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External HDD - speed limiting factor?

S

splitpea

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 21, 2009
1,182
449
Among the starlings
I've got a 7200rpm 750GB SATA II drive in an external USB 2 enclosure.

Would I get any speed boost by moving it to a USB 3 enclosure, or is the platter speed already the limiting factor in this case? If USB3 would be an improvement, what sort of actual read/write throughput could be expected from this drive?
 
USB 2.0 with its 37 MB/s read/write speeds is the limiting factor. The HDD will probably offer around 100 to 120 MB/s read/write speeds, a USB 3.0 enclosure will probably saturate that speed, if you use it on a USB 3.0 port (every Mac released since 2012 except Mac Pro).
 
MisterKeeks said:
But it doesn't look like you have a computer with a USB 3 port.
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That is strange, as the signature did not show up before and now does only show up in post #3.

MR2ss_2013_04_06_pB1_MissingSignature.png
 
simsaladimbamba said:
That is strange, as the signature did not show up before and now does only show up in post #3.

Image
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Yes, I saw that, perhaps he unchecked the "Show your signature" option under additional options.
 

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And does it work now, ah, the Show your signature checkbox is back to normal again.

Hmm, I just leave the Additional Options collapsed, thus I ignore those suckers. Uih, I can rate a thread down there.

But thanks, should have known that after almost five years posting spam here.

PS: Am curious to find out what the automated post merging system will do to the signature.
 
Haha, I haven't updated that in... years, it looks like. (I like to browse with digs off.) Anyway, I'm budgeting out a new laptop. Figured a new enclosure would be a better investment than a new drive.
 
MisterKeeks said:
What does it let you do?

5? You joined in Nov 2010, is there another user posting as your alter-ego? ;)
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It lets me edit my posts after five minutes and not get caught as easily because of what my signature is and how people tend to be used to it accompanying my posts. simsaladimbamba once was under a different, a name I will not speak of. I do remember uncovering him shortly after he changed though. That thread should still be around.
 
Intell said:
It lets me edit my posts after five minutes and not get caught as easily because of what my signature is and how people tend to be used to it accompanying my posts. simsaladimbamba once was under a different, a name I will not speak of. I do remember uncovering him shortly after he changed though. That thread should still be around.
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This thread has since been deleted, or at least the posts.
 
Intell said:
It's still around: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1085485/ (GMail archives rule :D)
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Oh ****, but I guess my location was a giveaway that time, the mods back then (probably only one of course, hopefully that sane and friendly one) removed it, as it was advertising my previous inhabitance. Anyway, I probably could have found it via Advanced Search too I suppose.

EDIT: Yep, using "spinnerlys" as text and simsaladimbamba as poster gives us that one thread. It was probably another thread I thought about.

And Hellhammer was a wee bit faster, but he PMd me around new year or so and ask me who I was. I vehemently denied it back then, and it worked and the next day I was not permabanned. Hmm, I think I am now longer simsaladimbamba than I was spinnerlys, at least on MR Forums. I am still very inactive over at AI and another starship based message board.

Hmm, Safari 6 has kernel paniced my MBP four times already, but I like the automatic restart mode, easier in clamshell.
 
splitpea said:
I've got a 7200rpm 750GB SATA II drive in an external USB 2 enclosure.

Would I get any speed boost by moving it to a USB 3 enclosure, or is the platter speed already the limiting factor in this case? If USB3 would be an improvement, what sort of actual read/write throughput could be expected from this drive?
Click to expand...

I happen to have both a USB2 and USB 3 enclosure, similar rotational drives. Using BlackMagic as the benchmark tool, USB 2 gives me ~35MBps write, 38MBps read, where USB 3 gives me ~75MBps write, 84MBps read. So USB 3 provides twice the rate for BlackMagic. Your mileage may vary.
 
ColdCase said:
I happen to have both a USB2 and USB 3 enclosure, similar rotational drives. Using BlackMagic as the benchmark tool, USB 2 gives me ~35MBps write, 38MBps read, where USB 3 gives me ~75MBps write, 84MBps read. So USB 3 provides twice the rate for BlackMagic. Your mileage may vary.
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It also depends on the chipset of the enclosure, but then again, I am not that well versed in that, though someone here made a thread about an extensive test s/he did with multiple enclosures and chipsets and an SSD and HDD and the speeds varied very much.

Even a 2.5" 7,200 RPM HDD can provide 95 MB/s, a 3.5" 7,200 RPM HDD can go between 105 to 120 MB/s, many modern ones can even go to 145 MB/s or so.
 
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