Thunderbolt or USB3 for Hard Drives?

2013-12-19 • SEND FEEDBACK |
Related: 2013 Mac Pro, hard drive, Mac Pro, Other World Computing, RAID, Thunderbolt, USB, weather events

I’m seeing some reader confusion on USB3 vs Thunderbolt.

For an external hard drive, Thunderbolt has no speed advantage over USB3.

While a really fast SSD benefits from Thunderbolt speed, hard drives max-out at ~180 MB/sec, well below what USB3 delivers. Even a 2-bay USB3 enclosure is fast enough for two hard drives.

• My favorite USB3 external for main storage or backup.
• USB3 Enclosure for two hard drives.

Using Thunderbolt for a single hard drive is fine and indeed preferable (cable strength and durability), but to date Thunderbolt entails a cost disadvantage both for the enclosure and the cable itself (expensive). And when three or more drives are used in a RAID configuration, then Thunderbolt becomes valuable for its higher throughput and more robust cabling.

One thing that makes me nervous is using USB3 over a splitter or hub device—if that is needed (shortage of ports), better to add drives via Thunderbolt. Ditto for those narrow (thin) USB connectors.

Bottom line: the most robust and more complex systems should useThunderbolt, but USB3 with appropriate connectors remains an excellent choice for many uses (e.g. backup and single drive setups, travel, etc).