transfer rate of external hard drives versus internal

dmehling · 03-01-2009, 07:46 PM

I'm trying to figure out if there is a speed advantage for internal hard drives versus external USB hard drives. Current SATA drives claim to be able to transfer data at 3 Gb per second, but the mechanical nature of the hard drive will prevent it from even coming close to that rate. So it seems to me like a USB hard drive will probably not be any slower, especially if it's running at the standard speed of 7200 RPM. Is this correct?

lawson_jl · 03-03-2009, 01:27 AM

Internal drives currently are faster but USB drives aren't too far behind. For small file transfers you may not notice a differnce but larger files will certainly take longer via USB then it otherwise would have with an IDE or SATA drive.

billh · 03-28-2009, 04:58 PM

The major speed difference for file transfer, is the data transfer rate for USB2 compared to the data transfer rate of internal drives, rather than the speed of the drive itself

Dropkickmurphys · 03-28-2009, 05:13 PM

USB 2.0 can transfer at a maximum speed of 480 Mbit/s. Where as a modern Sata HDD can transfer data at either 1.5Gb/s or 3Gb/s. That will be the main factor to the speed at which data is transferred.

diduknowthat · 03-28-2009, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dropkickmurphys

USB 2.0 can transfer at a maximum speed of 480 Mbit/s. Where as a modern Sata HDD can transfer data at either 1.5Gb/s or 3Gb/s. That will be the main factor to the speed at which data is transferred.

Except no modern hard drive can come even close to 1.5Gb/s.

Dropkickmurphys · 03-28-2009, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diduknowthat

Except no modern hard drive can come even close to 1.5Gb/s.

erm... ok... lol... Im guessing that is down to the speed(RPM)?

**bomberboysk** · 03-28-2009, 07:31 PM

More or less its down to the drives themselves, like the newer 7200.12 seagate claims up to 160Mb/s trasfer rate while 120Mb/s is the transfer rate on the 7200.11 drives. But you gotta remember that usb is limited to 60 MByte/s (480/8 give you megabyte rate) max transfer rate.

Bacon · 03-28-2009, 10:34 PM

Get an external hard drive with eSATA forget USB

If you get an eSATA external hard drive it should have no problem keeping up with an internal hard drive.

kookooshortman55 · 03-28-2009, 11:33 PM

Yeah it depends on the interface of the external drive. If you're planning on getting a USB external drive check out tweak #24.

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.c...id=2238&page=9

I can't say I noticed a difference in performance in my external because I tweaked it before I transferred anything to it lol. But I haven't noticed it lagging behind when transferring large files to it.

03-01-2009, 07:46 PM	#1 (permalink)
dmehling Bronze Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 82	transfer rate of external hard drives versus internal I'm trying to figure out if there is a speed advantage for internal hard drives versus external USB hard drives. Current SATA drives claim to be able to transfer data at 3 Gb per second, but the mechanical nature of the hard drive will prevent it from even coming close to that rate. So it seems to me like a USB hard drive will probably not be any slower, especially if it's running at the standard speed of 7200 RPM. Is this correct?

03-03-2009, 01:27 AM	#2 (permalink)
lawson_jl Platinum Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Illinois Age: 30 Posts: 588	Internal drives currently are faster but USB drives aren't too far behind. For small file transfers you may not notice a differnce but larger files will certainly take longer via USB then it otherwise would have with an IDE or SATA drive. __________________ Any answears I give are free and without warrently. I answear questions from the point of view of a working computer tech because that what I am.

03-28-2009, 05:13 PM	#4 (permalink)
Dropkickmurphys Diamond Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Worthing, UK (Uni at Kent) Age: 20 Posts: 2,471	USB 2.0 can transfer at a maximum speed of 480 Mbit/s. Where as a modern Sata HDD can transfer data at either 1.5Gb/s or 3Gb/s. That will be the main factor to the speed at which data is transferred. __________________ *Main PC:* Intel Q6600 2.4Ghz (OC @ 3.375GHz), Gigabyte P35C-DS3R motherboard, 4GB 8500 1066mhz RAM , 512MB Geforce 9800GTX+, 500GB Seagate 7,500RPM HDD, Lite-on 20x DVD+RW, OCZ GameXStream 850W PSU, CoolerMaster Black Centurian 534 Case, Samsung 19" SyncMaster 940BW monitor / Samsung 19" TV, Windows 7 Pro / XP Pro (Dual Boot) *Laptop (Acer Aspire 5720):* Intel T7500 2.2GHz, Intel Graphics X3100, 2GB DDR2 Ram, 160GB HDD, 15.4" Acer CrystalBrite Monitor. *Xfire:* poultrygeist *Steam ID:* unpdave

03-28-2009, 07:31 PM	#7 (permalink)
bomberboysk Moderator Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Northeast Ohio, But mainly infront of computer Age: 16 Posts: 8,077	More or less its down to the drives themselves, like the newer 7200.12 seagate claims up to 160Mb/s trasfer rate while 120Mb/s is the transfer rate on the 7200.11 drives. But you gotta remember that usb is limited to 60 MByte/s (480/8 give you megabyte rate) max transfer rate. __________________ CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 @ 3.90Ghz Custom Water Loop \| Mobo: EVGA 790i Ultra SLI \| GPU: 9800gtx and GTS250 in SLI\| Ram: 4GB(2 x 2gb) 1333Mhz ddr3 \| Case: Xclio WTBKAdvanced \| Sound: X-fi Fatal1ty Championship, Z-5500 5.1 Surround\| HDD: 2x Raid 0 7200.11 500gb \| PSU: Zalman ZM-1000HP \|OS: Windows 7 Enterprise x64\| Dont skimp on a power supply,if it fails, it usually takes out other components alongside it. New? Dont forget to read the rules. Heatware P.M. If interested in Shin Etsu X23-7783D

03-28-2009, 10:34 PM	#8 (permalink)
Bacon Gold Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Wisconsin Age: 18 Posts: 295	Get an external hard drive with eSATA forget USB If you get an eSATA external hard drive it should have no problem keeping up with an internal hard drive. __________________ Team Stats FOLDING FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND :F@H Team 44358

03-28-2009, 04:58 PM	#3 (permalink)
billh New Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 9	The major speed difference for file transfer, is the data transfer rate for USB2 compared to the data transfer rate of internal drives, rather than the speed of the drive itself

03-28-2009, 11:33 PM	#9 (permalink)
kookooshortman55 Diamond Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: California/Arizona Age: 19 Posts: 1,546	Yeah it depends on the interface of the external drive. If you're planning on getting a USB external drive check out tweak #24. http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.c...id=2238&page=9 I can't say I noticed a difference in performance in my external because I tweaked it before I transferred anything to it lol. But I haven't noticed it lagging behind when transferring large files to it. __________________ CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 5200+ @ 2.6GHz GPU: Zotac 8800GT AMP! w/ Akimbo 740/1800/2000 PSU: 450W Corsair VX450 Monitor: Acer 22" X223W Memory: 4GB DDR2 PC2-5300 HDD: 320GB HDD Speakers: Logitech 5.1 X-540 3DMark06: 9521 3DMarks

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