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USB 2.0 USAP compatible?

M

maskingtape123

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 20, 2012
10
0
As above. Intend to get an external HDD enclosure that has USB 3.0 and USAP supported (USAP more expensive). I'm using an iMac 2011 which doesn't come with USB 3.0. However some articles stated that USAP will work for USB 2.0 as well. Is that so? If not probably I'll save the cash and get the normal ones instead. Thanks!
 
I think you mean UASP? USB 3 is backwards compatible period. Whether the enclosure supports UASP, or not, does not break the backwards compatibility.

In a nutshell, yes, it will work.
 
maskingtape123 said:
Yes UASP, however does it really speed up transfer speed? The chart stated that it does speed up on USB 3.0, however I'm not sure if that really works for a USB 2.0.

Anyway the enclosure is this: http://www.startech.com/HDD/Enclosures/USB-30-35in-SATA-HDD-Enclosure~S3510BMU33B
Click to expand...

It definitely speeds up USB 3 transfer speeds. I am not sure if it speeds up USB 2 speeds, because I have never tested this and I have no Macs with USB 2 to try it out with my UASP enclosures.
 
theSeb said:
It definitely speeds up USB 3 transfer speeds. I am not sure if it speeds up USB 2 speeds, because I have never tested this and I have no Macs with USB 2 to try it out with my UASP enclosures.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your advice. I guess I'll just go ahead with it, shouldn't do any harm I hope (unless compatibility issue). Maybe in future if upgrade to newer iMac at least this still can work.:)
 
When i had a 2011 iMac, a thunderbolt 1 drive (SSD drive in a delock thunderbolt shell) worked great as a boot drive.

If you upgrade to a newer mac with usb 3, they all have UASP support, so if you are buying a new drive anyway it may help to have a "future proof one" depending on the costs and your needs.
 
OP:

There's nothing to worry about.

UASP will work just fine with USB2.

It's "backward compatible" and it will be "there, ready and waiting" when the time comes to "move up" to a faster Mac...
 
The thing I was wondering about is if you would be able to see both drives over USB 2.0 using something like the OWC Dual Drive Dock. The USB 3 variant is inexpensive while the Thunderbolt one is quite pricy. I have a couple of 2011 iMacs which only support USB 2. I know the iMacs have Thunderbolt ports but I'm cheap.
 
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