USB3 card reader

[Nifkin]

I've got a MBP w/Retina Display, which has USB3 ports. I've been using a Belkin USB2 card reader since my PC days for uploading images from my Compact Flash cards into Lightroom (the MBP has a built-in SD card reader for my other cards). My question is, would there be any point in upgrading my card reader to a USB3 one? My CF cards are of the x266 variety (which have a claimed transfer rate of 40MB/s), but my understanding is that USB2 has a higher transfer speed than this anyway, so my uploading speeds will be dependent on the speed of the card, not the reader, meaning that a USB3 reader wouldn't be necessary? Please correct me if I'm wrong!

Cheers

 

[RobertP]

Don't know anything about Macs but a recent UDMA USB3 card reader will be faster than an old USB2 one. I have a Lexar UDMA usb2 reader and it is way faster than other older usb2 readers I have so I don't doubt a usb3 version will be as good or better.

 

[Nifkin]

Am pleased to report that, having picked up a Transcend USB3.0 card reader and tested against my old USB2.0 card reader, the new one is more than twice as quick at transferring raw files! Ta daa!

 

[hollis_f]

Yup, USB2 normally tops out at around 20-25 MB/s. Enjoy the speed!