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    USB 2.0 - hi speed or not?

    Discussion in 'HP' started by jxtx, Jan 18, 2006.

  1. jxtx

    jxtx Notebook Consultant

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    I have an HP Pavilion zx5078cl notebook. After replacing the 60 Gb 4200 rpm hard drive that came with the notebook with a 7200 rpm Hitachi, I am pleased with the hard drive performance of my notebook.

    I moved the 4200 rpm hard drive into an Adaptec hi speed USB 2.0 enclosure. I am connecting it to my notebook with a hi speed USB 2.0 cable. However, I can only move data between the drive and the notebook at 10-11 Mbps.

    Does this mean my notebook does not have hi speed USB 2.0 ports? Chatting with HP tech support was a joke. "Andrew" says this notebook does have hi speed USB 2.0 ports. But the data throughput seems to indicate otherwise.

    What do you all think?

    Jeremy T.

    __________
     
    jxtx, Jan 18, 2006
    #1
  2. jxtx

    jxtx Notebook Consultant

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    After reading some technical papers from Microsoft on the question, I think my notebook has hi speed USB 2.0 ports. It has a "usbehci" controller. However, I do not know why the external hard drive would be moving data at such a low speed.

    Any thoughts?

    Jeremy T.

    __________
     
    jxtx, Jan 18, 2006
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  3. lku

    lku Notebook Consultant

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    Might be a stupid question but how do you measure the transfer rate?
     
    lku, Jan 18, 2006
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  4. ikovac

    ikovac Cooler and faster... NBR Reviewer

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    Hi-speed usb doesn't mean that you will actually transfer at highest HD speeds. It is not the USB 2.0. The problem is in the enclosure. Or to be more specific in the controller inside. Use HD-tach and you'll see straight line form start to the end of the hard disk. At 11 MB/s or whatever. Just buy another (usually more expensive) enclosure and you will have like 30 MB/s (if the disk is capable of it). The line will slowly drop towards the end.

    And the problem is that in the shop they just don't know which enclosure has this stupid controller. :mad:

    Cheers,
     
    ikovac, Jan 18, 2006
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  5. chinna_n

    chinna_n Notebook Deity NBR Reviewer

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    How did you test the speed? The USB 1.0 is 12 M bits/sec, that means max is only 1.5Mbps or 1.5 Mega Bytes /sec.

    For USB 2.0 it is 480Mbits/sec, that means it could be upto 60Mbps. But external 2.5" HDD typical speed is around 10-15Mbps.
     
    chinna_n, Jan 18, 2006
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  6. Bamboo One

    Bamboo One Notebook Consultant

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    Bamboo One, Jan 22, 2006
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  7. RadcomTxx

    RadcomTxx Notebook Deity

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    remember, USB 2.0 speed is variable, it can go anywhere from 1 upto the 480 max. But it generally goes up and down randomly.
     
    RadcomTxx, Jan 22, 2006
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