N1LAF
12-20-2011, 09:06 AM
USB 3.0 has a specified data transfer rate of 5igabits per second, making USB 3.0 just over 10 times the data transfer rate of USB 2.0. Consider that SATA II data rates are 3 gigabits per second. The new SATA III is 6 gigabits per second. What this means is that USB 3.0 is just as fast as internal hard drives.
I took this opportunity to update my 5 year old computer to USB 3.
This process consists of two units - a 4 port (3 external and 1 internal) PCI express USB 3 card, and a 4 port USB 3.0 hub that fits into the blank floppy drive bay.
My research consists of best price and customer satisfaction. I purchased these two items:
1. Startech PEXUSB3S4, bought at Tigerdirect for $45.00
http://www.startech.com/Cards-Adapters/USB-3.0/Cards/4-Port-SuperSpeed-USB-3-PCI-Express-Card-with-SATA-Power~PEXUSB3S4
http://www.startech.com/media/products/pexusb3s4/small/PEXUSB3S4.small.jpg
2. SIIG Superspeed USB 3.0 4-port bay hub, Wamart, $40.24
http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=JU-H40212-S1&ic=16_0&Find=Find&search_constraint=0
http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/66/27/74/00/0066277400857_180X180.jpg
Installation of card and hub were straight forward and problem free. The Startech PCI card has a SATA style power input, and the USB 3 hub can take either the standard 4 pin computer power connector or the SATA style power connector. For this installation, I needed power cable extension and conversion, and was found at a local Radio Shack.
I just timed a data transfer of a single 4.37 GB file from an SATA drive, results:
a. transfer to "Green" drive via USB 2: 145 seconds
b. Transfer to "Green" drive via USB 3: 80 seconds
c. Transfer to the other SATA drive(internal): 73 seconds
So, on paper, USB 3 is suppose to be 10 faster than USB 2, but there are other limitations that affect data transfers. The USB 3 is almost as fast as internal hard drives (SATA II).
CAUTION: the hub only has drivers for Windows OS, so you LINUX/MAC users are out of luck...
Data transfer is really fast...
I took this opportunity to update my 5 year old computer to USB 3.
This process consists of two units - a 4 port (3 external and 1 internal) PCI express USB 3 card, and a 4 port USB 3.0 hub that fits into the blank floppy drive bay.
My research consists of best price and customer satisfaction. I purchased these two items:
1. Startech PEXUSB3S4, bought at Tigerdirect for $45.00
http://www.startech.com/Cards-Adapters/USB-3.0/Cards/4-Port-SuperSpeed-USB-3-PCI-Express-Card-with-SATA-Power~PEXUSB3S4
http://www.startech.com/media/products/pexusb3s4/small/PEXUSB3S4.small.jpg
2. SIIG Superspeed USB 3.0 4-port bay hub, Wamart, $40.24
http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=JU-H40212-S1&ic=16_0&Find=Find&search_constraint=0
http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/66/27/74/00/0066277400857_180X180.jpg
Installation of card and hub were straight forward and problem free. The Startech PCI card has a SATA style power input, and the USB 3 hub can take either the standard 4 pin computer power connector or the SATA style power connector. For this installation, I needed power cable extension and conversion, and was found at a local Radio Shack.
I just timed a data transfer of a single 4.37 GB file from an SATA drive, results:
a. transfer to "Green" drive via USB 2: 145 seconds
b. Transfer to "Green" drive via USB 3: 80 seconds
c. Transfer to the other SATA drive(internal): 73 seconds
So, on paper, USB 3 is suppose to be 10 faster than USB 2, but there are other limitations that affect data transfers. The USB 3 is almost as fast as internal hard drives (SATA II).
CAUTION: the hub only has drivers for Windows OS, so you LINUX/MAC users are out of luck...
Data transfer is really fast...