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Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.1?

I bought a Samsung T5 portable SSD recently with a USB 3.1 cable.


I have just noticed that it also has a USB-C cable in the box.


My 2017 iMac has two Thunderbolt 3 sockets.


Can the USB-C cable of the Samsung be used in the Thunderbolt 3 socket and if so will there be an improvement in performance?

Posted on Sep 18, 2021 12:39 AM

Reply
10 replies

Sep 18, 2021 1:43 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Thanks Luis.


I used the BM Test in its default mode with the USB connection and the results varied wildly. The maximum final Write speed was around 590MB/s and Read about 800MB/s and the minimum figures were 180MB/s and 200MB/s. These maximum and minimum figures seemed to alternate with each successive test eg. first test high, second test low, third test high etc. etc.


Connecting via USB-C gave virtually the same results so it merely adds an extra choice of connecter but with no speed improvement.

Sep 18, 2021 2:00 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

Thanks. Good to know.

The thing is with all these versions. There is USB 3.1 gen 1 and USB 3.1 gen 2.

Apparently they both can use USB-A (traditional) or USB-C connectors.


The limit of 3.1 gen 2 is 10Gbps.


We also need to consider the speed of the computer USB bus.

I don't have this drive, but my Crucial SSD gives some 400MBps on an older mac and 900MBps with the USB-C cable on my 16". I believe the difference is the mac, not the SSD. My 2014 mac does not have 3.1 gen 2, hence it cannot go over 500MBps.


Sep 18, 2021 4:34 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

The question is "speed increase compared to... "


I think I was talking about getting from my old 2014 mac to my 2019 one.

As I described above, there was a nice increase, but it had to do with the limitations of the old mac.


In your present case, the limiting factor is no longer the mac - your Thunderbolt 3 ports could theoretically support 40Gbps.

The limiting factor is the drive itself. It supports USB 3.1 gen 2 - which can give you up to 10Gbps.


Thunderbolt 3 uses the same connector as USB-C, and supports USB-C type connections, at up to 10Gbps.


Now, you could get yourself a much more expensive SSD that uses Thunderbolt 3 protocols, and might get you some 2500MBps - close to what your internal drive offers. OWC has some great ones.

Personally, I don't see the point, unless you are really feeling constrained in your workflow by the present drive.

For what I do, my Crucial drives are more than enough. I, the human, am the limiting factor, not my hardware.



Sep 18, 2021 6:00 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

I agree that the human, at least this human, is the limiting factor.


It's a really illogical quest for speed . . . a bit like owning a supercar in the UK where the maximum speed limit is 70mph.


I'm still itching to get my hands on an M1 Mac mini even though my 2 computers are more than enough for me . . . I was never like that when I was younger!

Sep 19, 2021 2:12 AM in response to Alchroma

Fortunately or unfortunately I cannot say the same.


My wife encourages me to buy anything I want, however fanciful or impractical or expensive.


However, because I was born at the end of the war when there was little money about and you had to do without many things and save, I have never got out of the habit. So her encouragements fall on deaf ears and I almost always do without or at least purchase the cheapest option.

Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.1?

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