Question What does it really mean when something has "10 GB/s" in its product description?

[brimah87]

When an M.2 enclosure has "10 GB/s" in its name or product specs, all that means is that it connects via a USB 3.2 Gen 2, not that it actually supports read/write speeds of 10 GB/s right? Because I keep seeing storage devices and external enclosures that use 10/20/40 GB/s and 1000/2000/4000 MB/s interchangeably in the product descriptions. Even in the reviews where people post screenshots of the CrystalDisk benchmarks, they'll say things like "proof of 10 gbps speeds", and then they'll show 1000 mbps in the screenshot.

So why are all of these devices operating at nearly exactly 1/10th of their theoretical speeds? Even on <https://www.tomshardware.com/best-picks/best-ssd-and-hard-drive-enclosures>, the top pick is described as a 10 Gbps device, but when you look into the specs it has a speed of 1000 MB/s. What am I not understanding here?

 

[USAFRet]

It means that in perfect lab conditions, and with the right data construction, and the right thing it is connected to....you may see that transfer rate in artificial benchmarks.

Also, you really have to read the units they are talking about.
10GBps is 1/8 that of 10Gbps.

Big B vs small b.
Bytes vs bits.
8:1 ratio.

 

[brimah87]

Wow I feel like an idiot, that's what I get for letting the internet make me stop caring about capitalization. Thanks.

 

[USAFRet]

Wow I feel like an idiot, that's what I get for letting the internet make me stop caring about capitalization. Thanks.

You are absolutely not the first. This is a VERY common mistake.

 

[DSzymborski]

You are absolutely not the first. This is a VERY common mistake.

The worst I think is when people give us mpbs (millibits per second) which nobody has ever used when they mean MBps or Mbps, two very different things.

 

[brimah87]

You are absolutely not the first. This is a VERY common mistake.

Yeah but I've been educated in chemistry, physics, and engineering. This is not the kind of mistake I feel OK about making haha.

 

[hedwar2011]

Yeah but I've been educated in chemistry, physics, and engineering. This is not the kind of mistake I feel OK about making haha.

To err is human ESPECIALLY in the world of tech. As you noticed, don't always believe the hype markers that companies advertise and remember that what they say it can do is when they had the perfect world to test it in.

 

[DSzymborski]

Yeah but I've been educated in chemistry, physics, and engineering. This is not the kind of mistake I feel OK about making haha.

The best time to make a mistake is when it's just some strangers in a forum! Better to make mistakes here than when it costs money -- or lives!