Solved Internal SATA vs External USB Speed?

Mike Lynch

Mike Lynch

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I believe Internal SATA is faster than External USB.

If so, by about how much?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 7601 ...Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz8.00 GBIntel(R) HD Graphics 4000
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Two HP Desktops. One in the Laundry Room / Bed Room.
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz
Motherboard
Hewlett-Packard 3396
Memory
8.00 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000
Sound Card
(1) Realtek High Definition Audio (2) Intel(R) Display Aud
Monitor(s) Displays
Hanns-G
Screen Resolution
1440 x 900 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 59 Hz
Hard Drives
(1) ATA WDC WD40EZRX-00S SCSI Disk Device (2) HP Officejet Pro 86 USB Device (3) WD My Book 1230 USB Device
PSU
Whatever came with the CMT.
Case
HP CMT Black.
Cooling
Whatever came with the CMT.
Keyboard
Logitech K740.
Mouse
Microsoft Optical Mouse 1000.
Internet Speed
Spectrum 25Mbs.
Antivirus
WebRoot, Microsoft Security Essentials.
Browser
EDGE
Other Info
HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus.
WD MyBook 4TB.
External USB 3 vs Internal SATA

Boy this seems very complicated.

One 2.5" USB Drive, one Internal 2.5" SATA Drive.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 7601 ...Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz8.00 GBIntel(R) HD Graphics 4000
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Two HP Desktops. One in the Laundry Room / Bed Room.
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz
Motherboard
Hewlett-Packard 3396
Memory
8.00 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000
Sound Card
(1) Realtek High Definition Audio (2) Intel(R) Display Aud
Monitor(s) Displays
Hanns-G
Screen Resolution
1440 x 900 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 59 Hz
Hard Drives
(1) ATA WDC WD40EZRX-00S SCSI Disk Device (2) HP Officejet Pro 86 USB Device (3) WD My Book 1230 USB Device
PSU
Whatever came with the CMT.
Case
HP CMT Black.
Cooling
Whatever came with the CMT.
Keyboard
Logitech K740.
Mouse
Microsoft Optical Mouse 1000.
Internet Speed
Spectrum 25Mbs.
Antivirus
WebRoot, Microsoft Security Essentials.
Browser
EDGE
Other Info
HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus.
WD MyBook 4TB.
ACTUALLY depends on your motherboard which speed it can handle check via MSinfo32
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

W7 home premium 32bit/W7HP 64bit/w10 tp insid...E5300 dual core3gbNvidia Geforce 7100 Nforce 630i
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
medionl/Aspire 6930G/acer x55a
OS
W7 home premium 32bit/W7HP 64bit/w10 tp insider ring
CPU
E5300 dual core
Motherboard
medion MS7366
Memory
3gb
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia Geforce 7100 Nforce 630i
Monitor(s) Displays
avixc
Internet Speed
n (isp resticted to 72)
Antivirus
mse/pands
Browser
palemoon
Other Info
Belkin Fd7050 n USB using Railink RT2870 drivers, more upto date
I looked however, there are several pages of MSInfo32.
Any clue as to which I should focus on?
 

Attachments

  • Capture - MSinfo32 page one.PNG
    Capture - MSinfo32 page one.PNG
    85.6 KB · Views: 3

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 7601 ...Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz8.00 GBIntel(R) HD Graphics 4000
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Two HP Desktops. One in the Laundry Room / Bed Room.
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz
Motherboard
Hewlett-Packard 3396
Memory
8.00 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000
Sound Card
(1) Realtek High Definition Audio (2) Intel(R) Display Aud
Monitor(s) Displays
Hanns-G
Screen Resolution
1440 x 900 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 59 Hz
Hard Drives
(1) ATA WDC WD40EZRX-00S SCSI Disk Device (2) HP Officejet Pro 86 USB Device (3) WD My Book 1230 USB Device
PSU
Whatever came with the CMT.
Case
HP CMT Black.
Cooling
Whatever came with the CMT.
Keyboard
Logitech K740.
Mouse
Microsoft Optical Mouse 1000.
Internet Speed
Spectrum 25Mbs.
Antivirus
WebRoot, Microsoft Security Essentials.
Browser
EDGE
Other Info
HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus.
WD MyBook 4TB.
You first need to specify what SATA speeds your drives are and then what SATA and USB speeds the motherboard and enclosure supports. You need that to compare results between computers. Here are some definitions.

1 Theoretical Speeds.jpg

I have two computers with different capabilities:

2 Hardware.jpg

Here are the results after testing:

3 Results.jpg

The motherboard for Computer #1 only has USB 2.0 ports and supports SATA/eSATA 2.0. As you can see by the results eSATA 2.0 is faster than USB 2.0.

The motherboard for Computer #2 has USB 3.0 ports and supports SATA/eSATA 3.0. USB 3.0 is fast enough that I never bothered to buy a eSATA 3.0 enclosure to test it.

Note that SATA 3.0 is not much faster than SATA 2.0 for SATA 3.0 HDDs. However, SATA 3.0 is noticeably faster than SATA 2.0 for SATA 3.0 SSDs.

Also, note that both external SATA 3.0 HDDs and SSDs are a whole lot faster when connected with USB 3.0.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 7 Professional 64bit / Windows 10 Hom...AMD FX-8350GSKILL Ripjaw-X PC3 12800 12GB (2x4GB, 2x2GB)ASUS ENGTX560 DCII OC/2DI/1GD5 1GB
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
    Custom build
    OS
    Windows 7 Professional 64bit / Windows 10 Home 64bit
    CPU
    AMD FX-8350
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 (AM3+) Rev. 4.0
    Memory
    GSKILL Ripjaw-X PC3 12800 12GB (2x4GB, 2x2GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ENGTX560 DCII OC/2DI/1GD5 1GB
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Asus VE228H (21.5-in)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG 870 EVO 1TB (2.5" SATA SSD)
    SAMSUNG 870 EVO 500GB (2.5" SATA SSD)
    PSU
    Antec TruePower (new) TP-650 (650 watts)
    Case
    Antec Three Hundred
    Cooling
    AMD stock (plan to upgrade to Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO)
    Keyboard
    Logitech K540 (wireless)
    Mouse
    Logitech M310 (wireless)
    Internet Speed
    Comcast Gigabit X2 Internet (2100Mbps down / 300Mbps up)
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge, Chrome
    Other Info
    Optical drive: ASUS DRW-24B3ST/BLK/G (Black) (24X)
    External hard drives: 2TB & 6TB
    Internet Gateway: Comcast XB8
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Mr. Ed,

Thank you for all the research you have done on my behalf.

In a way, I wish I had never asked the question.

I assumed / thought it would be answered with a simple:

Internal SATA is always the fastest or External USB is.

Either way, based upon your research, I'll just let the question / Post drop.

I believe I would be very hard pressed to replicate what you have done, for my PC.

Thank you again for all that work.

Best regards,

Mike Lynch
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 7601 ...Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz8.00 GBIntel(R) HD Graphics 4000
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Two HP Desktops. One in the Laundry Room / Bed Room.
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz
Motherboard
Hewlett-Packard 3396
Memory
8.00 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000
Sound Card
(1) Realtek High Definition Audio (2) Intel(R) Display Aud
Monitor(s) Displays
Hanns-G
Screen Resolution
1440 x 900 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 59 Hz
Hard Drives
(1) ATA WDC WD40EZRX-00S SCSI Disk Device (2) HP Officejet Pro 86 USB Device (3) WD My Book 1230 USB Device
PSU
Whatever came with the CMT.
Case
HP CMT Black.
Cooling
Whatever came with the CMT.
Keyboard
Logitech K740.
Mouse
Microsoft Optical Mouse 1000.
Internet Speed
Spectrum 25Mbs.
Antivirus
WebRoot, Microsoft Security Essentials.
Browser
EDGE
Other Info
HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus.
WD MyBook 4TB.
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