SanDisk 2 GB Extreme IV CompactFlash Card with FireWire Reader ( SDCFRX4-2048-901 ) Review

I recently purchased both this item and a SIIG Hi-Speed ExpressCard CF reader. The SanDisk device comes with both FW800 and FW400 cables, which I needed for a legacy laptop that only has FW400 and no ExpressCard slot.

I could not find speed comparisons online, so I ran some comparisons myself between the ExpressCard device and the Sandisk reader using FW800. Using a Lexar Professional 8GB CF card (233x speed), both devices transferred a single 1.3 GB video file to my MacBook Pro (late 2008) in just under 35 seconds.

I find support for Firewire-based devices to be much more mature in OS X and I've never crashed my MacBook with a firewire device. The SanDisk reader is very compact, and if you're like me and already carry a FW800 cable for other peripherals, there's really no advantage to the ExpressCard reader.

The ExpressCard device is very fast, on par with a FW800 device. However, the support for the ExpressCard device within Leopard is finicky at best, and on a few occasions inserting the device with a card already installed caused a kernel panic as described by the previous reviewer. User beware, and always save your work before inserting the device.

Although it's a bit more expensive (about $30), I'd recommend this device over the ExpressCard reader.

Buy it here now!