USB Connections


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Old 12-21-17, 08:25 AM
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USB Connections

What is the difference between USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ?

I am trying to decide which external hard drive to get for mirror image back-up. Most of the drives seem to have USB 3.0. Will the USB 3.0 work on an older PC?
 
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Old 12-21-17, 08:30 AM
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3.0 is faster. They are backward compatible in that a 3.0 device can connect to a 2.0 port but you will only get 2.0 speed.
 
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Old 12-21-17, 08:55 AM
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As stickshift mentioned, USB 3.0 is faster than USB 2.0. In the "real world", USB 2.0 will give you a maximum sustained transfer rate of ~35MB/s, whereas USB 3.0 (connected to a USB 3.0 port) will not limit the transfer rate (it will be whatever the drive itself is capable of maintaining).
 
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Old 12-21-17, 12:38 PM
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Thanks for the help. I am good to go. Transfer speed will not be an issue since I am retired and have plenty of time to wait. Thanks again.
 
 

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