External HD performance

[DragonFire]

I got a 120GB external seagate and for the fun of it I used HD tach to see how well it did. The read test showed it at only 22 MB/sec. Surely a 7200RPM drive using USB2.0 would get something better then 22MB/sec?

 

[Cerb]

Possibly, with a different USB controller and/or enclosure, but that sounds typical.

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: DragonFire
I got a 120GB external seagate and for the fun of it I used HD tach to see how well it did. The read test showed it at only 22 MB/sec. Surely a 7200RPM drive using USB2.0 would get something better then 22MB/sec?

7200 rpm and 8mb of caches do jack for the most part when in an external enclosure. You'd be just as well to use a large 5400 rpm drive that is quieter and cooler.... and perhaps cheaper-though I've found 5400 rpm drives to be rare thses days.

What else do you have plugged in via USB??? USB hubs??? Keyboards?? Mice ??? Printer?? These can all play a factor.