USB 3.0 operating at 2.0 speed

[blueonblack]

I'm using a HDD docking station to do some backup. It's USB 3.0, and obviously my board supports 3.0. I have the drivers installed, and it works, (it even reminds me that it could perform faster when I plug it into a USB 2.0 slot), but when I transfer files from my internal HDD (7200RPM SATA) to my external HDD (5400RPM SATA) it runs at the same speed as it does on a USB 2.0 connection. Windows shows the speed of both during transfer and they both average between 24 and 25 MB/second.

Is this a limitation of the hard drives themselves? I was really hoping for faster backups to an external drive source.

[xr4man]

i believe it is a limitation of the drives themselves.

i remember being told somewhere on here that no spinning drive can max out the data transfer rate of the newer sata connections. i would guess the same would hold true for the usb 3.0 connections.

[blueonblack]

I didn't think it could utilize the whole USB 3.0 bandwidth, but I sure thought it would exceed USB 2.0 speed. Otherwise, only solid-state devices can benefit from 3.0 speeds.

:think:

[xr4man]

looking at the specs for usb 2 and usb 3, i would think that you should be getting better through put.

[Twigsoffury]

Whats your operating system?

[blueonblack]

Sorry, Win7 Ultimate 32-bit

[SXRguyinMA]

Here's a teaser from my upcoming review on a USB 3.0 docking station, using a 1TB Seagate 7200 drive. According to this, you should be seeing faster transfers. I was going from a Kingston 96GB SSD to that drive, though, whereas you're going from a 7200 to a 5400, so that might be a limit :?

USB 2.0:
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/sxrguyinma/reviews/ineo/usb2_ran_2000.png

USB 3.0:
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/sxrguyinma/reviews/ineo/usb3_ran_2000.png

[TheGreatSatan]

Just get a 1TB SSD for your external. It can't be that expensive...:D

[AmEv]

Oh, I suppose he'd pay 3 grand for JUST his SSD....



Gotta love computer technology. Most parts are super-cheap and easy to acquire; others require you to be an arm, leg, kidney, eye, and tissue donor.