PC card vs PC express card

JDtech · 07-02-2010, 05:24 PM

Shopping for a new notebook...anyone know the difference between these options?

Ken-L · 07-03-2010, 01:36 PM

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ExpressCard"]ExpressCard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:PCCard-ExpressCard_ZP.svg" class="image" title="ExpressCards compared to the predecessor PC Card"><img alt="ExpressCards compared to the predecessor PC Card" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/PCCard-ExpressCard_ZP.svg/350px-PCCard-ExpressCard_ZP.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/f/fc/PCCard-ExpressCard_ZP.svg/350px-PCCard-ExpressCard_ZP.svg.png[/ame]

Quote:

Comparison to other standards
The older PC Cards came in 16-bit and the later 32-bit CardBus designs.

The major benefit of the ExpressCard over the PCMCIA CardBus PC card is more bandwidth, due to the ExpressCard's direct connection to the system bus over a PCI Express x1 lane and USB 2.0, while CardBus cards only interface with PCI. The ExpressCard has a maximum throughput of 2.5 Gbit/s through PCI Express and 480 Mbit/s through USB 2.0 dedicated for each slot, while all CardBus devices connected to a computer share a total 1.06 Gbit/s bandwidth.

Cardbus to ExpressCard AdapterThe ExpressCard standard specifies voltages of either 1.5V or 3.3V; CardBus slots can use 3.3V or 5.0V.

The ExpressCard FAQ claims lower cost, better scalability, and better integration with motherboard chipset technology than Cardbus. PCMCIA devices can be connected to an ExpressCard slot via an adapter.

When the PC Card was introduced the only other way to connect peripherals to a laptop computer was via obsolescent RS232 and parallel ports of limited performance, so it was widely adopted for many peripherals. More recently, virtually all laptop equipment has 480Mbit/s Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports, and most types of peripheral which formerly used a PC Card connection are available for USB, making the ExpressCard less necessary than the PC Card was in its day. Some portable computers do not have an ExpressCard slot. For example, as of the second half of 2009 the only Apple laptop computer with an ExpressCard slot is the 17" MacBook Pro

Sidebyte · 07-03-2010, 02:43 PM

PCMCIA card slots were abandoned about 3 years ago in favor of the newer faster cardbus slots. Unfortunately I still have 2 laptops that use PCMCIA cards.

JDtech · 07-03-2010, 03:10 PM

Ken, that's an excellent graphic. Thanks. Sidebyte, welcome back! All of my cards are PCMCIA. I guess that makes me behind the times.

07-02-2010, 05:24 PM	#1
JDtech Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 308 Blog Entries: 1	PC card vs PC express card Shopping for a new notebook...anyone know the difference between these options? __________________ Members don't see ads in threads. Register your free account today and become a member on Tech Today Online, gaining access to posting privileges, contests, free plug-ins and other downloads, unlimited online storage for your photographs, reviews, free marketplace listings, and much more.

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07-03-2010, 02:43 PM	#3
Sidebyte Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Medellin, Colombia Posts: 62	PCMCIA card slots were abandoned about 3 years ago in favor of the newer faster cardbus slots. Unfortunately I still have 2 laptops that use PCMCIA cards.

07-03-2010, 03:10 PM	#4
JDtech Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 308 Blog Entries: 1	Ken, that's an excellent graphic. Thanks. Sidebyte, welcome back! All of my cards are PCMCIA. I guess that makes me behind the times.