Solved Questions about my new harddrive

[CommandoBob]

I've got a few questions about my new HDD, a Samsung S2 portable 320gb 2.5 usb

1. It says 480Mbit a second of transfer rate - although when I try to copy something it's like 10MB/sec
2. Does 2 hard drives increase performance? (Samsung is external and my other one is Internal)

Thanks!

 

[theski232]

The HDD can handle 480Mbit/sec transfer but it also depends on how fast your computer can transfer the files.

 

[CommandoBob]

The HDD can handle 480Mbit/sec transfer but it also depends on how fast your computer can transfer the files.

What do you exactly mean with that?

 

[Corazon]

480MBit/sec is the theoretical top speed of the USB 2.0 protocol. Note it's MBit, not MB (megabytes) - with practical overhead and other factors, the most you can really get out of USB 2.0 is about 40-50MB/sec.

Other factors affecting file copy speed over USB...the two harddisks involved, their degree of fragmentation, rotational speed, random access time, size of the files to be copied, filesystems in use, CPU load during the copy process, whether write caching is enabled or disabled for the internal and USB drives, and so on and so on. Even the quality of the actual USB-to-SATA adapter built into the external drive case affects the speed.

However, if you consistently get no more than 10MB/sec there's a rather serious bottleneck somewhere as you should get at least double that speed.

 

[CommandoBob]

480MBit/sec is the theoretical top speed of the USB 2.0 protocol. Note it's MBit, not MB (megabytes) - with practical overhead and other factors, the most you can really get out of USB 2.0 is about 40-50MB/sec.

Other factors affecting file copy speed over USB...the two harddisks involved, their degree of fragmentation, rotational speed, random access time, size of the files to be copied, filesystems in use, CPU load during the copy process, whether write caching is enabled or disabled for the internal and USB drives, and so on and so on. Even the quality of the actual USB-to-SATA adapter built into the external drive case affects the speed.

However, if you consistently get no more than 10MB/sec there's a rather serious bottleneck somewhere as you should get at least double that speed.

Tried to transfer Program Files (x86) from my old hdd to my new hdd - transfer rate is 6mb/sec? This is probably not good, how do I fix this?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

The Program Files (x86) folder is kind of an odd folder to transfer. Are you trying to make a back up copy of your installed programs onto the new external hard drive?

 

[CommandoBob]

The Program Files (x86) folder is kind of an odd folder to transfer. Are you trying to make a back up copy of your installed programs onto the new external hard drive?

No I'm testing the transfer rate of the hard drive.

 

[pparks1]

The best way to test your speed is to try copying a single large file. Do you have anything like a 1GB or 2GB ISO file you could copy. Copy that, time it with a stopwatch and then do the actual math. If you get around 30MB/sec...things are just fine and that's about what you will get with USB 2.0.

 

[CommandoBob]

The best way to test your speed is to try copying a single large file. Do you have anything like a 1GB or 2GB ISO file you could copy. Copy that, time it with a stopwatch and then do the actual math. If you get around 30MB/sec...things are just fine and that's about what you will get with USB 2.0.

I get 26MB/sec, that's okay? Also to increase boot and loading of games for exmaple do I need to have all files running on the Samsung HDD?

 

[pparks1]

I get 26MB/sec, that's okay? Also to increase boot and loading of games for exmaple do I need to have all files running on the Samsung HDD?

That's about right for a USB 2.0 device. Extenal USB 2.0 drives are great for offsite storage, backups, etc. I would not however advise trying to run applications or games from them. Too slow.

 

[CommandoBob]

I get 26MB/sec, that's okay? Also to increase boot and loading of games for exmaple do I need to have all files running on the Samsung HDD?

That's about right for a USB 2.0 device. Extenal USB 2.0 drives are great for offsite storage, backups, etc. I would not however advise trying to run applications or games from them. Too slow.

So I shouldn't put Windows and some games on the external HDD?

 

[SledgeDG]

pparks is right! Run your "everyday stuff" and Windows itself from the build in drive simply because the transfer speed is better than the external USB v2.0. The more Data in-output your application does the better your off using the internal drive. Externals are great for storage...even for small applications that load once and then run from RAM but don't use it for hard drive intense programs like games, databases, office apps etc. if you can help it.

-DG

 

[CommandoBob]

Oh great 50 euros wasted for nothing :/. Would games run better on the external HDD or on this internal HDD? Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 80GB Hard Drive ( 6Y080L0 ) - Hard Drive - Maxtor Storage

 

[pparks1]

^ That internal hard drive was discontinued like years and years and years ago. Without a doubt, internal hard drives are going to outrun an external hard drive....except in the case of an eSATA (external SATA connection). USB3.0 is going to be much closer to the performance of an internal hard drive...but eSATA is typically your fastest option from an external standpoint. But an internal drive is always your best bet.

 

[CommandoBob]

Solved, wasted 50 euro :l
Thanks!

 

[SledgeDG]

I wouldn't say necessarily wasted. If you don't want to use it as a backup target, you could always take it out of the enclosure and mount it internally. (It might not be a SATA drive though, so you might need an adapter)
-DG

 

[CommandoBob]

I wouldn't say necessarily wasted. If you don't want to use it as a backup target, you could always take it out of the enclosure and mount it internally. (It might not be a SATA drive though, so you might need an adapter)
-DG

So you mean break open the case it's in?

 

[Corazon]

Since you have the external drive, why not keep it around for making backups...that way your important data will be safe.
You could use it as an internal drive, but chances are that it's only a 5400rpm drive with a relatively limited cache (pretty much all internal drives do 7200rpm and are noticeably faster in sustained throughput rates), so you would eventually feel it being slow, though not as slow as through USB.

 

[CommandoBob]

Since you have the external drive, why not keep it around for making backups...that way your important data will be safe.
You could use it as an internal drive, but chances are that it's only a 5400rpm drive with a relatively limited cache (pretty much all internal drives do 7200rpm and are noticeably faster in sustained throughput rates), so you would eventually feel it being slow, though not as slow as through USB.

How would I use it as an internal drive then? I can't find a way to open the external hdd

 

[SledgeDG]

Provided the HDD is in some kind of enclosure, there should be at least 2-4 screws to open it. Possibly hidden under stickers of some sort. And yes, Corazon is right, they mostly put drives in there that would otherwise not sell anymore
like 54000rpm/IDE drives instead of 7200 rpm SATAs

-DG