X220 (and X201, X200) USB 3.0 Expresscard

iamdmc · **Posted:** Wed Jul 13, 2011 2:38 pm

Has anyone tried the USB 3.0 Expresscards that line up flush with the unit?

Like this
http://cgi.ebay.com/Express-Card-Expres ... 336977bf27

Update:
Purchased an Expresscard-eSATA flush card, which has arrived and is definitely worth the $8 I paid.
Also purchased an Expresscard-USB3.0 flush card for $12.50, and am waiting for it in the mail. My forecast: it'll be worth it.

Q-Ball · **Posted:** Fri Jul 15, 2011 9:45 pm

No- but that's one of the coolest things I've seen all day especially since it looks stock to a ThinkPad (with the exception of those 2 metal pieces on the front.)

I guess that gets rid of the 'need' to get an i7 on an X220 for USB 3.0 rather effectively (makes me wonder why Lenovo didn't make these and ship them with X220's without the need for the extra controller, without the silly power cord that is).

Widows Son · **Posted:** Sat Jul 16, 2011 12:58 pm

iamdmc wrote:

Has anyone tried the USB 3.0 Expresscards that line up flush with the unit?

I have been looking at the same thing myself; there are some on Amazon as well that get positive reviews, such as this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Expresscard-Express-34mm-Power-Cable/product-reviews/B0046Y3INC/ref=cm_cr_pr_all_summary?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

FWIW

Have a Magical Day

smh · **Posted:** Sat Jul 16, 2011 6:37 pm

From Amazon:

Quote:

"ExpressCard modules use serial (PCI Express and USB 2.0) data interfaces rather than the ISA (16-bit PC Card) or PCI (CardBus) parallel bus interfaces, improving bus speed in data transfer while reducing the number of signals needed in the interface (2.5 Gb/s [PCI Express] or 480 Mb/s [USB 2.0] for the ExpressCard interface vs. 132 MB/s maximum theoretical throughput for the CardBus interface.) This translates to a more than 2.5X increase in speed when using an ExpressCard module utilizing PCI Express over a CardBus card, and a 40X increase over 16-bit PC Cards."

When reading through this and translating it back into English you can see that it may or may not help to buy a usb 3 version but even if you do gain benefit from it. You will not gain it all because the ExpressCard slot can not handle the full capabilities of usb 3.0. If your computer uses a usb 2.0 channel to handle the usb 3.0 card you will not see any benefit.

What I got from this was that if and only if the ExpressCard slot in x2XX is ExpressCard 2.0 compliant can you talk about getting 'real' USB 3.0 ports via the ExpressCard module. Otherwise you will only get a higher speed compared to USB 2.0 and none of the other benefits of USB 3.0.

Widows Son · **Posted:** Sat Jul 16, 2011 11:35 pm

smh wrote:

What I got from this was that if and only if the ExpressCard slot in x2XX is ExpressCard 2.0 compliant can you talk about getting 'real' USB 3.0 ports via the ExpressCard module. .....

Correct, and, from what I understand, the X220 is ExpressCard 2.0 compliant; so that would work well for me.

FWIW

Have a Magical Day!

yak · **Posted:** Sun Jul 17, 2011 3:04 am

Widows Son wrote:

Correct, and, from what I understand, the X220 is ExpressCard 2.0 compliant; so that would work well for me.

An ExpressCard 2.0 card with USB 3.0 ports would just be a simple pass-through or a hub at best because the standard provides USB 3.0 signals. This also means that either only the i7 X220 has ExpressCard 2.0 or none of them (more likely).

Widows Son · **Posted:** Sun Jul 17, 2011 9:10 am

yak wrote:

This also means that either only the i7 X220 has ExpressCard 2.0 or none of them (more likely).

I am not so sure about that; it would not be beyond a manufacturer to offer a option on one model device simply as a means of enticing potential buyers to pay a premium for that option.

USB 3.0 still being fairly new, in the sense that it is not as common in the market as USB 2.0; they may feel they can do that. When 3.0 is as widespread in the market as 2.0 is then it would be dumb for them to do so; it was the same way when 2.0 first superseded USB 1.0.

On the other hand the Expresscard 2.0 format, which was introduced in 2009, is a common & viable one so it would behoove Lenovo to offer it in their systems if they want to maintain the image of offering, if not leading edge, relevant devices. IMHO

Have a Magical Day!

iamdmc · **Posted:** Mon Jul 18, 2011 11:09 am

@Widows Son

Make sure you get the Expresscard 54mm card, otherwise you'll be looking at a bit of wiggle.

Widows Son · **Posted:** Mon Jul 18, 2011 11:57 am

iamdmc wrote:

@Widows Son

Make sure you get the Expresscard 54mm card, otherwise you'll be looking at a bit of wiggle.

Right, thanks for the reminder though.

Have a Magical Day

rleo25 · **Posted:** Sun Jul 24, 2011 6:04 pm

I have ordered the express card from ebay today, thanks for the suggestion. I will report my experience when it arrives.

khtse · **Posted:** Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:29 am

It does look kind of cool. The Express card slot on my X200 has been empty since I got it, just cannot think of what to do with it. At the prices eBay sellers are selling these cards for, it doesn't hurt to try! In the worst case I get two extra USB ports on my Thinkpad

iamdmc · **Posted:** Tue Aug 02, 2011 2:57 pm

UPDATE: I purchased an eSATA - Expresscard54 adapter and have had successful transfers between my two HDD docks, and from dock to X220 at 90MB/s average.

I can't wait to see how USB3.0 performs. I purchased one for myself, and one for my laptop's twin (my father's laptop). $12.50/each shipped. Not bad.

khtse · **Posted:** Tue Aug 02, 2011 5:19 pm

iamdmc wrote:

UPDATE: I purchased an eSATA - Expresscard54 adapter and have had successful transfers between my two HDD docks, and from dock to X220 at 90MB/s average.

I can't wait to see how USB3.0 performs. I purchased one for myself, and one for my laptop's twin (my father's laptop). $12.50/each shipped. Not bad.

Call me greedy, but I wish they had one that came with 1 eSATA and 1 USB 3.0 :lol:

erik · **Posted:** Tue Aug 02, 2011 5:47 pm

khtse wrote:

Call me greedy, but I wish they had one that came with 1 eSATA and 1 USB 3.0 :lol:

eSATAp would be even better... flush mount, of course.

rleo25 · **Posted:** Wed Aug 03, 2011 3:15 pm

I bought one from ebay, it is taking too much to arrive, shipments from Hongkong take almost 3 weks they said. My X220 arrived in 7 days including assembly! :evil:

iamdmc · **Posted:** Wed Aug 03, 2011 3:33 pm

Pay 3 times more and get it in a retail store

Actually, you still can't. The flush-mount Expresscards seem to be available only on eBay from Chinese sellers. Average time is 1-2 weeks. Not bad for traveling 15,000km (or about 9300 miles) for free shipping in a bubble mailer.

And up here in Canada it took more than 1 month to receive my 2 X220's (both CTO units). I forgive them, because it's such a great laptop.

my 2 cents

Widows Son · **Posted:** Wed Aug 03, 2011 5:08 pm

iamdmc wrote:

Actually, you still can't. The flush-mount Expresscards seem to be available only on eBay from Chinese sellers.

They are available from AMAZON as well.....

http://www.amazon.com/ExpressCard-USB3-0-Express-Adapter-Windows/dp/B0045BLP1S/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

http://www.amazon.com/Expresscard-Express-34mm-Power-Cable/dp/B0046Y3INC/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Have a Magical Day

crashnburn · **Posted:** Thu Aug 04, 2011 3:38 am

khtse wrote:

Call me greedy, but I wish they had one that came with 1 eSATA and 1 USB 3.0 :lol:

erik wrote:

eSATAp would be even better... flush mount, of course.

I agree - eSATA(p) + USB 3.0

BTW - Would this give a transfer boost on my T61 & X61T?

iamdmc · **Posted:** Thu Aug 04, 2011 10:04 am

FYI - those amazon cards are expresscard 32 not 54.

I like the 2x USB 3.0 and 2x eSATA better. It allows me to transfer between 2 eSATA docks or 2 USB 3.0 docks.

This way I don't plug one hard drive dock into a USB 3.0 and the other into a USB 2.0. It just wouldn't make sense!

khtse · **Posted:** Thu Aug 04, 2011 11:00 am

iamdmc wrote:

FYI - those amazon cards are expresscard 32 not 54.

I like the 2x USB 3.0 and 2x eSATA better. It allows me to transfer between 2 eSATA docks or 2 USB 3.0 docks.

This way I don't plug one hard drive dock into a USB 3.0 and the other into a USB 2.0. It just wouldn't make sense!

here is an expresscard 54 one

http://www.amazon.com/Express-card-54mm ... 451&sr=1-3

They are so cheap! I'm going to get a eSATA one, a USB 3 one, and also get a CF card adapter (for my DSLR). Why did I leave the expresscard slot on my X200 blank for so long?

rleo25 · **Posted:** Fri Aug 05, 2011 12:18 pm

The Amazon express card in the last post's link is sold by Gigacity, that's the same company from Hong Kong I bought mine! strange thing uuuh ?

iamdmc · **Posted:** Wed Aug 17, 2011 10:01 pm

Has anyone been able to get this to work?

The driver CD that came with it just has folders with a lot of different drivers and I don't know which one to use

azX32 · **Posted:** Thu Aug 18, 2011 12:23 am

iamdmc wrote:

Has anyone been able to get this to work?

Uh oh ... that doesn't sound good. I bought one of these on eBay and it arrived in the mail about 3 business days later - from GigaCity's Silicon Valley address. But my X220 hasn't even shipped yet (10 days after the order date) and I have nothing else to test the card with.

Have you contacted GigaCity for support?

iamdmc · **Posted:** Thu Aug 18, 2011 10:48 am

nope

Got the same driver CD as everyone else though. I've read that others have gotten this to work just fine

azX32 · **Posted:** Sat Aug 27, 2011 12:51 am

I ran the setup programs in the first two folders (labeled USB 3.0) on the CD. Not sure if both were necessary, but the card works fine, although I don't have a USB 3.0 device to test that aspect.

Now the question is how to remove the card - if ever needed - since it fits flush with the edge and there's no release button.

erik · **Posted:** Sat Aug 27, 2011 7:06 am

azX32 wrote:

Now the question is how to remove the card - if ever needed - since it fits flush with the edge and there's no release button.

the release mechanism is internal. push the card into the chassis until it clicks, then let it go.

mpcook · **Posted:** Sat Aug 27, 2011 7:56 am

Has anyone gotten the eSATA AKE flush card working, and if so, which drivers did you use? I have tried it but can't get it to work. TIA. -Mike

iamdmc · **Posted:** Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:59 pm

the esata card worked plug-and-play for me with Windows 7 Pro 64-bit

azX32 · **Posted:** Sun Aug 28, 2011 10:21 pm

erik wrote:

the release mechanism is internal. push the card into the chassis until it clicks, then let it go.

Thanks. Actually on my X220 it takes a couple of pushes/clicks until the card comes back out far enough to grab it. Maybe the mechanism is stiffer than normal, or the card is a bit thicker than normal.

iamdmc · **Posted:** Mon Aug 29, 2011 12:19 pm

ditto.

I usually have to use the esata cable or usb cable to help me grab it out of the slot

X220 (and X201, X200) USB 3.0 Expresscard

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