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Do I need USB 3.0 for my new purchase?

A

Andrew7724

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 17, 2006
35
2
I am in the process of choosing between a 2012 june refurbished macbook pro or the new macbook pro with USB 3.0

The reason being, the refurbished is way cheaper, and right now the specs are pretty good. However I realized that USB 3.0 is becoming quite popular and I don’t want my computer to become outdated so quickly. (no, a USB alone won’t outdate it, but USBs are used quite often)

I remembered when they introduced USB 2.0, it took quite a few years before it became the standard. So assuming that this macbook is gonna last another 6 years. Do you think I will be ok without USB 3.0?

Thanks guys so much for your input.
 
USB 3.0 IS already a standard for one year. Apple comes late... USB 2.0 is out of date.
 
If it's a June 2012 refurbished model then it has USB 3.0.

The June 2012 models are the most recent models.
 
Andrew7724 said:
I am in the process of choosing between a 2012 june refurbished macbook pro or the new macbook pro with USB 3.0

The reason being, the refurbished is way cheaper, and right now the specs are pretty good. However I realized that USB 3.0 is becoming quite popular and I don’t want my computer to become outdated so quickly. (no, a USB alone won’t outdate it, but USBs are used quite often)

I remembered when they introduced USB 2.0, it took quite a few years before it became the standard. So assuming that this macbook is gonna last another 6 years. Do you think I will be ok without USB 3.0?

Thanks guys so much for your input.
Click to expand...

"Become outdated".. It's kind of tough because it's up to you to know if you're going to utilize USB 3 external hard drives and such. I've lived quite a few years with USB 2.0 and it has worked fine for me.
If you find yourself really needing the fast speed to transfer stuff on external drives, then get the newest version. If not, just get the old one.

Exana said:
USB 3.0 IS already a standard for one year. Apple comes late... USB 2.0 is out of date.
Click to expand...

Standard? I don't think it has been the "standard" for a year now. If I'm not mistaken, Ivy Bridge was the first processor to natively support USB 3.0, which leads me to believe Apple was waiting for that to put it in their device. Though, I can be completely wrong.
 
Forget whether it's the NEW thing, DO U USE ALOT USB for data xfer?

I personally only use USB data for disaster backup, meaning a few times a year so USB3 no big deal.
 
Depends what you use it for. If you use USB2 for data storage then you're only going to use it for occasional or backup use. USB3 lets you use external storage at the sort of speeds you'd expect for internal storage, which makes quite a difference to the way you might use it.

I use external USB3 for Time Machine and for accessing the 512Gb SSD from my old PC (with a $10 box). It's very quick. I don't know what you mean by USB3 only being standard for a year, it was finalised in 2008 and been on my last two or three PC's. Or do you mean on MBPs?
 
procrastinasn said:
"Become outdated".. It's kind of tough because it's up to you to know if you're going to utilize USB 3 external hard drives and such. I've lived quite a few years with USB 2.0 and it has worked fine for me.
If you find yourself really needing the fast speed to transfer stuff on external drives, then get the newest version. If not, just get the old one.



Standard? I don't think it has been the "standard" for a year now. If I'm not mistaken, Ivy Bridge was the first processor to natively support USB 3.0, which leads me to believe Apple was waiting for that to put it in their device. Though, I can be completely wrong.
Click to expand...

Just because chipsets didn't natively support it until fairly recently doesn't mean it wasn't a standard. Many computers have been shipping with USB 3.0 for a while now. Intel just chose not to integrate it until now
 
I've got a USB 3.0 external drive that I use on both my rMBP and my Windows desktop (which only runs USB 2.0). The speed difference between 2 and 3 is nothing short of astonishing. I also have an external I use just with my rMBP using Seagate's Thunderbolt adapter, and it's a shade faster than USB 3.0, but it's a clunkier solution than just using the USB 3.0 adapter with the drives.
 
Andrew7724 said:
However I realized that USB 3.0 is becoming quite popular and I don’t want my computer to become outdated so quickly. (no, a USB alone won’t outdate it, but USBs are used quite often)
Click to expand...
USB 3.0 is backwards-compatible with USB 2.0. In this case the concern is not that you won't be able to utilize devices due to incompatibility, but that the transfer speeds will be slower.

The choice is completely up to you. Do current speeds hold you back in any way? If so, how much?

My personal take on it for myself is that savings of $50 or greater in choosing USB 2 over 3 are worth it. Personally, all of my devices are USB 2.0 at the moment, and I don't foresee myself buying many new devices over the next few years. Even if I do, they'll probably still be USB 2.0, because I don't want to shell out more for USB 3.0 when the USB 2.0 speeds are working fine for me. (I figure that USB 3.0 devices will either come with a higher entry cost, or the older USB 2.0 devices will be steeply discounted - either way, USB 3.0 will cost more.) Thus, spending extra on a system with USB 3.0 would be a total waste, since it probably won't see any USB 3.0 devices until near the end of its life. I look forward to the faster speeds, but it's not important enough to me to spend a premium on a system and on new devices with USB 3.0 support just to get them.
 
IMO something is only outdated if it doesn't fulfill your needs and something better is available. Don't worry so much about what other people think, or if they see which model Mac you're using. Get something that you know will fulfill your needs.

How do you like that important life lesson? :rolleyes:
 
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