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  3. USB3 vs. internal sata

  • USB3 vs. internal sata

    W
    W

    On a Win 7 computer i7 920 I am thinking of going to SSD for VSL sample storage instead of the two SATA2 hard drives I now have.  The motherboard has USB 3 so I am wondering if it is recommended to use external SSDs with that connection,  or is an internal SATA connection better to do?  Also, is a single larger SSD better to use, or two smaller ones? 

    Thanks if you can shed some light on this...
  • W
    W

    O.K., nobody knows?
  • E
    E

    (not sure where my earlier posts went)

    I asked a similar question awhile ago and got a response from Cyril.  Typically, the speed is 3Gbit/s for SATA2, 5Gbit/s for USB3, and 6Bbit/s for SSD.  So you don't get any benefit in using SSD with SATA2.  You will gain in performance with USB3 but you don't fully use the SSD capability.  It's best to test the speed of your USB3 port or check you computer spec to determine how fast it is because the performance varies among computers.
  • Cyril BlancC
    Cyril BlancC

    Thanks EP.

     If your SSD is SATA III, the best is to use Sata III ;), if your SSD is SATA II, SATA II or USB III will do the job 

    If you want to get information it is good to go on WIKI !

    You just type "WIKI SATA" or "WIKI USB" in Google 
  • U
    U
    Putting a SSD on USB 3 is a waste of money....you'll get the same results as a 7200HDD on USB 3. I recommend installing the SSD internally on a SATA III port, or via an external eSATA connection if you have one. Unless you're using a huge library such as EastWest's Hollywood Diamond series, a single SSD is adequate.
  • W
    W

     Ep, Wolfie and Cyril, thanks - that is some very useful info!

  • E
    E

     Hi Wofie2112,

    I would like to learn more about why a SSD on USB3 gets the same results as a 7200HDD on USB3.   Would you explain a bit more in details?   Is there a benchmark available somewhere that I can look up for the comparision?   Thanks. 
  • F
    F
    Hello, I'm a little bit surprised by the answer "Putting a SSD on USB 3 is a waste of money....you'll get the same results as a 7200HDD on USB 3" Wow ! Some people should think twice before answering these................. SSD on USB3 is so much faster ! I only use a SSD crucial(M500 960) on USB3 for all my libraries, it changed my experience with the Virtual Instruments. I don't hesitate to try huge patches anymore with Dimension Strings, you don't have the time to see the bar, it's already loaded. F.red
  • Cyril BlancC
    Cyril BlancC
    last edited
    last edited

    @fiestared said:

    Hello, I'm a little bit surprised by the answer "Putting a SSD on USB 3 is a waste of money....you'll get the same results as a 7200HDD on USB 3" Wow ! Some people should think twice before answering these................. SSD on USB3 is so much faster ! I only use a SSD crucial(M500 960) on USB3 for all my libraries, it changed my experience with the Virtual Instruments. I don't hesitate to try huge patches anymore with Dimension Strings, you don't have the time to see the bar, it's already loaded. F.red

    I think I have read : if you  have a USB 2 on the same buss you lose 5,36 gb/s,

    If  all devices are USB 3, you lose 1 Gb/s

    Sata III is 6 Gb/s, USB 3 is 5 Gb/s.
  • W
    W

     You are saying that if one installs a USB 2 device on a USB 3 bus  it will degrade another USB 3 device's speed to USB 2?  I have a computer with both USB 2 and USB 3 ports and the motherboard states there are USB 2 and USB 3 bus. So one should not put a USB 2 device on the USB 3 port ? 

  • Cyril BlancC
    Cyril BlancC
    last edited
    last edited

    @William said:

     You are saying that if one installs a USB 2 device on a USB 3 bus  it will degrade another USB 3 device's speed to USB 2?  I have a computer with both USB 2 and USB 3 ports and the motherboard states there are USB 2 and USB 3 bus. So one should not put a USB 2 device on the USB 3 port ? 

    I have said, " I think I have read ", this mean I am not sure at 99 %

    You can put a USB 2 device on a USB 3 port but it will not improve the speed of your USB 2 device

    You would not be surprised that if you put a USB 2 device on the same BUS than a USB 3 device,  the USB 3 device  will work at the speed of the USB 2

    I cannot test it because I dont have a USB 3 on my MacPro. Can somebody do the test ?
  • E
    E

     From what I understand if your computer has more the one USB3 devices and if these USB3 devices share the same controller, and if you plug in a USB2 device to one of the USB3 ports it may cause the controller to operate at the lowest speed of the common devices.  I don't know if this applies to every controller but it is something to watch out for.
  • W
    W

     That makes sense.  The computer I have has completely separate row of USB3 ports, marked clearly in distinction to the USB2 ports.  This would obviously indicate a need to keep the devices separate which  I will do.  I am going to try an external USB3 SSD on this system since I am already using a lot of space on existing internal hard drives and don't want to get rid of them.  Thanks very much for the ideas.