So now what is the expresscard slot good for?

[Andy Mees]

Unless or until the third party vendors currently using ExpressCard host bus adaptors for their products bring Thunderbolt host bus adaptors for those same product to market then yes, the slots are still pretty darn useful for the existing products. As we move into the future we may very likely see the same third party vendors dropping the ExpressCard adaptors from their newer products … but that is then, not now. Also consider that Thunderbolt allows 2 full duplex 10 Gb channels … add an ExpressCard and you have an additional 5Gb channel. Thats a good thing. More is more.

[Chris Babbitt]

I use the express card slot for downloading the SxS cards from my EX camera. Much faster and more convenient than USB from the camera or card reader.

[Jonathan Ziegler]

I have an SDHC card reader there. It’s faster than USB and I don’t need a separate device. 🙂 Also good for network connectivity, wifi, esata add-on, additional firewire, etc. Thunderbolt just came out and there are hardly any devices for it. The vast majority of my setup is Firewire, FW-800, and tons of USB. Even if I buy a new mac with Thunderbird, it’ll be a while before there’s tons of hardware for it and I’m heavily invested in it – I’ll still be using FW/FW-800 for a while.

Jonathan Ziegler
https://www.electrictiger.com/
520-360-8293

[Steven Gladstone]

[Andy Mees] “Also consider that Thunderbolt allows 2 full duplex 10 Gb channels … add an ExpressCard and you have an additional 5Gb channel. Thats a good thing. More is more.”

Ahh, but will it be on a separate bus?

Likewise with the USB ports, are they all on a separate bus?

How can I find out, I’ve often wondered.

Steven Gladstone
https://www.gladstonefilms.com

[Jason Brown]

Not only SxS cards, but also if you are using Matrox I/O or the Max chip in the I/O box for h264 encoding you need an ExpressCard slot.

U would also need it if you have any eSATA devices.

-Jason

[Martin Curtis]

The 15″ MBP comes with an SDXC slot. It would be interesting to see how fast its transfer rate is compared to the Express Card slot readers.

[Dennis Leppell]

In a dream world, an adapter/accessory will be available to harness that extra throughput. One that would have an expresscard slot, another firewire 800 or two, and a couple esata ports. Bonus points for HDMI!

If this comes into being, it would also really help out the current port limitations on the iMac!

[Andy Mees]

[Jason Brown] “…if you are using Matrox I/O or the Max chip in the I/O box for h264 encoding you need an ExpressCard slot. “

On that point Jason, we’ve already been speculating (in another thread) that Thunderbolt host bus adaptors for existing PCIe over Cable devices are highy likely to appear, at which point those devices would no longer be tethered solely to ExpressCard … hence the topic of the thread.

[Jason Brown] “U would also need it if you have any eSATA devices.”

Same speculation again.

For those working with SxS cards ( although I’d expect to see Thunderbolt adaptors for SxS come to market in due course too) I would think the dedicated ExpressCard slot definitely remains a major attraction.

[Rafael Amador]

I have my e-SATA RAIDS connected through the Express slot, and also a little FW800/Express adaptor that gives me 2 extra FW800 buses.
The Express slot is a life saver.
rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[Jay Soriano]

My thoughts exactly why I started this thread Andy as you mentioned I/O manufacturers adding the option of TB connectivity. I’m assuming those currently using an MXO2 mini w/ an express card would be able to simply buy a TB connector instead of purchasing a whole new MXO2 Mini w/ TB?

I’m convinced that the express card slot is important. Will go with the 17″ Macbook Pro. 🙂