Is the 6541 much faster than the 6533 for transferring 1GB of data?

[Rick M]

I need to transfer a gigabyte of previously stored test data into a PC as quickly as possible. Currently, I an using a 6533 which transfers data into system memory at about 75MB/s. The 6541 has a much higher sampling rate, but will it transfer the data to system memory significantly faster?

[ryan_d]

Hi Rick M,

The data transfer rate from you card to your computer’s memory or hard drive is going to be largely dependent on the speed of your bus. The data transfer rate (per channel) and the size of your card’s FIFO buffer can also have an effect on your transfer rate, but only if you are sampling slower than you bus speed. For example, PCI bus speed is 133 MB/s (shared). The 6533 has a maximum data rate of 80 MB/s (20 MHz maximum sample rate * 32 channels / 8 bits/byte). Since this is below the maximum rate of the PCI bus, you will not be able to transfer data any faster than you can sample it. The 6541 has a maximum data rate of 200 MB/s (50 MHz maximum sample rate * 32 channels / 8 bits/byte). The PCI bus is now the limiting factor, making the fastest data transfer rate 133 MB/s. This is assuming that nothing else is using the PCI bus (another card). This is also why the 6533 has different memory options.

If you’re looking for something even faster, PCI Express offers a bus speed of 2.5 GHz. The PCIe-6537 also has a maximum data rate of 200 MB/s and is not hindered by the bus speed.

Please post back if you have any more questions. Have a great day!