Different speeds for two identical USB sticks

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  1. Posts : 271
    Win 10 Pro 21H2 (OS Build 19045.3636)
       #1

    Different speeds for two identical USB sticks


    A few months ago I bought a set of 2 SanDisk Ultra 32GB USB3 sticks, one red, one blue (easier to reference that way). They're plugged in to two USB3 ports via 1 metre USB3 cables.

    For some reason they transfer at different speeds. The blue one transfers 35-40MB/sec, the red one at 20-25MB/sec. This is consistent and stays the same whichever way I swap cables and ports.

    Neither are showing any errors. The only other difference I can see is that there's a 12MB (0.04%) difference in capacity.

    Any idea why the transfer speed difference?

    (I'm sure it's not due to the different wavelength of red and blue light!)
      My Computers


  2. Posts : 18,044
    Win 10 Pro 64-bit v1909 - Build 18363 Custom ISO Install
       #2

    Hello @tpriest,

    [1] What are the USBs Formatted as?
    [2] Have a look at this => USB: Port Types and Speeds Compared

    I hope this helps.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 271
    Win 10 Pro 21H2 (OS Build 19045.3636)
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Sorry, should have said, they're both NTFS.

    Both they're cables go into a 4-port USB3 card in my desktop tower PC. As I said swapping them over between cables makes no difference to the transfer speed, the red is always slower than the blue.
      My Computers


  4. Posts : 18,044
    Win 10 Pro 64-bit v1909 - Build 18363 Custom ISO Install
       #4

    Hello @tpriest,

    tpriest said:
    Sorry, should have said, they're both NTFS.

    Both they're cables go into a 4-port USB3 card in my desktop tower PC. As I said swapping them over between cables makes no difference to the transfer speed, the red is always slower than the blue.

    Strange!

    [1] Did you Re-Format them BOTH and perform the transfer?
    [2] Are you sure that the specifications the seller listed are BOTH identical?
    [3] Did you see my suggestion [2] in my previous post?
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 4,769
    Windows 10 preview 64-bit Home
       #5

    Go to device manager and right click one of the USB flash drives, select properties, and check the policy settings. Then compare to the other one to see if same.

    Different speeds for two identical USB sticks-screenshot_11.png
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 271
    Win 10 Pro 21H2 (OS Build 19045.3636)
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Paul Black said:
    [1] Did you Re-Format them BOTH and perform the transfer?
    [2] Are you sure that the specifications the seller listed are BOTH identical?
    [3] Did you see my suggestion [2] in my previous post?
    [1 & 2] They were a twin pack bought on Amazon. When they arrived I plugged them in, and prepared them identically. As far as I can recall I did a quick reformat setting to NTFS, and setting the volume name to "Sandisk Red" and "SanDisk Blue" (or similar)

    [3] The sticks, cables and ports all use USB-A connectors.

    I've just tried them on a different pair of cables going into two different USB3 ports. Same transfer speed difference.

    Fabler2 said:
    Go to device manager and right click one of the USB flash drives, select properties, and check the policy settings. Then compare to the other one to see if same.
    Both are set to Quick Removal.

    The content on both is the same, they're used as a ready access archive of common files, 2 copies for safety.

    Odder and odder
      My Computers


  7. Posts : 428
    Windows 11 pro X64 latest
       #7

    Some day i had two same model usb stick Kingston. The only difference was that one was made in China and the other in Taiwan.
    One was quicker.
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 271
    Win 10 Pro 21H2 (OS Build 19045.3636)
    Thread Starter
       #8

    Good thought. Both these were made in Malaysia
      My Computers


  9. Posts : 6,247
    Windows 11 Pro - Windows 7 HP - Lubuntu
       #9

    I would say the speed difference isn't related to the drives but to the 1 meter USB3 cables. USB 3 runs at 5 or 10 Gb/s and a 1 meter is a very long cable.

    To test the USB drives, insert directly to the same USB port.
      My Computers


  10. Posts : 1,807
    Windows 10 Pro 21H1 19043.1348
       #10

    Megahertz said:
    I would say the speed difference isn't related to the drives but to the 1 meter USB3 cables. USB 3 runs at 5 or 10 Gb/s and a 1 meter is a very long cable.

    To test the USB drives, insert directly to the same USB port.



    And further to that, skip the hub interface if you're troubleshooting speed differences.

    For testing, plug them in directly to the same port and use the exact same file to check transfer time.

    Different file sizes & types will transfer at a different rate. Try to compare apples to apples.
      My Computer


 

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