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saberahul

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Nov 6, 2008
3,651
120
USA
For the i7 in my signature, what is the hdd write speed? I am wondering if I should buy the thunderbolt cable for faster transfers between my 2 macs but if the write speed is no where as close to 1.25GBps, then I see no point in buying it. Can someone clear this for me?
 
HDDs get no more than about 70MB/s read and about 50MB/s write from what I've seen (especially the ones Apple puts in their laptops). At those speeds, you can't even max out USB 2.0, let alone Thunderbolt.
 
HDDs get no more than about 70MB/s read and about 50MB/s write from what I've seen (especially the ones Apple puts in their laptops). At those speeds, you can't even max out USB 2.0, let alone Thunderbolt.

2.5" S-ATA HDDs spinning at 5.400 RPM can easily reach 70 to 80 MB/s read AND write speeds. 2.5" S-ATA HDDs spinning at 7.200 TPM can reach up to 100 MB/s.
USB 2.0 will peak at 37 to 38 MB/s, Firewire 800 will get you 60 to 70 MB/s.

PS: I have several 2.5" S-ATA HDDs, one even is a 7.200 RPM one (Momentus 7200.4), and I have tested them via e-SATA to get those numbers.

2012_08_08_pA1_AJA.png

2012_08_08_pA2_DU.png
 
I suppose the USB comparison was a bit of an exaggeration, but the point still stands that Thunderbolt is overkill.
 
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