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    USB Transfer Rates

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Spooner65, Dec 27, 2008.

  1. Spooner65

    Spooner65 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I know USB has a reputation for not acheving the advertised rates, even with the overhead... does anyone know of any tweaks that can increase this speed?
     
    Spooner65, Dec 27, 2008
    #1
  2. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    The only tweak I can think of is to disconnect any other device using the same USB hub, since the bandwidth is shared. In reality, the ceiling will be between 25 and 30MB/s. With some 2.5" HDDs now having average data transfer rates of 60MB/s, the solution for performance is to invest in eSATA for external drives.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Dec 28, 2008
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  3. Spooner65

    Spooner65 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thats the plan lol.. but im only getting like 2mb/s out if my usb?!
     
    Spooner65, Dec 28, 2008
    #3
  4. Commander Wolf

    Commander Wolf can i haz broadwell?

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    Possibly you've got a USB 1.0 device somewhere in there? I think those maxed out at around one to two MB/s...
     
    Commander Wolf, Dec 28, 2008
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  5. Spooner65

    Spooner65 Notebook Enthusiast

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    oh nos! i will quickly look into it!

    btw its a western digital MY Book 500GB its the one with the blue line going up and down, not the circle...
     
    Spooner65, Dec 28, 2008
    #5
  6. flipfire

    flipfire Moderately Boss

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    what notebook?
     
    flipfire, Dec 28, 2008
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  7. demonhotrod

    demonhotrod Notebook Evangelist

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    My Dell 1520 only achieves speeds of about 9-11MB/s (depending on device and according to Vista)
     
    demonhotrod, Dec 28, 2008
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  8. Tinderbox (UK)

    Tinderbox (UK) BAKED BEAN KING

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    Hi.

    My External WD Elements 500gb 7200rpm USB2.0 get`s a maximum of approx 28mb/s

    Regards

    John.
     
    Tinderbox (UK), Dec 28, 2008
    #8
  9. miro_gt

    miro_gt Notebook Deity

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    my simpletech drive gets 31mb/s
     
    miro_gt, Dec 28, 2008
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  10. DetlevCM

    DetlevCM Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    I get about 5-6MBit/s on a 7USB Hub connected to the laptop and both external drives connected to the same HUB.
    (3.5 inch drives - with external power by the way - USB Hub is powered)
     
    DetlevCM, Dec 28, 2008
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  11. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    All the devices are having to share the bandwidth of the hub's connection to the computer. If you are transferring files from one external HDD to another then the data have to go from one HDD to the computer and then from the computer to the other HDD. This is much slower than a one-way transfer.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Dec 29, 2008
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  12. DetlevCM

    DetlevCM Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    I know :)
    I just wanted to add it as a comparison :)

    I think my portable 2,5" drive managed about 18MBit/s plugged directly into the laptop with a big file...

    (TV programm at my grandfather's place from VHS recording onto HDD)
     
    DetlevCM, Dec 29, 2008
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  13. shiahzy

    shiahzy Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi people,

    I have a 4GB USB thumbdrive and I am getting on like 3.5mb/sec transferring from my laptop to the drive. What seems to be the problem? Or is it Vista's?

    I checked my device manager and I should be having USB 2.0.
     
    shiahzy, Dec 29, 2008
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  14. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    Flash drive performance varies substantially. However, two other factors affecting the performance are (i) whether the drive policy is optimised for performance or quick removal; and (ii) whether you are transferring large flies or small files. Large files transfer much faster since there is a system delay pending confirming that a file has been written before the next file is sent.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Dec 29, 2008
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  15. miro_gt

    miro_gt Notebook Deity

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    on my flash usb drive (2GB), I get 11MB/s. Access time is good though
     
    miro_gt, Dec 29, 2008
    #15
  16. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    My Patriot Xporter 8GB often is 30-35MB/s :)
     
    sgogeta4, Dec 29, 2008
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  17. shiahzy

    shiahzy Notebook Enthusiast

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    How do you "feel" or gauge the access time of your drive?

    Are you using FAT32 or NTFS?
     
    shiahzy, Dec 30, 2008
    #17
  18. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    My 32gb Patriot Xporter gets 29mb/sec

    In most cases the performance of your USB device is dependent upon the USB hub in your system. I know that a few systems I have can push 62mb/sec over USB, and others can do 35, and others can do like 25mb/sec.
    Its really dependent upon what chip you have.
    The best performing USB hub I have is a VIA USB hub which can do anywhere from 55-65mb/sec

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Dec 30, 2008
    #18