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Card Readers

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Card Readers

To allow a PC (or notebook) to communicate with the outside world, the interfaces built into the I/O panel of the case model are usually far from sufficient. Either there are too few ports for the number of external devices (hard drives, USB sticks, cameras) and peripherals (keyboard, mouse, gamepad) or the required storage media formats are not supported.

The solution? A card reader!

Card readers come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and formats - from portable USB card readers (external) to compact 3.5-inch panels (internal) for the front of the case to opulent multi-panels (including USB hub, eSATA port, HDD mounting frame, hot-swap docking station, or fan control) for 5.25-inch drive bays.

The right interface for every storage format

Almost all modern card readers are multi-format card readers, which means they can read and write a wide range of card format standards. The most common and therefore most widely used memory cards are:

  • SD, SDHC, SDXC (Secure Digital in various capacity levels)
  • microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC (smaller Secure Digital variant)
  • CF (Compact Flash in different versions and generations)
  • Memory Stick (for example, MS Pro, MS Pro Duo, Magic Gate, Extreme, Ultra)

Depending on the compatibility of a card reader, it also has different numbers of slots for the various card sizes. In addition to the necessary reading capabilities, it is also important to ensure there are enough connections on the motherboard or power supply. Some particularly comprehensive card readers require additional power via Molex connectors from the PSU.

Furthermore, most card readers are connected to the motherboard via USB 2.0 headers; newer models can also utilize the increased speed of the USB 3.0 standard (up to 500 MB/s gross data rate) by being connected to the mainboard via a 19-pin connector.