USB 3.0 Expansion Card Question

[dhutch0437]

I just installed a usb 3.0 expansion card to my asus desktop. Do I need to hook thatsata 6g cable from the card to my hard drive and unhook where my hard drive is plugged now?

 

[buwish]

The title of this topic has been edited by Buwish

 

[sminlal]

I assume the reason you bought the adapter card is so you could get full speed from external hard drives. If so, then leave any internal hard drives connected to the motherboard SATA ports. Connect any external drives to the USB 3.0 connector(s) on the back of the adapter card.

Most USB 3.0 cards require you to connect additional power from the power supply, usually via a Molex or SATA power connector. Find a compatible power lead that isn't already connected to a drive and plug it into the internal power connector on the USB.

 

[RetiredChief]

Need more FOOD, opps I mean more info.

Which card did you get. ?? is it just USB3, or does it have both SATA6 and USB3?
Most USB PCI cards only have an external USB, may be some exceptions, or they come with internal SATA 6 and external USB3..

For example I have both.
The Asus U3S6 has 2 external USB 3 Connectors and 2 SATA 6 internal connections. In this case you could connect a internal HDD to the Sata 6 connector on the card and the Connect the SATA power from the PSU (If you do not have a spare SATA power connector you could use a molex -> sata (4 inch) adaptor. And Yess you can move your HDD (SATA data cable) to the card sata port, Why you would want to do this, I do not know as no benifit.

If the adaptor just has USB 3 (mine has 2 external and NO internal USB3 ports) then you can not directly connect an internal HDD to it as you need a SATA -> USB interface converter. If the "NEW" HDD is to externally connect to the external USB port then you need a SATA->USB encloser (Make sure that it comes with a pwr pack (Brick).

In either case if you are installing a NEW HDD you can leave the "old" HDD inplace.

 

[mrdumost]

Need more FOOD, opps I mean more info.

Which card did you get. ?? is it just USB3, or does it have both SATA6 and USB3?
Most USB PCI cards only have an external USB, may be some exceptions, or they come with internal SATA 6 and external USB3..

For example I have both.
The Asus U3S6 has 2 external USB 3 Connectors and 2 SATA 6 internal connections. In this case you could connect a internal HDD to the Sata 6 connector on the card and the Connect the SATA power from the PSU (If you do not have a spare SATA power connector you could use a molex -> sata (4 inch) adaptor. And Yess you can move your HDD (SATA data cable) to the card sata port, Why you would want to do this, I do not know as no benifit.

If the adaptor just has USB 3 (mine has 2 external and NO internal USB3 ports) then you can not directly connect an internal HDD to it as you need a SATA -> USB interface converter. If the "NEW" HDD is to externally connect to the external USB port then you need a SATA->USB encloser (Make sure that it comes with a pwr pack (Brick).

In either case if you are installing a NEW HDD you can leave the "old" HDD inplace.

I was thinking about getting the same asus pci with usb 3.0 and sata 6. Would you mind letting me know if you have ever tried to transfer files from esata to usb 3.0 and what speeds u r getting?

Thanks.

 

[RetiredChief]

Might be able to get to it by the end of the week. estata (What type drive - HDD or SSD) and same question for USB3 device.

 

[mrdumost]

All my drives are 1 TB 7200 rpm or 1.5 & 2 TB at 5400 rpm.

Edit: I also have 2 Internal Caviar Black 640 gb drives for games and downloading.

 

[teflon2287]

I was thinking about getting the same asus pci with usb 3.0 and sata 6. Would you mind letting me know if you have ever tried to transfer files from esata to usb 3.0 and what speeds u r getting?

I have never transfered from eSATA to USB 3.0, but eSATA should be the same speed as an internal SATA drive, right?

Anyway, when I have transfered from an internal SATA drive to USB 3.0 (Using the ASUS combo card mentioned above), I usually get transfers rates that are pretty much equal to the slower of the two hard disks...

Dan

 

[mrdumost]

Even if it's slower of the two disks, what does that relate to in terms of mb/sec? I appreciate your response but why do people always assume people know the speeds if no one ever posts them other than saying it goes as fast as the disk can, driver limitations, and etc.

 

[teflon2287]

Sorry, yes, I tested my USB 3.0 speeds by copying to/from a 4 drive raid 0 array, and my transfer speeds were always simply the limit of the drive in the external box... I tested with both an old Seagate 320GB drive and sustained transfers of approx 60 MB/s and I also tested with a newer Seagate 7200.11 1TB drive and achieved sustained transferes on the order of 90 MB/s.

In both cases, this was the same rate (approx.) as these drives achieved when they were plugged directly into a SATAII port. So, in my experience, when transfering across USB3, you will generally get a transfer rate equal to the slower of the two drives.

I didn't really give numbers because it will vary ALOT depending on the hard drives in questions, it you are using newer drives, then I would suspect that you would usually get 90 to 110MB/s with some average drives...

Sorry for hijacking the thread...

Dan

 

[dEAne]

Yes it is best to use USB 3.0 on newer drives.