USB 2.0 vs. USB 3.0 SATA Dock Performance

Posted on 14. Jun, 2011 by in Windows

The theoretical speed of a bus like USB is different from what devices are able to achieve in practice. USB 2.0′s theoretical max is 480Mbps, while USB 3.0 jumps that up to 4.8Gbps.

Today we’re benchmarking the Plugable USB 3.0 HDD Docking Station, which is capable of running on either USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 systems, to show what to expect in terms of performance.

While the low-level Windows drivers are different for USB 2.0 (Microsoft EHCI) and USB 3.0 (NEC/Renesas XHCI), above that layer, everything is common, using the drivers already present in Windows. This includes the existing Microsoft USB Mass Storage class driver that does much of the heavy lifting for USB-attached disks.

About the test platform:

Programs used:

HDTune (USB 2.0)

HDTune (USB 2.0)

HDTune (USB 3.0)

HDTune (USB 3.0)

CrystalDiskMark (USB 2.0)

CrystalDiskMark (USB 2.0)

CrystalDiskMark (USB 3.0)

CrystalDiskMark (USB 3.0)

ATTO Disk Benchmark (USB 2.0)

ATTO Disk Benchmark (USB 2.0)

ATTO Disk Benchmark (USB 3.0)

ATTO Disk Benchmark (USB 3.0)

Conclusion:

HDTune reports an Average Transfer Rate increase from 36.4MB/sec to 97.9MB/sec. This is about 168% faster than USB 2.0

CrystalDiskMark reports a sequential Read increase from 38.43MB/s to 107.6MB/s and a Write increase from 36.61MB/s to 88.75MB/s. That’s a 179.9% increase for Reading and a 149.2% increase for Writing.

ATTO Disk Benchmark reports a Read increase from 38402 to 105268 (KBytes/sec) and a Write increase from 35696 to 85762 (KBytes/sec) . Those are  174.12% increases for Reading and 140.25% increases for Writing accordingly.

Summary of Results

Summary of Results

If we were to get the average of the 3 tests we would get an average speed increase of 162.2%. A transfer that would take about 5 minutes on USB 2.0, would complete in roughly 2 minutes on USB 3.0.

These numbers may increase slightly in the future with USB-attached SCSI support, USB 3.0 streams, and other driver/firmware updates. But 2-3 times faster in practice is a good baseline for expectations.

We welcome any comments, corrections, or your own benchmark results.

Plugable USB 3.0/2.0 SATA Hard Drive Docking Station (LucidPort chipset) Product Details $28.95

New DisplayLink Driver Released for Mac OS X Lion (10.7)

Posted on 06. Jun, 2011 by in USB-VGA-165

[Update July 2011: Lion is now out! And DisplayLink has an updated beta 3 driver available at the same location as below. The final version of Lion unfortunately has introduced several significant issues with USB graphics. For the most up to date information, see our support forum at http://support.plugable.com/plugable/topics/osx_lion_and_usb_2_0_display_adapter]

DisplayLink has released an updated Mac driver (1.7 beta 1) with support for Mac OX 10.7 “Lion” (both 32 and 64 bit kernels).

The driver is available for download now at http://displaylink.com/support/mac_downloads.php and is compatible with all Plugable USB graphics adapters and docking stations, such as the Plugable UGA-2K-A.

DisplayLink’s release coincided with Apple’s announcement today at WWDC that the Lion update will be available for purchase next month for $29. Driver updates from DisplayLink are free.

This new line of DisplayLink drivers (1.7 and later) is critical for all DisplayLink Mac users looking to upgrade to Lion, as the new OS release breaks all older USB graphics drivers.

The new DisplayLink driver release includes other fixes, but retains the same high-level characteristics and limitations of prior Mac driver versions (displays up to 2048×1152 on high-end USB adapters; limit of 4 additional displays via 4 USB adapters; no Quartz Extreme/OpenGL support).

Plugable’s New DC-125 USB 2.0 Docking Client

Posted on 07. Mar, 2011 by in Windows

Today we’re launching the Plugable DC-125 USB 2.0 Docking Client.

We’re really excited about this product. It has a clean, simple design. Power-sipping, so it can be powered by a standard USB 2.0 connection alone. Because it’s “just” a collection of USB 2.0 devices, it’s enormously flexible. And because of the simplicity, we’ve been able to hit the $64.95 price point, available now with next day shipping on Amazon.

The most common uses for a USB dock like the DC-125 are:

  • You have a laptop, but would like to use it “like a desktop” when you’re at your desk. The DC-125 gives you quick dock/undock with a single USB cable driving an extra full-sized monitor (driven by DispayLink DL-125 chip, capable up to 1280×1024 / 1440×900), speakers, keyboard, and mouse already on your desk. The extra monitor can either mirror or extend what’s on your laptop screen.
  • You want to save time, money, and power by leveraging one PC to support many users. The DC-125 is supported out of the box by Userful’s Multiseat Linux 2011™ and with available drivers on Windows Multipoint Server 2011™

If you’ve never heard of Userful or WMS2011, take a look at those links. Both require a software license (not included with the DC-125). But it’s amazing what’s possible with the enormous processing power of today’s PCs and the flexible and simple connectivity of USB 2.0 devices like this. It’s possible to realize huge cost savings with a similarly large power/environmental savings.

But most of our users will probably start with the simple benefits of laptop docking via USB. So here’s a video for a quick walkthrough of what the DC-125 offers in terms of functions:

Check out http://plugable.com/products/dc-125/ for much more detail. And if you have any questions, we’d be glad to answer them at http://support.plugable.com/

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