Card Reader USB 2.0 Champ

The Lexar Professional UDMA Dual-Slot USB Reader clocks in as the champ with an average UDMA card-to-computer speed of 26 MB/sec, with the Omniflash Uno! USB 2.0?CF Reader and the Hoodman RAW USB 2.0 UDMA Reader spaced evenly behind at 24 MB/sec and 22 MB/sec, respectively.

The Lexar reader is a slick-looking square with a pop-up, dual-slot interface that accepts both CompactFlash and SD/SDHC cards.? Not only did it have the highest overall performance with the 10 UDMA card types tested, it was consistent: speeds ranged from 23-26 MB/sec, and cards that performed poorly in the other readers fared better in the Lexar.? The fastest card in this reader was the Transcend 266x at 27 MB/sec, though several cards (including Lexar’s own 300x) averaged 26 MB/sec.? At $80 (street), ultimate USB performance will cost you, however.