All-in-one USB 3.0 Card Reader
Delkin USB 3.0 Universal Memory Card Reader (DDREADER-42)
Delkin’s entry was a disappointment, as their USB 2.0 reader was the fastest I’d used with UDMA CompactFlash cards. This version was fast enough, when it worked: unfortunately it would not recognize the fastest cards at all. I plan to follow up with Delkin and see if this is a bad copy, although I’d have to wonder why it would fail to work with only some cards (and the fastest ones at that).
Delkin USB 3.0 Universal Memory Card Reader
Pretec P240 USB 3.0 Multi-Card Reader
The current champ, this $16 unassuming little plastic block handles most all card types deftly. It can be used both with a cable, and a small adapter plug (that fits snugly in the bottom of the reader for storage) so you can plug it directly into your computer. Tops for convenience and price, with competent speed, this is my choice.
Pretec P240 USB 3.0 Multi-Card Reader
Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual Slot Memory Card Reader
Lexar’s design is unique among those tested in a couple of ways. It features a pop-up design, folding flat for storage and transport to protect your card slots; it also supports only the two most common card formats, CF and SD. Other than that, it has little to recommend it, especially its $35 price.
5 responses so far ↓
1 KA // Jan 1, 2012 at 12:06 pm
Thank you for this practical test! I have tried several USB3 readers too but my collection is different while live in Europe. P240 was the first here too. Some comments said it had erratic behavior from time to time and I have also had situations when PC has not recognized this reader. Once I forgot it there and later found that it was not recognized and was very hot- protective plastc was deformed close to USB connector. I removed it and took off SD card in it and tried it back – it installed, and after re-inserting card it worked OK.
2 KA // Jan 1, 2012 at 12:26 pm
KA – continued- Reason for this is most likely CMOS latch-up which is often recoverable when power is current limited. – Other experiences with usb3 readers: my fastest reader for SDHC UHS-I cards now is Transcend F8 which is one of the cheapest multi card readers at least in *bay. Nice thing about it that it reads old SD Extreme III & class10 30MBs cards faster than SD multi reader (GL3220 controller does that) Cheapest reader is not so bad but it is based on same controller as P240 (RTS5301) No scpecial treatment for Ext III’s but the price is unbeatable: 8 $. This is the cheapest usb3 reader on *bay, it is made by Sanxi, it’s white and flat with cover on both ends and text USB 3.0 Card Reader SDXC. No compatibility problems so far with any of my cards. It reads/writes my new Extreme Pro SDHC with 89/80 MB/s in Crystal Diskmark 3. Cheers and a Happy New Year!
3 The Sports Photo Guy // Jan 1, 2012 at 1:12 pm
May have to look at some of those eBay finds. Got a few more readers on the way.
4 Aaron Priest // Jan 7, 2012 at 8:58 pm
The Pretec P240 is the card reader I use as well. It was the only USB 3.0 compact flash reader I could find at the time. I wondered how good the quality would be, but ordered it anyway to find out. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the speed and stability. In about a year of use, not one issue yet.
5 The Doc // Jan 28, 2012 at 7:32 pm
These results are very similar to my tests with CF cards. I tested SanDisk, Lexar and Transcend 16GB 600x cards. But I tested, to the most part, different USB 3.0 readers. I will test my Pretec when I find it.
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