Western Digital Launches Its First USB 3.0 HDD

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djackson_dba

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[citation][nom]Shadow703793[/nom]eSATA FTW![/citation]

Top end bandwidth is supposed to be 5Gbps to eSata's 3Gbps. If nothing else, the standard ups the ante even if the available devices are not quite that fast yet.
 

wildwell

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[citation][nom]djackson_dba[/nom]Top end bandwidth is supposed to be 5Gbps to eSata's 3Gbps. If nothing else, the standard ups the ante even if the available devices are not quite that fast yet.[/citation]
Yeah, but now we have eSATA 3.0 coming too, 6Gbps.
 

seriousazn

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[citation][nom]micky_lund[/nom]hopefully this pushes ssd prices down...[/citation]
Isn't that what we were all hoping the home robot would do? :D
 

gilbertfh

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I am sure I will get flamed for this but for the life of me I can't figure out what purpose this fast of storage technology would do for me as a standard consumer. As of right now I can watch and record HD movies and videos at a full 1080p resolution with no slowdown even across my dated 10/100 network. If I need blazing speed for external devices I could use eSATA. As it stands right now owning USB 3.0 storage devices is more geared toward professionals. No matter how quick the BUS is platters can only spin so fast.
 

JeanLuc

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Great, I need a new My Book drive and I've waiting WD to update it's range to USB 3 as transferring 500Gb over USB 2 will take..............well a long time.
 

davepitt

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Be aware that these USB 3.0 PCI-e cards require an internal 5/12V power connector. The slot does not provide the needed power to operate. One vendor uses a SATA power connector and another uses the standard 4-pin connector. The port does provide a higher (900ma) current but it's still not enough to drive a 3.5" device. I suspect the newer USB cameras will need the higher current to avoid using an AC adapter.
 

zirex101

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I wonder if they put a fan in the enclosure so it wouldn't fry the hard drive after hours of use... Also, if the internal drive is SATA2 (3GBps max) how is this better then ESATA? Don't get me wrong, I'm all about faster interfaces, just seems like a moot point until something can actually utilize it.
 

tec

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I like eSATA but there's just not enough widespread support. Much like firewire, I have hunt for enclosures which support eSATA. With some type of devices, for example the Western Digital Passport type of external portable 2.5" laptop drives, those only support USB. I look forward to the day when all the devices released support this new 3.0 standard.

 
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