PDA-Armor's CR-617 USB2.0 Card Reader - Test Setup and Performance
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| PDA-Armor's CR-617 USB2.0 Card Reader |
| Test Setup and Performance |
| Test Setup: | |
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For this review, I used the following System:
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| Testing Methods: | |
| For this review, I used the latest version (2.7) of HDTach from SimpliSoftware. For accurate real-world testing, I used a stopwatch, and timed the transfer of files from each of the removable devices to a Hard Drive. I then formatted the cards, and transferred the same data packet back. Each test was ran 3 times and results were averaged. | |
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The first picture here is of HDTach 2.7 and it's benchmark results on the CR-617 when using a 128MB SD Card. Now matter how hard I tried, I could not get the graph to display both read and write tests results. The Read tests were much higher than the write tests. This Card Reader read the SD card at at fairly smokin' 6.0MB/sec average, and uses very little CPU usage. Not bad at all. I am not that surprised to see the write test lag. I've seen the same results in real-world testing on many removable media devices. |
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This next picture shows the Card Reader's performance when using a 64MB Compact Flash card. Compact Flash technology is older and slower than that of SD Cards, so it's not surprising to see it perform slower. It reads about 1/3 the speed of the SD card, and writes at half the speed. CPU utilization is lower due to the slower data transfer.
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This next chart sums up the performance of three different external flash devices. The USB 2.0 Card Reader is the CR-617 in this review. The USB 1.1 Card Reader is an older one I used previously. Finally, the PNY USB 2.0 Attaché is a Flash Drive that I reviewed here. These different products give reference to performance. Individual results may vary. As I mentioned above, a test data packet was moved to and from each of these devices. In between each move, the SD Card was formatted. All tests were ran three times, timed and the results were average. |
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| Conclusion: | |
| With all of the Flash Card Readers on the market, it's almost impossible to buy "the best one." The CR-617 from PDA-Armor impressed sure impressed me. It is small, stylish, light, and fast. There isn't really a whole lot more to be said. If you have multiple card formats and you want a device that reads them, the CR-617 is not a bad choice. | |
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Pros:
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Cons:
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This product easily earns a spot as a BCC Top Pick with a 9/10.
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If you have any questions or comments regarding this review, please don't hesitate to head on over here and post them! I'd like to thank Dwayne over at Dallmann Computers for lending out the 64MB CF card for comparison. |
