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Semi related, but has anyone used the T420's ExpressCard port for USB3 expansion?

I bought a USB3 card [0], but the write speed is only barely faster than USB2 for flash media. (interestingly, the write speed is much faster when uploading an image to my FPGA dev board)

[0] https://www.amazon.com/ExpressCard-34mm-Adapter-Dual-Port/dp...

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By flash media do you mean memory cards or SSDs? Because that will be a big difference. The issue might not be the pcie USB adapter, and may be whatever it’s connected to. A cheap usb mass storage chip is not going to perform as well as a uas capable chip.

I did, it runs way too warm.

I am a bit afraid this mod will have the same problem.

Instead of plastic, it would be better to use a material that can conduct heat.

The reason that those USB adapters get hot is because they have to actively convert 3.3V to 5V. That's an inefficient process and it's what causes excess heat.

My mod doesn't have that problem, so the only heat generated will be from the drives themselves, which don't put out much.

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