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External Hard Drive Question?

  • 25-03-2009 11:02pm
    #1
    padocon
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,218 ✭✭✭


    Do ones you plug in to the mains work faster than ones you dont?
    Thanks


Comments

  • #2
    BrokenArrows
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,498 ✭✭✭BrokenArrows


    off the top of my head im not sure.

    what you should be looking at is the speed of the drive in the first place not whether it has power or not.

    A good fast drive has a speed of 10,000rpm.

    example
    http://www.expansys.ie/d.aspx?i=162021
    this HD's speed is 5400rpm and is usb powered.

    http://www.expansys.ie/d.aspx?i=161999
    this is 7200rpm and is AC power supplied

    i havnt actually been able to find a 10000rpm external hard drive. humm.


  • #3
    padocon
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,218 ✭✭✭padocon


    I am trying to compare these:
    http://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/58_8604.htm
    http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=420463


    Can some one help?
    Thanks


  • #4
    Voodu Child
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,706 ✭✭✭Voodu Child


    A large 3.5" drive (as used in the bigger external drives requiring a PSU) should be faster than a small USB powered 2.5" external.

    However, USB 2.0 is usually the bottleneck with external drives, rather than the drive's actual capabilities. You can shove the fastest possible drive in an external enclosure, but its never going to read or write faster than ~20-30MB/s (give or take) due to the limitations of USB 2.0.

    So if it's speed you're after, go with an esata drive, it should be at least 2x or 3x faster in real world applications. Obviously, you need an esata port, but these can be added quite easily to both desktops and laptops.


  • #5
    Amalgam
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,026 ✭✭✭Amalgam


    Please don't flame me over this statement, but I've always got better overall and more reliable throughput using Firewire. USB 2 is faster on paper, but in real world use it is far from perfect, it also uses CPU resources.

    I was under the impression cache counts for a lot with Hard Drives, internal or external, hence the trend for that getting larger and larger.

    As voodoo_child said, your interface with the computer will be the bottleneck.


  • #6
    alansweeney100
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 263 ✭✭alansweeney100


    voodoo_child wrote: »
    A large 3.5" drive (as used in the bigger external drives requiring a PSU) should be faster than a small USB powered 2.5" external.

    However, USB 2.0 is usually the bottleneck with external drives, rather than the drive's actual capabilities. You can shove the fastest possible drive in an external enclosure, but its never going to read or write faster than ~20-30MB/s (give or take) due to the limitations of USB 2.0.

    So if it's speed you're after, go with an esata drive, it should be at least 2x or 3x faster in real world applications. Obviously, you need an esata port, but these can be added quite easily to both desktops and laptops.

    +1
    Check out the table at the bottom of the page comparing speeds between USB, firewire and esata and others
    I have this drive connected to my PC via esata and its very fast, would reccommend it.


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