Last Updated on October 22, 2019
(Updated on 10/22/2019)
I ordered a multi-card reader from eBay a few months back when I was moving my workstation’s internals to a new ATX case. I wanted a new case so I could use the old case to fix up my media-server pc that was in a very old case that was missing it’s side panels! 😛
The new case I ordered was black ZALMAN Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower computer case with a mesh front panel so I wanted a 5.25″ card reader that was at least black, but mesh would be even better. At first I found this NZXT 5.25″ multi-card reader at Amazon for $80 but that was a bit out of my price range. Plus, I saw many other card readers for far less so the price seemed pretty ridiculous to be honest.
Then I was on eBay and found this listing for a “STW 5.25″ USB 3.0 Port CF/XD/MS/M2/TF Smart Internal Card Reader PC Front Panel” from Hong Kong for $12 and it looked almost exactly the same as the same as the expensive NZXT on Amazon except for smaller card slot labels, a different logo, and only one USB 3.0 port instead of two. Since my case already had 2x front USB 3.0 ports I was perfectly fine missing a port and going with the eBay knock-off because a SD card reader is all I was really looking for.
Here we are months later and I’ve successfully read and wrote to many Micro SD cards using the “TF” slot as well as standard SD cards using the “SD” slot without any problem using the STW Card Reader. I regularly use the USB 3.0 port to quick charge my Galaxy S5 as well as transfer files back and forth – it works as fast as it should be so I can’t complain there either!
I even tried out both a Memory Stick PRO and a Memory Stick PRO DUO using the “MS” slot without any problems, mainly just because I had some laying around from old digital cameras and wanted to check if my knock-off NZXT card reader would actually read/write them. I don’t have a big Compact Flash card to try the “CF” slot or an eXtreme Digital card to try the “XD” slot, nor a Sony Memory Stick Micro card to try out the “M2” slot – but I assume they work fine just like the other card slots that I was able to test.
The plastic sides where you screw the STW Internal 5.25″ USB 3.0 CF/XD/MS/M2/TF Card Reader to the case are probably lower quality than the NZXT reader, but it works and looks good so I’d definitely recommend it to other people wanting a 5.25″ multi-card reader, especially if your case is black mesh like my Zalman Z11 Plus!
More STW 5.25″ USB 3.0 Port CF/XD/MS/M2/TF Card Reader Images:
10/22/2019 Update: It’s been over two years and the STW 5.25″ USB 3.0 Port CF/XD/MS/M2/TF Card Reader is still going strong – I still highly recommend it!
John started JSnowCreations as a place to post random tech guides and product reviews. However, while shopping for his daughter’s first “big girl” bed in 2019 he learned about the hidden dangers of fiberglass in mattresses. Since then, John has made it his mission to expose as much hidden fiberglass in mattresses as possible. His ultimate goal is federal regulations that ban fiberglass from being used in mattresses, or at least a law that require it to be listed in the material tags.