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itsjustmeee

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 28, 2008
603
7
I can’t seem to find an answer online for this. Is there any difference in performance between a USB hub that is labeled 3.0 as opposed to 3.1? are they basically just the same inside or is there some sort of technical difference that would cause a speed bump with a 3.1?

And if there is a difference, any suggestions for a 3.1 hub For my new iMac?
 
I can’t seem to find an answer online for this. Is there any difference in performance between a USB hub that is labeled 3.0 as opposed to 3.1? are they basically just the same inside or is there some sort of technical difference that would cause a speed bump with a 3.1?

And if there is a difference, any suggestions for a 3.1 hub For my new iMac?
Yes, in theory 3.1 can be twice as fast.
 
So if I have a 3.1 external hard drive connected to my 2019 iMac through a 3.0 hub, I won’t be getting the same speed as if I just purchased a new hub that is labeled 3.1?
 
So if I have a 3.1 external hard drive connected to my 2019 iMac through a 3.0 hub, I won’t be getting the same speed as if I just purchased a new hub that is labeled 3.1?

Correct, in theory. Your hard disk probably isn’t fast enough to experience any difference (in other words, Either 3.0 or 3.1 is *probably* fast enough to handle the full speed of your drive), but it depends.
 
Well, I have 2 Samsung external T5 SSD drives and I basically need more usb ports than the 4 that the iMac has, so I'm trying to figure out if I need to ditch my 3 year old 3.0 hub and get a 3.1 hub like this to get the most out of the SSD drives.

 
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Well, I have 2 Samsung external T5 SSD drives and I basically need more usb ports than the 4 that the iMac has, so I'm trying to figure out if I need to ditch my 3 year old 3.0 hub and get a 3.1 hub like this to get the most out of the SSD drives.

Yes, if you are using SSD drives I recommend 3.1
 
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If you have multiple drives / devices connected to the hub they're all sharing the same bandwidth. So 3.1 will support more devices / drives at their maximum speeds. Pretty negligible bottlenecking for one T5 on a 3.0 hub, if any, but plugging in any other devices might be eating into your maximum speeds on a 3.0 hub.
 
Is there any difference in performance between a USB hub that is labeled 3.0 as opposed to 3.1

Most likely no difference in performance.

To expand on that:
USB 3 (or 3.0) was a big update from USB 2 with large speed increase.
USB 3.1 is an update to the USB 3 standard and it comes in 2 'generations':
USB 3.1gen1 which is very similar (i.e. no difference for consumers) to USB 3 and runs at the same maximum speed of 5 gbps.
USB 3.1gen2 is a doubling speed to 10 gbps.

If a hub is described as USB 3.1, I would assume it is a 5 gbps hub. Only if it makes a big splash saying USB 3.1gen2 would I expect it to be 10 mbps.

The Amazon hub you have found is 5 gbps. I would expect little or no speed difference compared with your existing USB 3 hub. If you want to get higher performance you should step up to a Thunderbolt hub (lots of $$$). Note that with a 5 gbps hub, the 5 gbps back to your Mac is only a bottleneck when using both T5s at the same time.
 
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Yes, in theory 3.1 can be twice as fast.
If it is USB 3.1 Gen 2. If it just says USB 3.1 it is most likely USB 3.1 Gen 1. Which is just USB 3.0.

Of course USB 3.1 is now 3.2 and is split into USB 3.2 Gen 1 (SuperSpeed 5 Gbps), Gen 2 (SuperSpeed 10 Gbps) and Gen 2x2 (SuperSpeed 20 Gbps). USB 3.1 also ushered in USB-C cables.

Well, I have 2 Samsung external T5 SSD drives and I basically need more usb ports than the 4 that the iMac has, so I'm trying to figure out if I need to ditch my 3 year old 3.0 hub and get a 3.1 hub like this to get the most out of the SSD drives.


Get a hub which specifically states it is USB 3.1 Gen 2. If a hub doesn't specify Gen 2 it is just Gen 1. In which case there won't be any benefit over your existing 3.0 hub.
 
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Looks like I need a 3.1 hub

No, if you want to use both T5s at the same time with maximum performance you need a USB 3.1 gen 2 (or Thunderbolt) hub.

If you do follow @velocityg4's suggestions, I would go for the ORICO hub. The StarTech is not powered and I would expect problems driving multiple disks (SSD or HDD) which do consume significant power when active.

Also, you will need a different cable for the ORICO. It comes with a USB-A to USB-A cable and the iMac USB-A ports only run at 5 gbps - they are USB 3.0 ports. You will need a USB 3.1gen2 (10 gbps) USB-C to USB-A cable to connect it to one of the Thunderbolt/USB-C ports on the iMac.

What performance problems are you having with the T5s connected via your USB 3.0 hub?
 
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That's the one I ordered (ORICO). I think it will be perfect for my needs. Thanks Gilby101 and velocityg4 for the help.
 
I just read your comment. No, I don’t believe I will need that adapter. My iMac has four USB 3.1 gen two ports so I should be good.
 
My iMac has four USB 3.1 gen two ports so I should be good.

You don't specify your iMac but I sure you will find that it has four USB-A ports supporting USB 3 (=USB 3.1gen1) (5gbps) and two USB-C ports supporting Thunderbolt (40 gbps) and USB 3.1gen2 (10 gbps).

The four USB-A ports are fine for Samsung T5, though limited to 5 gbps. For maximum performance connect them to the USB-C ports. At a guess, you would be hard pressed to tell the difference unless using one of the T5s as a boot disk. I would always connect a boot disk directly (not via a hub) to one of the USB-C ports.

You really only need a USB Hub if you do not have spare ports. My 2019 iMac is in that state and I have USB hubs to connect scanner, camera, phone, etc. This allows me to connect disks directly to the iMac.
 
After looking at the specs, you're right. it says....

Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports with support for:

  • DisplayPort
  • Thunderbolt (up to 40Gb/s)
  • USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)
so I would have to get the other hub recommended here I guess.....

 
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USB 3.0 Hubs (with USB A to USB C adapters) in my experience don't work well on Macs. I have two different ones from my time using a Windows computer, both do not work well on the Mac even after upgrading the firmware on one of the hubs. They randomly disconnect without any reason as far as I can tell and it doesn't make a difference what or how many devices are connected to it.

Maybe USB Hubs with a USB C cable on them work better, no idea.
 
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