Transcend USB 3.0 SDHC / SDXC / microSDHC / SDXC Card Reader, TS-RDF5R (Pink)

by people ...

Product Specifications

SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface; backwards compatible with USB 2.0
Supports SDHC (UHS-I), SDXC (UHS-I), microSD, microSDHC (UHS-I), and microSDXC (UHS-I)
LED card insertion and data transfer activity indicator
Ideal for transferring high-resolution images and video recordings
Supports SD and security functions - USB powered

Product Description

Color:Pink Engineered to deliver super fast data transfer speeds, the RDF5 USB 3.0 card reader features a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface and support for next-generation Ultra High Speed SDHC/SDXC and microSDHC/SDXC cards. Capable of being plugged directly into the USB port on any desktop or notebook computer, the ultra compact RDF5 offers effortless file sharing in any situation.

Product Reviews

Makes my fastest cards run 50% faster - even from an USB 2.0 port

I have been using several USB 2.0 card readers in the past, including the Transcend M5 Multi-Card Reader and Sandisk Mobilemate SD Plus Memory Card Reader. With memory cards getting faster over the years, I started to get the feeling that my old card readers are limiting the Read/Write speed of my newer memory cards. That’s why I purchased this Transcend Information USB 3.0 Card Reader (TS-RDF5K) just to try it out, even through all my computers only have USB 2.0 ports.Upon arrival of the RDF5, I benchmarked over one dozen of my SDHC and microSDHC memory cards, with speed rating from class-4 to class-10 and UHS-1. The program I used is called “CrystalDiskMark v3.01 x64”. It reports, among other things, sequential READ and WRITE speed of memory cards. To my surprise, several of my fastest cards showed about 50% improvement in Read/Write speed compared to when using the old M5 card reader.As an example: for the HP CG790A-AZ 32 GB Flash Memory Card Class 10 SDHC I was previously getting 19.6MB/s in Write and 20.1MB/s in Read. But when used with the RDF5, its throughput jumped 50% to 29.7 and 34.8MB/s, respectively. The Transcend 32 GB Class 10 UHS Flash Memory Card TS32GSDHC10U1E also shows nearly identical improvement.The above proves that using old card reader was the bottleneck for my fastest cards. On the other hand, improvements for my slower cards were less noticeable, typically around 5% or less. That include Kingston class-4 SD10G2/16GB,Transcend Class 6 TS16GSDHC6E, etc. See the summary of benchmark results I uploaded to ‘Customer Images’ section for details.The only negative about this RDF5 card reader is that: it does not allow simultaneous usage of both SDHC and microSDHC slots. That is, you can only insert one card at a time, but never both.Conclusion:I am very happy with the dramatic improvement I can achieve with this card reader, even when it is connected to an USB 2.0 port. Once I upgrade to a new computer with USB 3.0 ports, I expect the benchmark results to be even better - at least for my fastest cards. In the mean time, I consider this card reader the cheapest computer upgrade I can recommend.[Update on Dec 26, 2013]I finally have a computer with USB 3.0 port, so I re-tested ~10 memory cards to see the difference.- For any card marketed as ‘UHS-1’, I observed huge improvements in both Read and Write speeds.- For any card marketed as ‘class 10’ but not UHS, I may see some increase in Read, but very little difference in Wrire.Bottom Line: If you have an UHS-1 card, make sure to use the RDF5 card reader in conjunction with USB 3.0 port, in order to get the full benefit.READ MORE

Must have tool in your mobile arsenal

I bought this to transfer data from a 64GB SanDisk micro SD card to a 64GB Transcend micro SD card newly installed in my BlackBerry Z30. I paired it with a StarTech USB to USB OTG host adapter. This sucker is F*A*S*T. It quickly transfered over 26GB of music, 4 GB of photos and a bunch of other stuff. The phone immediately sees the USB connection and the SD data is accessible via file manager. I then popped my camera’s SD card in to copy the photos I took of the setup over to the phone (uploaded for this review). Needless to say it worked great on a PC too.Tiny Powerhouse should be its name.

Cheapest, best USB 3.0 Reader Available

I did a good bit of research on USB 3.0 readers before purchasing this one and found many of the reviews for other units to be hit or miss. This reader from Transcend scores mostly 4 and 5 stars and I can see why. This thing just works, and works with blazing FAST USB 3.0 speeds.The size of the adapter is good, it is wider than most USB sticks, but on my computer chassis with 2 USB 3.0 ports right next to each other, I can still use the adjacent port to charge a device or connect an external drive with a standard USB plug. Clean aesthetics, piano black glossy finish with a blue activity LED that is faint enough so that it does not bother.The main reason I got this drive was because I wanted to test some high-capacity Class10/UHS-I microSD cards I had recently bought since these are known to be counterfeit targets. I only had an older generic USB 2.0 adapter that was capping out at 30MB/s Read and 10MB/s Write, and the devices themselves were not much better over USB 2.0. I also needed the reader to transfer video files from my head-mounted action camera as the transfer speeds over USB 2.0 are excruciatingly slow.I was ecstatic to see the following transfer speeds with the following microSDs:USB3.0 Port (Intel Z87 chipset)Samsung Pro Class10/UHS-I microSDXC 64GB: 77MB/s Read | 32MB/s WriteSamsung Plus Class10/UHS-I microSDHC 32GB: 77MB/s Read | 32MB/s WriteUSB2.0 Port (Intel Z87 chipset)Samsung Pro Class10/UHS-I microSDXC 64GB: 42MB/s Read | 22MB/s WriteSamsung Plus Class10/UHS-I microSDHC 32GB: 42MB/s Read | 22MB/s WriteI was amazed to see 2 things, the Samsung Plus microSD which is only guaranteed transfer speeds of 48MB/s Read and 10MB/s Write actually matched the much more expensive Samsung Pro! I guess this is more of a function of Samsung’s flash memory just improving that much to the point there is virtually no difference between the Pro and Plus models now other than capacity. Secondly, as I mentioned earlier, the generic USB 2.0 reader and various devices connected over USB 2.0 were limited to 30MB/s Read and 10MB/s Write, but even over USB 2.0 this reader very nearly reached the maximum throughput of USB 2.0 at 42MB/s Read and also doubled the Write speeds. Very impressed!You will find USB 3.0 readers for much more, but I think you will be hard pressed to find a better performing reader at any price, much less one for <$10!Also, if you are having trouble attaining these speeds with this reader, first verify you have a card that is capable of achieving these transfer speeds. You will most likely need Class10/UHS-1 to benefit from the USB 3.0 speeds. Also make sure you have the Intel USB 3.0 drivers or the drivers for your USB 3.0 controller installed. I thought I had installed my Intel USB 3.0 drivers in the main driver package, but they were separate.READ MORE

Outstanding and Exceedingly Versatile USB 3.0 Flash Card Reader by Transcend

The Transcend USB 3.0 Flash Card Reader features outstanding performance, superb design and construction, and excellent strength and durability. It is small, light, and unobtrusive, and it facilitates the connection of a full-size SD card to the USB 3.0 port of an ultra-thin portable computer, whose exceedingly thin and light construction does not enable it to be equipped with a full-size SD card slot. It is also decidedly versatile, because it has the additional capability for accommodating a micro-SD card, in addition to a full-size SD card. A micro-SD card can be unwieldy, and difficult to grasp and insert into the tiny micro-SD card slot of an ultra-thin notebook computer, and this adapter facilitates the use of the much larger and more convenient USB 3.0 port. In conclusion, this Transcend USB 3.0 Flash Card Reader is an outstanding adapter for providing a connection between both a full-size SD card and a micro-SD card, and the USB 3.0 port of an ultra-thin portable computer, and I give it my highest recommendation.