Testing drive by using USB to Sata connector?

[techtips]

Hey guys,

I am looking at doing some read/write tests on a few SSD drive's this week. Rather then hooking them up to my desktop, I was wondering if I could do the tests using my x220?

My x220 has a usb 2.0 port and I do have a USB to Sata cable.

I am guessing that my limit is the usb 2.0 port as I looked at the transfer rates:

USB 2.0 = 60MB/s
Sata 3 = 600MB/s​

I think I know my answer, but want to check.


Thanks!

 

[mnewxcv]

you will be lucky to max out usb 2.0 spec; chances are the controller on the motherboard or the controller in the adapter cable will not have that much throughput. Only way to really test is internally or with an esata adapter + power.

 

[cyclone3d]

you will be lucky to max out usb 2.0 spec; chances are the controller on the motherboard or the controller in the adapter cable will not have that much throughput. Only way to really test is internally or with an esata adapter + power.

With USB 2.0, the max you will get is around 45-50MB/s if you are lucky. Probably more like 35-40MB/s.

And with USB 3.0, you should be able to get around 450-500MB/s.

I don't use USB 2.0 adapters for SSDs and try to avoid it for HDDs as well since pretty much all the newer HDDs are capable of hitting 120-150MB/s sequential.

 

[MGCJerry]

You can do it, but you'll get sad transfer rates. Forget 100% utilization. When discussing theoretical limits, expect to reach *maybe* a max of 70% of that. USB wont even get close to 100% so the 35-40MB/s rate is more like what you'll get. You'll be testing USB speeds, not the disk.

IMO, USB hard drives are excellent way of backing up data for offsite use, or to trade around areas where skynet (the cloud) isn't available. They're absolutely useless for "speed tests" over USB. Now if you are testing the disk for problems, plug that sucker into a SATA slot and use the correct tools to check it, don't do it over USB.