I mounted an SD card reader to my desk, and I couldn’t be happier

Like notable internet power user Mark Zuckerberg, I feel on top of the world.

Since last March, I’ve been slowly working on my home office, and recently, I made changes to my home office that ended with me mounting an SD card reader to the bottom of my desk. Compared to using my old SD card reader that was on top of my PC case, this new one is super convenient and feels cool to use.

I’ve been having issues with my old SD card reader for years at this point. It connected via mini-USB, and if I moved too much, the cable often came loose. This meant that I needed to reach over and unplug and replug it every time I wanted to slide an SD card into it.

You might be thinking, “You’re an idiot Brad, why didn’t you just buy a better card reader years ago if this one didn’t work?” You’re right, and I really have no excuse other than the old one still worked; it just didn’t work well.

A small part of me is gonna miss this old brute.

But back to the story at hand. I purchased a new standing desk a few weeks ago, and the controls mounted on its front inspired me to move my SD card reader. When I was setting up my PC again after assembling the desk, I tried to mount my old SD card reader, but its less than stellar cable connection prohibited that from working well since I needed to unplug and replug it every time I wanted to use it.

I’m also always looking for any excuse to make my desk setup more minimal. It helps streamline my workflow since the reader is always there and easily accessible, but beyond feeling like a hacker ‘jacking in,’ it’s not that life-changing.

Fast forward two days and one Amazon order later, and the Unitek USB Card reader with its built-in 4ft cable arrived at my house to finish off my dream desk. I chose this model since its long cord gives it the ability to rise and fall as my desk moves. Also, since the cable is built into the device, I’m hoping that its connection will be more consistent than the older one.

I used a piece of double-sided Gorilla tape to mount the device and so far, it’s been rock solid and doesn’t wiggle at all when I’m inserting or removing cards. I’m still unsure if I should have set it back more so the card doesn’t stick out as much, but I haven’t come close to bumping it or knocking it out yet.

On top of that, all of the ports face forward, which is a must if you’re mounting something under your desk. While I’m not going to use it to read compact flash cards any time soon, it’s still a great size and having a Micro SD card port to offload Switch screenshots is handy as well. Realistically, you could mount anything under your desk depending on your needs, but I’d make sure you have a solid cable that’s long enough and will last over time.

That’s really all there is to it. If you’re like me with a PC that doesn’t have a built-in SD card reader and you take a lot of pictures, this is a straightforward and clean setup that costs $33.97 for both the reader and the tape. The only downside is that if this is your only SD card reader, you won’t be able to move it very easily in the future.

You can grab a USB-A version like I used from Amazon for $23.99. There’s also a USB-C version for $24.99, but it only includes a one-foot cable. I’ve only had mine for a few weeks, but so far it’s been reliable.

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