USB connection question for external HD

Hi,

(Windows ver 21H2, build 19044.1466 )

QUESTION:
Is transfer speed faster (or the same) with …

USB Type-C port, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 support
-or with-
USB Type-A port, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 support

DETAILS - and said differently....
Photographer looking for the best bang for the buck for an 8-10TB Ext HD
Thunderbolt connection – too expensive
SSD – too expensive

Does the connection and cable type affect the speed (if the ports both support USB 3.2 gen 2)?

HOST
MoBo: GB z490 Vision D

Three types of connections are available
2 x Thunderbolt™ 3 connectors (USB Type-C™ port, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 support)
2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red)
4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports

DESTINATION (3' away) & CABLE - to be determined (that's why I'm here - lol)

Thanks in advance.

idgat said:

Also dependent on other hardware factors, program(s) used, and other device activity at the time.
Best way ... test and time a sample yourself

Well, thanks. That would certainly answer the question --once I have a new external drive in hand (as long as I don't buy the wrong one) and a couple of different cables to test. I suppose I could buy two cables to keep one and return the other. I'm thinking that the header and cable issues would determine the external drive to get.

I am now looking at --> this cable and anticipate connecting it to the Thunderbolt 3 header which is a USB Type-C™ port, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 support.

I'm trying to (1) buy the right external HDD and (2) the right cable to (3) connect to the best header in order to achieve 20Gbps instead of 10Gbps.

I hope for experienced insight and guidance.

Thanks.

MaloK said:

Hi,
You Need to go SSD to make a real difference.

Thank you.
I'm learning that a HDD spinning at 7200 is a major limiting factor.
I've been focusing on things that are not relevant.
I'll just have to get used to overnight backups instead of faster ones.

Personally I prefer Good old Platters for Backups.

MaloK said:

Hi,
Nearly all High-End Hard disks will top at 150-180 MB/s on a SATA connection anyway, even 15k HDDs top at 320... So USB 2 is enough in all cases...
You Need to go SSD to make a real difference.

The maximum theoretical speed of a USB 2.0 link is 60 MB/s. The corresponding speed for a USB 3.0 (5 gigabits/s) link is 625 MB/s, and for a USB 3.2 (Gen. 2, 10 gigabits/s) is 1250 MB/s.

For a HDD, a USB 3.0 link is more than enough, the limiting factor is the HDD. To take advantage of USB 3.0, a SATA SSD is needed. To take advantage of a Gen. 2 link, a NVMe SSD is needed.

A USB 2.0 link should never be used for any data transfer, it´s too slow.

@Anibor, I stand corrected... USB 3 would be required to harness the full speed of a SATA HDD.

USB speeds are dependent upon specification not connector types.



For flash drives and external hard drives USB 3.0 is faster than USB 2.0 for sequential reading/writing. However, for random reading/writing USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 are about the same.



For an external M.2 SATA SSD USB 3.1 is faster than USB 3.0 for sequential reading/writing. For random reading/writing they are about the same. Note the sequential speeds for USB 3.1 are probably maxing out the SATA interface. Compare these with the speeds for an internal M.2 SATA SSD.



For an external M.2 NVME SSD USB 3.1 is about double USB 3.0 for sequential reading/writing. For random reading/writing they are about the same. Note the sequential speeds for USB 3.1 are not maxing out the NVME interface.



An internal M.2 NVME SSD read/write speeds compared to two internal 3.5-inch SATA hard drives (7200 RPM).



The read/write speeds of three external 3.5-inch hard drives. All are using USB 3.0 connections.