External HDD Usb3 VS Sata III

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Mostwest

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Sep 29, 2015
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Hi guys i'm looking for an external HDD for storage all my films and movies.
I need that hdd to be connected to an android smart box wich features both sata3 and usb3 support.

Let's say i'm using the exact same HDD (WD Caviar Green 4 TB), wich connection will be faster USB3 or Sata III?? Thanks

I just notice that is also possible to put the sata hdd directly into the smart box and use it as storage. But the smart box with sata internal space wich cost me 40-50E more than the box with external sata support.

what you guys suggest?
 
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gaborbarla
Hi Mostwest,

if at all possible avoid USB3 for harddrives. Many USB3 controllers are significantly slower than others, and it is a can of worms that you dont want to deal with.
SATA III most of the time brings the goods.

Also, SATA III max speed is faster than USB 3 max speed, so that should also answer your question.

Some more debate on this for some further reading:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1465740/sata-6-vs-usb-3-speeds

I would like to add to this that the WD Caviar Green 4 TB is a pretty slow harddrive by today's SSD standards so you probably wont notice a difference between USB3 and SATA III.

Hope this helps,
Gabor
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gaborbarla

gaborbarla

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Feb 6, 2009
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Hi Mostwest,

if at all possible avoid USB3 for harddrives. Many USB3 controllers are significantly slower than others, and it is a can of worms that you dont want to deal with.
SATA III most of the time brings the goods.

Also, SATA III max speed is faster than USB 3 max speed, so that should also answer your question.

Some more debate on this for some further reading:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1465740/sata-6-vs-usb-3-speeds

I would like to add to this that the WD Caviar Green 4 TB is a pretty slow harddrive by today's SSD standards so you probably wont notice a difference between USB3 and SATA III.

Hope this helps,
Gabor
 
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M

Mostwest

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Sep 29, 2015
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Thanks i've one more question.

i've an 6-7 years old WD Elements dekstop 1 TB harddrive wich feature only USB 2.0.

I'm only using it for store my files and that's it never moved to my bedroom.

Do you think it will worth it to remove the plastic and turn it into a sata and then insert the sata directly in my PC slot?

I run Crystal benchmark and it scored only 33 mb (both r/w) as USB 2.0

Do you think i'm gonna benefit from turning it into sata and move it internally??
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

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Jul 30, 2014
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Hey there, Mostwest!

Since the WD Elements is that old, I guess you'd definitely benefit from the SATA connection, rather than continue using USB 2.0 for it. However, I'd still recommend you to check up on the health and SMART status of the HDD inside using WD's Data LifeGuard Diagnostics for Windows. This will give you some peace of mind before trusting the HDD with any data. Here's a link to the WD Software: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=lcNJTB
You also mentioned something about a 4 TB HDD, so I have to say that you should be very careful when considering to take an HDD out of its original enclosure, especially we're talking about massive external hard drives. They usually are configured with different LBAs, which can cause some headaches if you attempt to use them internally (via SATA).
As the others already mentioned, SATA connection is definitely a lot faster than USB 3.0. Internally connected HDD (via SATA) can never compare in terms of transfer rate with the external USB 3.0 connection. Here are a couple of threads you might find interesting to read: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/174836-32-sata-transfer-rate
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/297224-32-speed-external-usb3-internal-sata

Hope it helps. Good luck! :)
SuperSoph_WD
 
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gaborbarla

gaborbarla

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Hi again,

Yes definitely. Your performance will be increased multiple fold. Considering it is a 1Tb drive it is likely that it will provide performance over 100mb/sec. I remember that the Desktop Seagate 1Tb drives from when they just surfaced could do around 140-150mb/sec at peak.

In any case, it will be really worth while not using the USB 2, as long as you no longer need to carry the drive around.

Hope this helps,
Gabor
 
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