with a thunderbolt usb4 can I use usb3.x external drives for backup?
I think you got it right... I have a 2020 MacBook Pro with a Thunderbolt usb4 connection and port. I do have an adapter. Just didn't see any options for reasonably priced external hard drives specifically for usb4 -- they all seem to be for usb3. But if they'll work, I'm not overly concerned with speed. Thanks!
I agree. :) and IMHO, backup drives. (Time Machine or some other backup mode) don't really need to be all that fast anyways. my main reason for saying that is that even though I use TM, I have never needed to restore from TM over all of the time that I've been using Macs. and also, after the initial backup, incremental backups are pretty quick. and as a footnote, my TM disk is a glacially slow HDD. (western digital "my passport")
The differences between USB-3 and USB 4 are very small, and for most purposes, are negligible.
Remember that DRIVE speed is the determining factor is most cases. ThunderBolt-3 or 4 provides a large PIPE, but a larger pipe can not make a slow drive transfer its data any faster. In general, ThunderBolt 3 or 4 are limited to about 1500-ish M Bytes/sec maximum transfer speeds, and most drives are still slower that that.
Time machine does not benefit from a drive that is fast. Time machine does it backing up at low property in the background, so paying extra for a fast drive for Time machine buys you nothing.
yes, they will work fine. just don't expect the TB3 drives to run a TB4 speeds.
I think I misunderstood. USB3 (if that's what you have) drives will require an USB-C to USB Adapter to work on your TB4 equipped Mac.
No need for further replies. Got the answer I needed. Thanks!!
with a thunderbolt usb4 can I use usb3.x external drives for backup?
