Better performance using SATA 3 and USB 3 ???

[genfin]

I have a system i3-2100, GA-H61M-S26-B3 Gigabyte mobo (4X SATA 2.0, USB 2.0, Dual channel/DDR3 RAM), 1X4 GB RAM, SATA 500 GB, 7200 RPM HDD and Seagate 500 GB SATA 2.0 3 Gps GoFlex external drive. It has NO USB 3.0 or SATA 3.0 6 Gps ports and I'm thinking of upgrading to a USB 3.0, SATA 3.0 system. I use ERP package with database, play no games and dont want to invest in a graphics card.

a. If the current RAM usage is less than 1 GB will the system performance improve if I get additional 4 GB RAM so as to utilize the Dual memory architecture and increase the bandwidth ? Or will I be wasting my money buying additional RAM.

b. Will going in for a H67 mobo with SATA 3.0 and USB 3.0 improve performance if I go in for a SATA 3.0 internal HDD compared to current configuration ?

c. Which external HDD drive should I go in for ...USB 3.0 or SATA 3.0 6 Gps for best performance?

d. Will there be any noticeable change in performance when connecting an external HDD thru USB 3.0/SATA 3.0 v/s a
SATA 2.0 one ?

 

[sosofm]

In my personal opinion,and maybe others share my opinion, HDD's never reached not even specifications for SATA 2.0 because is a mechanical hard drive. Maybe you will see an improvement on SATA 3 with SSD but not with a mechanical storage device like HDD.

 

[WyomingKnott]

a) Going dual-channel will make a marked improvement for some applications. Probably your biggest bang for the buck.

b) sosofm is correct; HDDs perform the same connected to an SATA II port or an SATA III port. An "SATA III" HDD can be controlled by an SATA II controller just fine.

c) If you want a fast external drive, get either USB 3.0 or _TRUE_ eSATA. I say "true" because you need an actual eSATA port on the motherboard; those dongles that change the physical connector from SATA to eSATA are risky because the electrical specifications are actually different. eSATA 6.0 Gb/sec will make no difference because the HDD can't run that fast.

I personally use bare drives, not external-enclosure drives. They attach directly to my motherboard controller ports with two of these: http://kingwin.com/products/cate/mobile/racks/kf_1000_bk.asp

d) Oh, yeah! USB 3.0 will let you get close to the actual speed of your HDD, as long as you have a USB 3.0 enclosure, USB 3.0 port on your PC, and an actual USB 3.0 cable

Biggest bang for the buck: Dual-channel memory.
Second biggest: SSD big enough for your OS and programs. I am running an SSD on a SATA II motherboard, and it still flies.
Smallest: Complete new system.