Is usb3.0 fast enough for hard drive storage?

D

DarinB

n3wb
Jun 9, 2017
5
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I have an i7 computer I'd like to use for BI, but it doesnt have a 3.5 disk space. I'd like to have at least a 3tb WD purple drive on it. Could I use an external hard drive adapter through USB 3.0? An online calculator said I needed 6mb/s storage rate. Usb3.0 is rated at 640mb/s. Has anyone done this with any success?

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I have one running continuous record for 12-14 cams for several months now after the server that I was using crapped out and I had to rely on another machine for a while. Not a real heavy load - mostly 2 MP a few 3 and 4 @ ~5,700 kB/s, ~400 MP/s as reported by BI. Not a real tiny load either I guess.

I did it expecting that it would fail miserably but it really hasn't. Haven't noticed any issues in recording or playback. I'll move it over soon to another server that I now have just haven't had time to do it. Most will say don't, go with internal. And I would too.

Try it. See how it goes. Can always change things if it doesn't work out.

Also if the i7 is one of the low power chips (not having space for a 3.5 makes me think so) don't expect a lot out of it. Big difference.
 
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It's an i7 3770 with nothing else running on it.

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I used a USB 3.0 WD passport drive on my system when I lost my WD purple until I got a replacement.
It worked, but slowed the capture down enough it dropped me to abut 5 fps on most of my cameras.
I was glad to get back to an internal drive, but it was worth it for use as a backup drive.
I have 24-26 cameras with 4 ea 4k, 5 ea 4mp, the rest is a mixture of 3mp and below depending on what
I am playing with that day. All cameras are from 7 to 15 fps.
 
USB 3.0 is faster than any mechanical hard drive. The problem is reliability. When I tried using a USB drive for continuous recording, it randomly disappeared off the system sometimes (months apart). That basically does not happen with an internal drive.
 
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bp2008 said:
USB 3.0 is faster than any mechanical hard drive. The problem is reliability. When I tried using a USB drive for continuous recording, it randomly disappeared off the system sometimes (months apart). That basically does not happen with an internal drive.
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I need to go back and make sure that drive was 3.0 then.
 
You might want to be sure you are plugged into an usb 3 port. My Dell XPS 8910 has a variety of ports.

• Two USB 2.0 ports
• Eight USB 3.0 ports
• One USB 3.1 Type-A port
• One USB 3.1 Type-C port

Plugging your 3.0 device into a 2.0 port is going to be slow.
 
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