Akasa Interconnect EX AK-HC-07BK Multi-Functional Internal Card Reader For 5.25-inch Front PC Bay

Bought this to upgrade previous Akasa AK-ICR-16 USB 2.0 / 3.0 card reader as I'm needing more USB 3.0 ports and the extra charging ports are also handy as devices are becoming more power hungry.The device appears well built and made of solid steel that there's no movement or give from the casing. I mention this point because it was very difficult to fit into a standard 5.25" bay. No matter how I tried it just would not fit so I had to slightly deform the aluminium chassis of a Silverstone case for it to fit. As one previous review mentioned - snug.All seemed well at first but then strange things started happening at first but now I think I've fathomed what was happening and a workaround. Whenever I tried to safely remove a USB device using the Windows notification area icon to eject a device the whole Akasa hub would be ejected by Windows (8.1 x64)!!! Not just the one device, the whole hub! Device Manager would show a yellow triangle on the Akasa (known by Windows as a "Generic Superspeed USB Hub" followed by the message:"Windows cannot use this hardware device because it has been prepared for "safe removal" but it has not been removed from the computer. (Code 47). To fix this problem, unplug this device from your computer and then plug it in again."I would have to reboot Windows in order for the Akasa USB hub to be usable again! All well and good if you're just using it on a day to day PC and not on a server or media centre or something running permanently but even then it seems a bit counterproductive to lose a whole hub when you only want to remove a USB stick. If I have other USB devices in use at the same time like USB to SATA dock or anything, it was impossible to eject one without ejecting the whole hub and everything else that was plugged into it!I'm not sure if it's just an issue with Windows 8.1 x64 or whether it's fine with Windows 7 or 10 as I've not tried it in any other OS but if it's simply using a USB 3.0 motherboard header for the hub and it was fine with the previous Akasa AK-ICR-16 I'm not so sure to point the finger at the OS just yet but I am due a reinstall so will see...Have emailed Akasa Customer Support but they've not had the courtesy to reply or simply don't have a clue.USB 3.0 speeds aren't great either as mentioned by other reviewers but I'm not troubled by that, just the fact that I can't eject one device without affecting the others.Thankfully as a workaround, there are USB apps that do the same as Windows safely remove / eject but better. With a third party app I can eject one device without losing the whole hub!I do like the layout of this Interconnect bay and the connectors it needs as well as the card reader otherwise it would have been returned same day. I've got until next month to return so will do some more troubleshooting and see if a fresh Windows reinstall works as I'm due to do it soon so will update review if anything changes. Perhaps too it may be a one off faulty hub. Will know soon enough but would be interested to hear if anyone else has experienced the curse of the missing hub too? There's no mention of it in the reviews so I guess not.

Compared with many lightweight, plastic card readers, it's a sturdy piece of kit. However, in common with many others, the CF card pins can easily be bent while inserting the card, so care is required.Also, please note the following:1. The SATA power connector is on a ridiculously short cable (a mere 8cm), insufficient even to reach the rear of the drive bay. I had to buy an extension.2. There are both molex and SATA power connectors and they are not alternatives. Both have to be connected, a fact omitted from the instruction leaflet. The molex power connector is for the 4 blue USB 3.0 ports, and the SATA power connector is for the 2 orange, charging USB ports.3. There are both 9 pin USB 2.0 and 19 pin USB 3.0 connecting leads for the motherboard connections.The USB 2 connector is solely for the Smart Card Reader and need not be connected if this is unlikely to be used.I initially awarded only three stars, but after using it a few times and finding that it works flawlessly, I have upped it to four stars. However, at its relatively high price compared with others, the SATA power cable would need to be much longer and the instructions much better to merit five.4. See my second sentence. After only a few uses, the CF card has failed to align properly with the pins and one of the pins is now bent down. This is down to a poorly designed card slot. My external Lexar CF card reader has worked flawlessly for several years without any misalignment problems. Alas now out of the Amazon return window by a few days. Back down to three stars for this expensive but flawed card reader!

This needs a 5.25" drive bay free on your PC case, which are now dying out on many cases. So, do check you've got an empty one.This has been installed in my PC for over a year now and I forget exactly what it requires for connection - sorry. It definitely requires an available USB3 header on the motherboard, it might need either SATA-power or Molex-power connection. Possibly even a USB2 header on the motherboard, but I'm guessing.I hooked this up rather than using my case's normal front USB3 ports - as it has a 4-port USB3 hub, I "lose two" but get four instead. The card reader seems pretty dang fast (way faster than cheap-and-rubbishy ones) and the extra two power-only USB ports (the orange ones) are a nice bonus.If you're a "lots of USB devices" sort of person rather than a "clean and minimal PC aesthetic" type, this might be ideal.

This is a replacement for the Akasa AK-HC-05U3BK, I have used since 2015, with a USB 3-socked failing causing damage to the interface. This replacement AK-HC-07BK has the same build quilty, the other differences is eSATA socket gone. Now has four USB3 + two High-speed USB charger Sockets. All card slots remain the same. The USB3 sockets and card slots are within USB3 Spec.