compact flash card adapter?

[sGu]

Right, i know this thread is not suppose to be here, but more people visit this catagory than any other ones, and i really need some advice to help me to make my decision.

I'm planning on buying a compact flash card adapter for my powerbook, so when i'm on the move, i don't have to take a extra card reader with a cable lying around, especially if i'm in a car or on the train.

so, question: which adapters are 32 bit ones? I heard abt the speed difference between 16 bit adapters and 32 bit, and i think 32 bit ones will perform better with my ultra II CF cards n Lexar 40x ones. However, with all the sites i've been to, none of them indicates this information in their product info or specs. So far, i laid my eyes on the Sandisk Ultra II CF card adapter, has anyone own or used one of these? or any, in fact, so i can get more info on which one to get n which one performs better, speedwise.

Help ... please :?

[sGu]

so i guess i'm the odd one here, nobody uses card adapter at all? where r all the pros hanging around football ground n stadiums? i've seen them using these toys, we have pros here, right? :roll:

[robertwgross]

There is no need for a card adapter. Why bother?

---Bob Gross---

[aam1234]

I haven't tried one but they look very convenient for a laptop, and i'm actually looking for one as we speak.

[Jim_T]

I've got an el-cheapo Radio Shack adapter I plug into my laptop when I'm on the road.. It's just a 16 bit PCMCIA card.. I don't really need the speed so it isn't an issue with me. If I did, then I'd go to a cardbus 32 bit card.

32 bit (cardbus) gives you around a 90 MB/s transfer rate. The older 16 bit (pcmcia) ranges from 30-30 MB/s..

Your computer has to have the appropriate 32 bit bus on the card slot to use the speed of a 32 bit card. If you have an older laptop.. (Made around 1996 or before) then you may only have the standard PCMCIA bus..

Either way, you can use a 16 bit card in a 32 bit bus and you can use a 32 bit card in a 16 bit bus.. You just won't get the extra speed. 32 bit cards can usually be identified by a gold strip across the top of the socket.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Like Jim said.. the "fast" 32 bit adapters are called "CardBus"

If you laptop has "CardBus" posrts then you can use a CardBus adapter.

(my laptop does NOT support CardBus)

The 16bit adapters can be had for about $8.00 or so :) the CardBus ones are nearly $50.00.... or more.