connect hard drive with USB 3.1 type C?

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young707

young707

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Feb 12, 2011
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I am planning to build a i7 desktop.
I already got the SanDisk Ultra II 480GB SSD (SATA interface) as drive C.

I like to know can I connect hard drive as drive D~H using USB 3.1 type C with 10Gbps speed as interface?
I assume I can buy a USB 3.1 type C (with poqwer) connector to hard drive? at Amazon?
That mean my hard drive can run externally outside the desktop.

That means I need to shop for motherboard with USB 3.1 type C connectors?
 
Solution
A
The SATA-to-USB 3.1 adapter is not equipped with a power adapter. I would strongly advise you to purchase a USB 3.1 external enclosure, e.g., the docking station that accommodates both 2.5" & 3.5" disks that's equipped with a power adapter as virtually all of them are.

That Nekteck device seems fine since it's equipped with a power adapter. I'm not familiar with the Type C to Type A adapter cable that's included but that should be a real plus assuming there's no speed tradeoff using such an adapter. The Amazon user reviews are very positive so that's encouraging.
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1. Having a connection capable of 10g speed does not matter if the drive can't supply that. And a hard drive cannot
2. A 3.5" HDD can't be supplied with USB only. It will need some power as well.

There are all sorts of USB docks for 3.5" drives.
 
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Since you're planning to utilize the SanDisk SSD as your boot drive, i.e., as you designate it, your "drive C", you'll want to install that disk as an internal drive in your system - not as an external drive, notwithstanding its potential USB 3.1 capability.

Now that, of course, doesn't stop you from purchasing a motherboard with USB 3.1 capability. As a matter of fact I believe it's a wise decision on your part. Consider a Z170 type motherboard having that capability with DDR 4 memory support. By & by you'll be able to utilize its USB 3.1 capability with external devices for backup, storage, etc. Since its Type A connector is backwards capable with USB 3.0 it will serve you well. Frankly I see no need for the Type C connector at this time (and a number of the 3.1 motherboards will not contain that connector by the way) for most PC users.

If you do decide to purchase a motherboard with USB 3.1 capability I would advise you to do a Google search re reviews of those types of motherboards. There's plenty of info on that subject and you would be wise to ferret them out.
 
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thank you for your advice.
My thinking is SSD as C drive. A 2T hard drive as D drive.
I do have a USB 2.0 hard drive dock. It is too slow.
I am thinking getting this Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XLAZODE/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_7?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
to connect my hard drive as D drive.

I also plan to get a 39" 4K TV at Walmart as monitor. Fry's has i7 6700K on sale.
Any recommendation on motherboard & 4K graphic card.?
(not gamer, just some DVD ripping).

BTW, why are you not recommend USB 3.1 type C?
 
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If you want USB3.1 , Get only Gigabyte motherboard , They are the only ones with High speed USB3.1 , and they use INTEL USB3.1 Chip ...

example

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5835#ov

even better

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5481#ov


 
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It's not that I don't recommend the USB 3.1 Type C connectors, it's just that the overwhelming USB connectors in use for PC users today are the Type A connectors - the ones we're all used to. I'm certainly not opposed to purchasing a USB 3.1 device containing a Type C connector as long as it also contains a Type A connector. On the other hand, if you or anyone else has a need for the Type C connector, then by all means purchase a device containing that type connector.

That StarTech 3.1 adapter you're considering seems interesting. I trust you understand it's designed solely to accommodate 2.5" drives. You indicated you're planning to use it for your HDD which I presume is a 3.5" device. So that device will not accommodate that type of drive. Capiche?

We're currently using the following USB 3.1 devices...
StarTech USB 3.1 docking station
https://www.startech.com/HDD/Docking/2-bay-usb-3-1-gen-2-sata-dock~SDOCK2U313
We purchased it for about $50 some months ago. I see it's increased in $ recently

(StarTech has another USB 3.1 single-bay docking station available that accommodates both 2.5" & 3.5" drives...
https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-10Gbps-Single-Bay-Dock-SATA/dp/B00XLAZTWA
You might be interested in that unit since it's less expensive)

VANTEC NST-270A31-BK Aluminum / Plastic 2.5" Black Standard SATA Micro B 2.5” SATA
6 Gb/s to USB 3.1 Gen II Type-A SSD/HDD Enclosure
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817392087
Designed solely for 2.5" drives. We purchased it for $19.99 from Newegg

We've found about a 10% to 15% speed increase in USB 3.1 over 3.0; somewhat less than what we were hoping for based upon the hype for 3.1 (Gen 2). We note many users have reported greater speed increases but that has not been our experience to date.
 
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Thanks, ArtPog, yes, the Hard drive is 3.5" which has SATA interface. This SATA interface is same as my 2.5" SSD SATA.
I assume the reason this StarTech SATA to USB 3.1 cable does not work on 3.5" HDD is becuase USB 3.1 lacks the power to spin up the 3.5" HDD, correct? But is USB 3.1 suppose to deliver up to 100W of power, or only by USB 3.1 type C connectors?

https://www.amazon.com/Nekteck-External-Docking-Station-Enclosure/dp/B01GJ1DFD2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471276736&sr=8-1&keywords=3.5%22+HDD+to+USB+type+C

I have a external Sabrent SATA (for either 3.5" or 2.5" SATA Hard drive to USB 3.0 docking station, but has external AC power adapter.
 
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The SATA-to-USB 3.1 adapter is not equipped with a power adapter. I would strongly advise you to purchase a USB 3.1 external enclosure, e.g., the docking station that accommodates both 2.5" & 3.5" disks that's equipped with a power adapter as virtually all of them are.

That Nekteck device seems fine since it's equipped with a power adapter. I'm not familiar with the Type C to Type A adapter cable that's included but that should be a real plus assuming there's no speed tradeoff using such an adapter. The Amazon user reviews are very positive so that's encouraging.
 
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Solution
BTW, just one final comment in which you may be interested...

Among other uses, we've been using our USB 3.1 external drives as the recipients for the cloned contents of our internally-connected boot drives so as to maintain comprehensive backups of our systems. (We use the Casper disk-cloning program for this purpose because of its inherent d-c speed when the program is used on a routine/frequent basis. I've never found another d-c program its equal in this regard. However it is a commercial program costing $49.99 so most PC users are loathe to spend those $ when they can obtain d-c programs that are freely available on the net.)

By so doing we have the added advantage that the cloned drive is (usually) bootable even when it's connected as a USB device.
 
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Thanks. Actually, I am most interested to have external drive attached via USB with some folder encrypted.
We will not physically plug in this particular drive, except when we either update or read. So this storage drive itself is mostly off line.

We will be running Windows 7 Ultimate. I understand I can encrypt selected folders using BitLocker. What are your experiences?
 
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