USB too slow on Mac Pro?

Joined
Nov 9, 2011
Messages
170
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Yorba Linda USA
Your Mac's Specs
llci to Mac Pro "26 Kids" all named Mac
I have a MacPro Nehalem 2.66 Quad with a Caldigit USB 3.0 card. In testing the time to make a CCC I see the Firewire 800 is still faster than the USB 3.0.,
Has anyone else seen this?:Confused:
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
You're about the third or fourth forum member who has stated the same thing about using USB 3.0 cards in their Mac Pro or as an Express slot card in the MBP.

You're lucky you even got it to work. Some folks have had a nightmare with drivers and the cards still did not perform at USB 3.0 speeds.
 
Joined
Nov 28, 2007
Messages
25,564
Reaction score
486
Points
83
Location
Blue Mountains NSW Australia
Your Mac's Specs
Silver M1 iMac 512/16/8/8 macOS 11.6
Why are using using either with four hard dive bays unless each are full?

Nothing is as fast as the SATA II 4GB/s transfer rate.
 
OP
FatherTime
Joined
Nov 9, 2011
Messages
170
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Yorba Linda USA
Your Mac's Specs
llci to Mac Pro "26 Kids" all named Mac
Why are using using either with four hard dive bays unless each are full?

Nothing is as fast as the SATA II 4GB/s transfer rate.

Umm! Two 2TB's sitting on top that also go on trips.:):Mischievous:
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
I am sure there is more going on here with the USB 3.0 cards, but USB in general is never as fast in real use as it is on paper. That is why I have never liked USB anything except for mice and keyboards.

How slow you talking? Did you do any measurements?

I do agree with FT, even with 4 bays inside, external drives are easily moved and can be used with other systems.

I have never tried this, but since you have a Mac Pro, is there not a Spare SATA port on the logic board? If so, I would get an E-SATA bracket and use the drives E-SATA which BLOWS down any USB anyway! :D I swear I saw people adding an E-SATA port to a Mac Pro.
 
OP
FatherTime
Joined
Nov 9, 2011
Messages
170
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Yorba Linda USA
Your Mac's Specs
llci to Mac Pro "26 Kids" all named Mac
I am sure there is more going on here with the USB 3.0 cards, but USB in general is never as fast in real use as it is on paper. That is why I have never liked USB anything except for mice and keyboards.

How slow you talking? Did you do any measurements?

I do agree with FT, even with 4 bays inside, external drives are easily moved and can be used with other systems.

I have never tried this, but since you have a Mac Pro, is there not a Spare SATA port on the logic board? If so, I would get an E-SATA bracket and use the drives E-SATA which BLOWS down any USB anyway! :D

As I remember the USB 3.0 moved 1.93 GB's per min and the F/W 800 did right at 2.0 per min on an 80GB CCC. But I may check again,:\
 
Joined
Mar 17, 2008
Messages
6,879
Reaction score
191
Points
63
Location
Tucson, AZ
Your Mac's Specs
Way... way too many specs to list.
USB shares the processor bus and some processor cycles. As far as I'm aware this is still the case with USB 3.0. So it would not surprise me that fw (which does not share resources) would be faster in practice.
 
C

chas_m

Guest
IME USB (any version) is actually about 60 percent as fast as it claims to be. At BEST.

But yes, USB 3 should in fact be a bit faster than FW 800 (and nowhere near as fast as Thunderbolt or eSATA but that's a different topic).
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
IME USB (any version) is actually about 60 percent as fast as it claims to be. At BEST.

But yes, USB 3 should in fact be a bit faster than FW 800 (and nowhere near as fast as Thunderbolt or eSATA but that's a different topic).

Agreed.
 
OP
FatherTime
Joined
Nov 9, 2011
Messages
170
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Yorba Linda USA
Your Mac's Specs
llci to Mac Pro "26 Kids" all named Mac
IME USB (any version) is actually about 60 percent as fast as it claims to be. At BEST.

But yes, USB 3 should in fact be a bit faster than FW 800 (and nowhere near as fast as Thunderbolt or eSATA but that's a different topic).

I have an eSATA card in this machine also. I'll do another test between the three and see who's the faster.:$
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
Proper E-SATA is just as fast as Internal SATA. Nothing will touch it except maybe Thunderbolt. If your E-SATA is not faster than the others, something is wrong.
 
Joined
Oct 31, 2011
Messages
283
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Why are using using either with four hard dive bays unless each are full?

Nothing is as fast as the SATA II 4GB/s transfer rate.

The limit of 4 drives, 5 with only one optical is one of the reasons I sold my MacPro. The point of a tower is to keep everything in the box and I'm currently at 8 HDD's. I'm hoping the new MP will have more drive bays so I can sell the Hack and get a proper MP again.
 
Joined
May 10, 2012
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Los Angeles
I have a MacPro Nehalem 2.66 Quad with a Caldigit USB 3.0 card. In testing the time to make a CCC I see the Firewire 800 is still faster than the USB 3.0.,
Has anyone else seen this?:Confused:

There might be problem with drivers. And you can even try using Firmware on Pro and check out if it works. I think there should be support problem also.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top