Are USB2.0 HDDs fast enough?

I was thinking about getting an external HDD, and since my 250GB backup HDD failed I'm literally scrambling to get a replacement.

So now I need to make a decision: get yet another internal HDD, or a USB2.0 external one which is easier to move from one PC to another when the first one doesnt works.

The main issue is of course speed: SATA disk run at 3Gb/sec, while USB2.0 has a peak data transfer of 480Mb/sec, a clear difference.

So, what do you guys think? will it be too slow? or slow yet usable?

 

I see, well good enough for what I need, since I'm only using them to store videos, pics, ISOs and the like, leaving my other drives for programs and such.

And thanks but I'm going for 500GB too.

BTW, are WD MyBook series good?

 

Im assuming they arent SATAII, huh?

 

Thats a misnomer, it was never meant to be called SATAII, just SATA 3.0Gb, just like the other was 1.5Gb, and the new one due to 2009 will be 6.0Gb.

 

Well, all the same ;P Haha

 

The WD Mybooks are good, if you keep them cool, and don't run them 24/7. I have two, I use them for backup purposes. I would never use them for anything that requires them to be plugged in for a long time, they simply aren't reliable in reguards to transfer speeds. Plus, CPU usage is a concern as USB access requires a healthy amount (especially when transfering files).

Overall, I'd say go for it, if you want to use them sparingly, and as backup solutions.

 

Depends on the chipset. Some chipsets are better than others.

 

ASSEMbler,I'd be interested in buying a HD from you. Will you ship to Japan? A 320 GB or 500GB HD would really save me. Here in Japan a new 500GB cost about 25'000 yen ! Expensive!

Yakumo

 

WD MyBooks are fine Shadowlayer. USB2 is fast enough for that you want it for.

 

I run my external HDDs, including a WD MyBook over Firewire. It works flawlessly and doesnt load the CPU at all, plus u can daisy-chain them to share bandwidth.

 

Firewire or eSata is the way to go - only problem with eSata is that although I hear you can hotplug them, i haven't worked out how! therefore you've gotta plug them in at boot.
Also most Firewire or eSata drives also have USB2 for the crappy Pcs which don't have superior connections
(I count myself as a firewire fanboy...sad, I know)

 

Ever thought about NAS?

 

+1 for firewire fanboy here

 

sending PM.

 

Wait, so is better if the drives arent plugged all the time? how hot do they get?

BTW, when you want to see some data, do you access it directly from the drive or copy&paste it to your internal drive(s)?

What I mean is if the transfer speeds, combined with the drive speed wont bog down videos and light (small) software.

Like, most of the stuff I'm going to move there are old tv series and abandomware, and well having to copy that to my drives everytime I want to use it is just a little bit less of a hastle than running stuff from a DVD is.

You mean pr0n?:lol:

j/k

Firewire 800 right? cuz 400 is actually a bit slower than USB2.0

I was thinking about it, but good fast ones with gigabyte ethernet dont come cheap, and some of them are wireless which makes any tranfer painfully slow.

If you know a good NAS model give me a link:nod:

 

wrong. Firewire 400 actually sustains a higher transfer speed on average than the theoretical peak of USB2.0. I can confirm this through personal experience.

 

Seconded, yet I'm still given funny looks if I ever mention it in public...

In terms of heaty, i have 3 external hard disks - a Freecom NAS for my videos and Music so I can access them easily from my desktop and laptop. As I'm always listening to music the Freecom gets pretty warm, also as it doesn't have a fan which doesn't help.
I also have an Akasa eSata enclosure (also does USB2) which again, doesn't have a fan and gets pretty warm - SMART has sometimes told me the hard disk gets to 60deg C when I accidentally buried it under some books!
Finally I have a Maxtor OneTouch 3, which is Firewire and USB2 and by far the coolest of the 3 due to its built in fan. The main downside to that is that it can be quite noisy when everything else is turned off - turn it off at night if you can't sleep with noise.

 

I was hesitant to do this for over a year after the SATA debut.
I finally got up the courage and I connected the SATA cable first and power second. The drive spun up but no new hardware was detected.
Just go to Device Manager and Scan for Hardware Changes and you're in business!
I still shut down to unplug though because I don't know how it would know to park the heads if I just suddenly cut power to it...

~Krelian