DSLRUsers.com

in short, the best $89 I've spent. ( free plug to d-d photographics. no affiliation)

in detail, previous uploading of a 14Mb RAW file took about 15sec using a generic reader on USB2. It was a pain after taking a couple of hundred shots to get tyhem on the PC. I used to just set it then come back later that day

I was going to compare transfer times in more detail, but I couldnt. The 20 images I was usuing to test took about 5 minutes via USB. It was too quick with the new reader to actually read the transfer speed in Nikon transfer, but i guess ~20 seconds for all 20 images was all it took. I was stunned and thought I should post about it. I had read how fast these things were, but you always have that bit of doubt until you see it yourself.
FYI, I use Sandisk Extreme III 4Gb cards.

Scott, interesting post. In theory, USB2 and Firewire have a similar data speed (480 and 400 Mbps respectively)
but I understand that Firewire can be faster with external HDD for example.

However, for a card reader, the difference you describe is very large. I suspect that the USB port you were
using is actually operating as USB1.1 That would explain the difference.

hmmm. i presumed all my USB ports were 2.0, but maybe thats it, and I use an external HDD too.
Either way, at 1sec to download an image compared to 15-20sec, I'm grinning from ear to ear !

Yeah it does sound like USB 1 speeds not 2.0.

I use Sandisk Extreme IV CF cards and have tried both a "generic" USB2.0 card reader, and a Sandisk Imagemate USB2.0 Card reader.

Even when using them in the same port on the same PC, The Sandisk is at least 3 - 5 (sometimes even more) times faster than the generic.

Sandisk Ducati cards download even quicker........

While most people claim that USB2 and Firewire are similar speeds, in practice I have never found this to be the case. I've been using firewire for quite some time in video and then data applications.
The controlling chipsets and the media concerned have large effects on speed. I've always found firewire to be noticeably faster.
I also have the Lexar media reader and I can also report that they're a very nice bit of kit. I did have to wait until I could get a reasonably priced firewire 800 to 400 cable.
It rips running through my D200 via the USB2 port. The only trouble is the laptop can't supply power via the 4 pin firewire port. Until I care enough to make an adaptor, it will only get use on the desktop with the firewire card...

My recommendation for any situation is that if you have an option of firewire and USB2, go firewire.