Get a FREE fully-working copy of Steganos Security Suite 7 (worth £49.99) when you sign up to the Practical PC Newsletter. Review: Belkin USB 2.0 CardBus PCMCIA Card
Don Bradbury shows notebook users how to upgrade their USB connectivity
| Product | USB 2.0 CardBus PC Card |
|---|---|
| Company | Belkin. |
| Web | www.belkin.co.uk |
| Price | £69.99 |
| We like | High speed data transfer capability |
| We don't like | Careful connection of power consumers required. |
| Rating | 9/10 |
| Requirements |
A word about CDs
Notebook users, if they have access to USB at all, will probably be confined to the USB 1.1 speeds from their existing ports. But that protocol is unduly restrictive if the data files they are accessing are large or need to be copied quickly.
Databases are a case in point, but graphics and all other power applications could benefit from all the speed that can be brought to bear. And if the application is external, ie USB scanner, printer, video camera, hard drive or what have you, then a faster protocol would be useful.
USB 2.0 provides that, and now notebook users can press into service one of their 32-bit, type II PC Card (PCMCIA) slots to house this neat little Belkin unit which gives two USB 2.0 ports for easy access.
Installation
Setup installs three USB host adapters onto your system (Windows 98SE, 2000, ME, or XP); one USB 2.0 EHCI host controller and two OHCI controllers.
A power supply unit plugs into the device's 3.5mm DC power jack to cater for power consumers, and the standard 500mA is provided for each port.
Installation proceeds more or less as per the neat little manual, including a quick look at the Windows 98SE CD on the test machine. As usual, you should check Device Manager to see that all is well there before proceeding to use a device.
When installation is complete, the two ports are illuminated with bright green LEDs, and look most impressive for that. However, I found that plugging in a live (ie already connected) power consumer such as an external hard drive could reboot the system. It's better to make the PC Card connection first and then plug the other end of the USB cable into the external device.
And, as is usual, an eject facility is provided on the Windows System Tray to ensure that the device is deactivated prior to removal.
Performance
Data transfer speed was checked in broadly the same manner as we checked the Adaptec USB 2.0 DuoConnect on the Desktop PC, and with essentially the same result. 433MB of files and folders were transferred from the notebook's hard disk at a rate of 55mbps compared with just 6.2mbps using a USB 1.1 connection.
The speed increase factor of 8.8 times over USB 1.1 was also about the same as we found with the Adaptec card. Nowhere near the theoretical speeds of course, in either case, but that's to be expected in live applications. 480mbps is pure marketing hype for now, and users should not expect to see it.
In conclusion
Notebook users with a spare PC Card slot will value this neat way of upgrading to USB 2.0 connectivity if they have suitable applications in mind. They should not expect the makers claims for absolute speed, but they'll certainly notice the extra pep from their system.
