ExpressCard to PCI-E adaptors

[Dilemma Prison]

This isn't exactly something that comes up much in discussion, but :

 

I have gotten a PEX3EC ExpressCard 34/54 to PCIE 1x adaptor to run a Sonnet Tempo Pro Express34 Sata card with zero issues. The ExpressCard adaptor cost ~10$ US. A very cheap way to get a functional interface on your hack if you have an supported ExpressCard laying around. These adaptors don't appear to require any drivers, just USB passed through from your mobo or a card.

 

I can only assume it would be useful for anyone trying to do similar with a sata or wifi card etc.

 

The adaptor i used was model # PEX2EC from Startech.com

 

No hotswap support; but my particular esata card worked with the drivers that ship from sonnet tech, (Marvell 88SX7042 chipset). I didn't want to spend a bundle on another reliable card with FIS port replicator support to use with my drive tower. I don't have anything fancy hooked up to it beyond a few raid-0 arrays for media and scratch space, but i'm getting ~120mb / sec off of my old hard drives. . nothing to complain about.

 

 

Edit : it would appear that many (or maybe all, i do not know exactly) express34 based Flash / SSD devices are in fact just glorified USB devices, and do not in fact connect via the 1x lane in the express socket, they simply use the USB port built into the socket. It would seem that one should only expect USB performance from these devices. And a internal card socket is not necessary if you only want to connect the usb based express cards to your machine (get a usb reader).