Silverstone SDP01 Multi Card Reader Review
8/10
Performance-wise, the Silverstone reader stood up to the other readers and either matched or beat them in most tests.
Highs: Two products in one, good read/write times, easy to carry around, easy install
Lows: Cables are too short, requires USB header on motherboard
The Silverstone SDP01 is both a USB 2.0 portable and an internal 6-in-1 digital media card reader that looks good and performs well.
Summary
Overall the Silverstone SDP01 6-in-1 media
reader performed as well or better than comparable products. It looks good, is
relatively easy to install and is quite versatile. Its silver color allows it to
go well with most case colors and is a welcome change from the boring old beige
of other internal components.
In our opinion, the performance, portability
and looks of the external device make it worth purchasing even if you are not
going to install the dock internally.
While the design of the SDP01 is not
necessarily revolutionary, it is a unique product that may appeal to many users
of digital cameras, digital audio players and other portable devices that
require flash storage. If you don’t mind the rather short cables and have an
available onboard USB 2.0 header, the Silverstone SDP01 is a good buy.
Buy this product now from
With portable media players, digital cameras, cell phones and PDAs utilizing different storage media, multi-card readers are becoming a required accessory for the gadget lover.
Several companies offer external solutions that connect via a FireWire or USB port, but Silverstone has gone a step further with their SDP01 6-in-1 portable card reader. The SDP01 is both an internal card reader that installs in a standard 3.5-inch drive bay and a pocket-sized portable USB 2.0 reader.
This dual-identity is achieved by a spring-loaded docking port in the 3.5-inch bay that the portable reader plugs into with a simple click.
At $34.99 this unit is about average price for internal card readers, but it also offers a bit more than most of its competitors because of the pop-out external reader.
The Silverstone SDP01 6-in-1 card reader is both an external and internal drive.
Features and Installation
With support for Compact Flash Type I and II (CF), IBM MicroDrive, Smart Media (SM), Secure Digital (SD), Multimedia Card (MMC), and Memory Stick (MS) formats, this silver plastic device can handle read and write to most flash storage formats.
Most new motherboards offer a USB 2.0 header onboard specifically for such a device. Manufacturers like Chaintech and Abit offer their own internally connected media readers, but the plugs on the motherboard are basically the same – allowing for after-market readers such as the Silverstone SDP01 to easily connect.
To install the 3.5” bay, Silverstone includes a cable long enough to go from the header on your motherboard to a connector on the SDP01. Installation requires opening up your case, but once you’re in there, it is quite easy. The header on most motherboards has eight or nine pins to hook internal USB devices to. The cable provided by Silverstone has separate plugs that hook up to each pin individually, since different manufacturers may utilize a different pin layout.
Once you plug the eight pins onto the internal header and install the device to a 3.5” drive bay, Windows XP recognizes the reader and shows four new available removable drives (CF, MS, MMC, SD). The reader then operates by simply plugging a media card into the appropriate slot.
If you require a portable reader, the device pops out of the 3.5-inch bay by a simple push of a button. Measuring just over 2¼ inches wide, 3¼ inches deep and 5/8 of an inch tall, the portable reader is compact enough to carry in a pocket and easily fits in a laptop or camera bag. A hide-away USB 2.0 cable pops out of the back of the unit, allowing you to plug it into an available USB port.
Two LEDs on the front of the unit light when the device is powered up and show activity when files are being transferred. The unit also features a USB 2.0 port on the front of the 3.5-inch panel, providing an additional front USB connection.
Shots of the SDP01: rear view, motherboard connection, USB port, and activity lights.
Testing and Use
Since we had several other media card readers on hand, we decided to compare transfer speeds of the Silverstone 6-in-1 reader to the other products. We tested it against the built in 4-in-1 reader on our Compaq Presario R3060 laptop, the Biostar E-Catcher external USB 6-in-1 reader, the internal Abit Media XP Pro 4-in-1 reader and the internal Chaintech CBOX3 six-in-one reader.
The Abit and Chaintech readers take up a whole 5.25-inch drive bay