[citation][nom]JOSHSKORN[/nom]Using Thunderbolt, you can transfer at 180 MB/s on this external HDD? And what is the current generation of Thunderbolt capable of in terms of speed? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think even USB 3.0 is capable of up to 400 MB/s. By comparison, Thunderbolt is capable of much more, I believe.[/citation]
hard to say because i dont know.
thunderbolt may have less overhead than usb3 which would make it faster
i have a usb3 external hdd, and i can say as far as read write speeds go its getting as much as it can get.
now seek time is the part i think you would see the biggest difference through usb and through sata... and i dont know the difference there.