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We absolutely love industry firsts and the Transcend RDE2 CF Express Type B Card Reader is just that! For us, it is all about speed and, at least up until this card reader, the ONLY WAY to achieve full data transfer speeds from a CF Express Type B card was through Thunderbolt 3. The trade-off to that speed is that Thunderbolt 3 typically came with a price premium. If you want full CFExpressB data transfer speeds of 1700MB/s, you were going to pay for it. Times change.
The Transcend RDE2 CF Express Type B Memory Card Reader is the first release (at least that we are aware of) that uses the latest and greatest USB 3.2 2×2 which achieves 20Gbps speeds, or a maximum data transfer rate of 2050MB/s at its best. Yes, there is no denying that Tbt3/4 is faster to a top speed of 2.8GB/s but the maximum speed that we are seeing from CF Express Type B is 1750MB/s, which fits right into USB 3.2 2×2’s framework perfectly.
The Transcend RDE2 is bus powered which means that it requires no separate power adapter and is constructed of a strong aluminum grey matte exterior with a semi-clear silicon skin for protection.
It comes with a Type-C to Type-C cable, as well as a Type-C to Type-A cable for maximum compatibility, and it has the CF Express Type B port on the bottom with a Type-C connector on top.
At 3″ x 2″ x 1/2″, the Transcend CF Express Type B RDE2 Card Reader is also the smallest on the market. We had a bit of concern with that at first, as CF Express Type B cards are known to put off quite a bit of heat… at least the earlier versions were. We tested the RDE2 with an early card and did a sustained write test where the temperature of the card got up to 80°C. The exterior of the RDE2 did get a bit warm but the silicon casing absorbed that heat as well so there was no discomfort or concern whatsoever.
Last but not least, we performance tested the Transcend RDE2 with Transcends newest CFExpress 820 Type B card and it provided full results as expected. Checking Amazon, the Transcend CFExpress Type B RDE2 Card Reader is priced at only $49.99 which is also an industry low for the performance it is providing.
Check Transcend RDE2 Pricing at Amazon.
Second sentence is wrong. You can achive full speed with a PCIe reader.
Lutz
Agreed and that is what we used initially when our first reviews were completed; we had to have one made up. Unfortunately, we would not recommend such for others as they don’t account for heat dissipation from the card whatsoever which pertains to several cards, and it also requires one to open up and lcose their PC for PCIe installation. This, as well, is not something many are comfortable with. Readers are quick and easy.
I also don’t recommend then, but they exist;-) Another problem is that the one I mentioned above does not recognise a media change. USB readers are not only more common, they are also more comfortable.
Is this card reader backward compatible, for example with USB 3.1 (of course providing lower transfer rates)?