USB 3.0-Based 2.5" Hard Disks From Adata, Hitachi, And WD

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USB 3.0 allows external hard drives to realize their performance potential. Each of the three external USB 3.0-based 2.5” disks we're reviewing also excels in some other discipline. We study these specialties up close: speed, capacity, and durability.

Technical Data And Test Configuration

Technical Data

MakeAdataHitachiWestern Digital
Product FamilyDashDrive Durable HD710Touro Mobile ProMy Passport
Model NumberAHD710-750GU3-CBLHTOLMNA7501BBBWDBY8L0020BBK
Form Factor2.5"2.5"2.5"
Capacity750 GB750 GB2 TB
Platters224
Rotational Speed5400 RPM7200 RPM5400 RPM
Other Capacities500 GB, 1 TB500 GB500 GB, 750 GB, 1 TB
InterfaceUSB 3.0USB 3.0USB 3.0
Dimensions (W x H x D)3.9" x 0.8" x 5.2"3.15" x 0.6" x 5.0"3.2" x 0.8" x 4.4"
Weight0.48 lbs.0.34 lbs0.5 lbs
WarrantyThree YearsTwo YearsTwo Years

Test Configuration

System Hardware
HardwareDetails
CPUIntel Core i7-920 (Nehalem) 45 nm, 2.66 GHz, 8 MB L2 Cache
Motherboard (LGA 1366)Supermicro X8SAX, Revision: 1.0, Chipset Intel X58 Express + ICH10R, BIOS: 1.0B
Memory3 x 1 GB DDR3-1333 Corsair CM3X1024-1333C9DHX
Hard DiskSeagate NL35 400 GB, ST3400832NS, 7200 RPM, SATA 1.5Gb/s, 8 MB Cache
Storage ControllereSATA: On-Board eSATA (ICH10R) USB 2.0: On-Board USB 2.0 (ICH10R) USB 3.0: NEC D720200F1 (Gigabyte GA-USB3.0)
Power SupplyOCZ EliteXstream 800 W, OCZ800EXS-EU
Benchmarks
Performance Measurementsh2benchw 3.13
I/O PerformanceIOMeter 2008.08.18 Fileserver Benchmark Web server Benchmark Database Benchmark Workstation Benchmark Streaming Reads and Writes
System-Software & Drivers
Operating SystemWindows 7 Ultimate
Achim Roos
Achim Roos
18 Comments Comment from the forums
  • alidan
    how fast is usb3? i mean real world, say you put a ssd in the best enclosure, what would it do?
    Reply
  • thezooloomaster
    alidanhow fast is usb3? i mean real world, say you put a ssd in the best enclosure, what would it do?
    The theoretical bandwidth of USB 3.0 is roughly 625 MB/s, but this speed is rarely achieved -- even with the fastest hardware -- because the bus relies on a protocol for transferring data which is poorly optimized and eats up a chunk of the bandwidth.
    Reply
  • shahrooz
    alidanhow fast is usb3? i mean real world, say you put a ssd in the best enclosure, what would it do?I get like 70~140 MB/s (copying from WD my passport 1TB to my WD HDD (7200rpm black))
    and I get 30~40 MB/s copying from USB 2 WD my book 2TB to ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    Reply
  • willyroc
    shahroozI get like 70~140 MB/s (copying from WD my passport 1TB to my WD HDD (7200rpm black))and I get 30~40 MB/s copying from USB 2 WD my book 2TB to ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^USB 3 is more than twice as fast as USB 2.
    Reply
  • tridon
    I'm sitting here, daydreaming about a Velociraptor external drive. Maybe that would be able to use the USB 3's capacity better, or maybe something's slightly wrong in my head for wishing for such a thing.
    Reply
  • ojas
    willyrocUSB 3 is more than twice as fast as USB 2.Yeah but you're still limited to both the source and destination drive's read/write speed. So when copying from a HDD to an HDD, you're unlikely to exceed 140 MBps.

    If you're copying from a SATA 3 SSD to a USB 3.0 SSD, then yes, you could see much faster speeds.
    Reply
  • jaquith
    USB 3.0 + UASP (or) eSATA (or) Internal (SATA 2 or 3) HDD.

    USB 3.0 in most instances isn't ready for prime time for external HDD's, and without UASP the queuing is too slow; UASP solves this problem. Otherwise without UASP IMO use eSATA or a backup internal SATA HDD.

    More info see TH article June 20th, 2012 - http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb-3-uas-turbo,3215.html

    Note: The Hitachi Touro fails (BSOD) in Windows 8.
    Reply
  • ubercake
    So... Theoretically USB 3.0 is faster than eSata, but in practice eSata is still the way to go?
    Reply
  • LukeCWM
    ubercakeSo... Theoretically USB 3.0 is faster than eSata, but in practice eSata is still the way to go?Yes.
    Reply
  • alidan
    shahroozI get like 70~140 MB/s (copying from WD my passport 1TB to my WD HDD (7200rpm black))and I get 30~40 MB/s copying from USB 2 WD my book 2TB to ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    that 1tb is in a better case than the 2tb
    what i have noticed with usb 3 is that, yes while its theoretical max is higher than current hdd and ssds should achieve, the fact of the matter is they never hit that peak.

    thats why im wondering, with an ssd, what is the best we can get usb3 to.
    you proved that current normal hdds in a good case do not have a problem in usb 3, and for that i thank you.
    Reply