“Specs show USB 3.0 & speeds of 480 Mbps. shouldn't the speed be 5Gbps for USB 3.0 ? Specs show USB 3.0 & speeds of 480 Mbps. shouldn't the speed be 5Gbps for USB 3.0 ?”

Asked by Rock 9 years ago

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WD - My Passport Ultra 1TB External USB 3.0 Hard Drive - Black-Front_Standard

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Hello, Yes, you are right, it is up to 5Gb/s using an USB 3.0 port. Unfortunately, the Best Buy website, does not always have the correct specifications/features/information on the products it sells, it's always a good idea to do a little research, ideally in the actual manufactures' website. here is the link to the item description on the manufactures' website, scroll to the bottom. http://store.westerndigital.com/store/wdus/en_US/pd/ThemeID.30153100/productID.280927300
Answered by djMASeve 9 years ago
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This drive is capable of USB 3.0 speeds when connected to a 3.0 port. The 480 Mbps is the speed max of the slower USB 2.0. I've transferred several gigs of data at once manually, using both types of ports (old laptop/new laptop), and while the 3.0 speeds are definitely faster, the transfer over 2.0 was still pretty fast with this drive.
Answered by JohnG 9 years ago
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http://www.pcworld.com/article/2360306/usb-3-0-speed-real-and-imagined.html
Answered by Zole 9 years ago
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Your correct but reality is that no one gets anywhere close to those speeds in real life. My actual transfer rate was about 90-110 depending on the file sizes. A respectable speed for an external drive and far faster than USB2.0
Answered by Bear 9 years ago
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Yes it does. Not sure why they listed it that way. It's crazy fast when you transfer movies or go pro footage.
Answered by SnowboardCrazy 9 years ago
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You are correct. USB 3.0 has a max data transfer rate of 5 Gbps, not 480 Mbps. Real world usage is another matter, of course.
Answered by Dvoycnside 9 years ago
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This would be due to being a 5400RPM drive and possibly using separate power connector and a lower power draw to support USB 2.0 also. My personal speeds match the 480mpbs number using USB 3. USB 3 can hit 5gbpos but traditional 5400/7200RPM drives normally cap out 70-100 on average.
Answered by aceofrazgriz 9 years ago
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