If I have an external hard drive and I have 2 different types of ports to plug into, which one should I use?

-external hard drive is a WD USB 2.0



from the outside, there are 2 types of ports I can connect it to: either SS-USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 w/eSATA



The spec are here:



http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/9589/usbr鈥?/a>

http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/AA鈥?/a>



which one should I connect my external hard drive to in order for a faster transfer rate?well it really depends on what kind of transfers youll be doing and what kind of cords you have around. But ill do my best to help the desicion process. The eSata port runs Sata II which has maximum bandwith of 3.0Gbs/s. USB 2.0 runs at a maximum 480mbits/s. USB 3.0 runs at 5.0Gbs/s about 10x faster. However, combo eSata/USB port will only run at USB 2.0 speeds. The USB 3.0 header is "bottle necked" through the internal USB port which is only at USB 2.0 speeds. Your probly thinking why have 2 Usb connectors and why make 1 merge with the eSata. And thats because the eSata/Usb combo port will power ur USB devices i.e. ipod, ipad and in some cases (not sure about ur external HDD) external hard drives will be able to power themselves via USB cable using this combo port which eliminates the need for an ac adapter. For the fastest connection I would use the eSata port with a Sata II compatible host. Note that eSata connections will always need a external power source for the external device.A USB 3,0 port is faster than a USB 2.0 port. However since the external drive is only USB 2.0, it is unable to run at the 3.0 speed. If you plug it into the 3.0 port, the port will slow itself down to 2.0 speed. So it will run the same on either port. In theory, it should make no difference.



In actual usage, however, it is possible that the drive might be designed to make use of some on the 3,.0 features and could run a bit faster. Or the "downgrading" of the 3.0 to 2.0 may actually make it run slower. The only way to tell would be to test it out in both ports and see if you notice any difference.



But in theory, it should run at the same 2.0 speed on either port.
As far as I can see from the specs provided (the first 2 links are dead), it only has 1 USB2 port and a power socket!鈽?/div>

• 1 week ago
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