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USB 3.0 was released in November 2008. The standard specifies a maximum transmission speed of up to 5 Gbit/s (640 MB/s), which is over 10 times faster than USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/s, or 60 MB/s), although this speed is typically only achieved using powerful professional grade or developmental equipment.
USB 4.0 is coming soon.......so again.........HUH?
I don't think you really understand computer performance. Yes SSDs have better performance than HDDs. Since most external drives are used for backup or non performance sensitive uses (such as holding photos or music files), faster seek is almost meaningless. Faster transfer rates are always nice, but if you are reading 10 Mb files (such as photos), the perceived difference of USB3 over USB2 will probably not be noticable.
As already pointed out, not many USB3 ports are out there now.
Unless the system needs SSD performance and can take advantage of it - choosing SSD over HDD for an external drive is just wasting money.
Having an external SSD drive would only make sense if you were connecting it to a very high-speed bus, like FireWire 800, eSATA, or Thunderbolt. For USB2, which most computers still have, you wouldn't notice much of an advantage.
I am in NO WAY an expert on computers, so I will defer to all of the EXPERTS posting on this thread.
I will just suggest that people read up on the MANY advantages of a SSD drive over a traditional hard drive. They have really come down in price and have many advantages besides being a LOT faster than traditional hard drives. Almost all SSDs you buy new will support USB 3.0
I am in NO WAY an expert on computers, so I will defer to all of the EXPERTS posting on this thread.
I will just suggest that people read up on the MANY advantages of a SSD drive over a traditional hard drive. They have really come down in price and have many advantages besides being a LOT faster than traditional hard drives. Almost all SSDs you buy new will support USB 3.0
All SSDs sold today actually use the SATA interface, not USB (in any form). The external versions have a USB controller.
Lets look at internal disk drive pricing.
Until hard drive prices spiked recently due to the Thailand flooding, you could buy a Western Digital 1 Tb 3.5 inch drive for $110. That is $0.11 (11 cents) per gigabyte.
Today a 120Gb SSD costs about $150. That is $1.25 per Gb.
SSD in useful sizes is 11 times as expensive as conventional hard disks. If you don't need the performance of a an SSD, then don't pay for it.
All SSDs sold today actually use the SATA interface, not USB (in any form). The external versions have a USB controller.
Lets look at internal disk drive pricing.
Until hard drive prices spiked recently due to the Thailand flooding, you could buy a Western Digital 1 Tb 3.5 inch drive for $110. That is $0.11 (11 cents) per gigabyte.
Today a 120Gb SSD costs about $150. That is $1.25 per Gb.
SSD in useful sizes is 11 times as expensive as conventional hard disks. If you don't need the performance of a an SSD, then don't pay for it.
ERM.............that is what the whole thread is ABOUT...........external hard drives...............IT IS in the title.
ERM.............that is what the whole thread is ABOUT...........external hard drives...............IT IS in the title.
The internal interface sets the upper limit on performance and defines the drive's characteristics. The controller in an external case is simply an adapter.
256GB external SSDs are not available less than $500, AFAICT.
Last edited by Tantalust; 12-05-2011 at 10:20 AM..
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