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Apple Computing Products:
macOS - Notebook Hardware
Is my MacBook Pro built-in SD card reader USB 2.0 or 3.0?
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<blockquote data-quote="pm-r" data-source="post: 1720210" data-attributes="member: 175845"><p>This might be interesting for some that I came across:</p><p></p><p>"<em>Last edited by the author on Mar 12, 2015 3:42:38 PM PDT</em></p><p><em>ZapNZs says:</em></p><p><em>Apple seems very weird here when it comes to how they route the SD card reader. Some laptops will route the SD card reader through USB, which obviously means we are limited to a max of either 480 Mbps (USB2) or 5,000 Mbps (USB 3), but other laptops will route the card reader through PCIe (and to my understanding most Apple desktops do this as well.) </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>The quickest way I've found to verify this is to go to 'About This Mac' -> 'System Report' and then look under the 'Hardware' menu tab click 'USB'. If 'Internal Memory Card Reader' is listed at all in this USB tab, then the SD card reader runs through USB. This tab will also specify whether the computer is using USB 2.0 or USB 3.0. If 'Internal Memory Card Reader' is NOT listed here, then I verify that the SD card reader is running through PCIe. Click 'Card Reader' under the 'Hardware' menu tab. If the built-in SD Card Reader shows "Link Speed 2.5 GT/s" at the bottom, this is a 1-lane PCIe rather than USB. (For those just wondering how well it will work, in summary, a 1-lane PCI Express and USB 3 can theoretically max out the speed of this JetDrive although you rarely will get sustained peak advertised speeds with ANY product...USB 2 cannot as it's max speed is around 1/2 that of this JetDrive's peak read speed.)</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>In the case of a 2011 15-MacBook Pro I have, it is routed via 1 lane PCIe with a link speed of 2.5 GT/s. Oddly enough, my brother has a 13-inch from the same generation and it is USB 2. My mid 2014 15-inch Retina is USB3. And I have been told that there is some variation within single generation MacBook Pros/Airs. So this is worth verifying prior. (While I know this listing is for the Air, I am noting on Pros as well given the size of the 130 fits the older Pros.) "</em></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/review/R1EGL15R210O21/ref=cm_cr_dp_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00K73NSU4&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=541966&store=pc#wasThisHelpful?tag=macforums0e4-20" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/review/R1EGL15R210O21/ref=cm_cr_dp_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00K73NSU4&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=541966&store=pc#wasThisHelpful?tag=macforums0e4-20</a></p><p></p><p></p><p>Almost as clear as mud eh… and on what SD card one might be using…???</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>- Patrick</p><p>======</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pm-r, post: 1720210, member: 175845"] This might be interesting for some that I came across: "[I]Last edited by the author on Mar 12, 2015 3:42:38 PM PDT ZapNZs says: Apple seems very weird here when it comes to how they route the SD card reader. Some laptops will route the SD card reader through USB, which obviously means we are limited to a max of either 480 Mbps (USB2) or 5,000 Mbps (USB 3), but other laptops will route the card reader through PCIe (and to my understanding most Apple desktops do this as well.) The quickest way I've found to verify this is to go to 'About This Mac' -> 'System Report' and then look under the 'Hardware' menu tab click 'USB'. If 'Internal Memory Card Reader' is listed at all in this USB tab, then the SD card reader runs through USB. This tab will also specify whether the computer is using USB 2.0 or USB 3.0. If 'Internal Memory Card Reader' is NOT listed here, then I verify that the SD card reader is running through PCIe. Click 'Card Reader' under the 'Hardware' menu tab. If the built-in SD Card Reader shows "Link Speed 2.5 GT/s" at the bottom, this is a 1-lane PCIe rather than USB. (For those just wondering how well it will work, in summary, a 1-lane PCI Express and USB 3 can theoretically max out the speed of this JetDrive although you rarely will get sustained peak advertised speeds with ANY product...USB 2 cannot as it's max speed is around 1/2 that of this JetDrive's peak read speed.) In the case of a 2011 15-MacBook Pro I have, it is routed via 1 lane PCIe with a link speed of 2.5 GT/s. Oddly enough, my brother has a 13-inch from the same generation and it is USB 2. My mid 2014 15-inch Retina is USB3. And I have been told that there is some variation within single generation MacBook Pros/Airs. So this is worth verifying prior. (While I know this listing is for the Air, I am noting on Pros as well given the size of the 130 fits the older Pros.) "[/I] [URL]https://www.amazon.com/review/R1EGL15R210O21/ref=cm_cr_dp_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00K73NSU4&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=541966&store=pc#wasThisHelpful?tag=macforums0e4-20[/URL] Almost as clear as mud eh… and on what SD card one might be using…??? - Patrick ====== [/QUOTE]
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Apple Computing Products:
macOS - Notebook Hardware
Is my MacBook Pro built-in SD card reader USB 2.0 or 3.0?
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