USB 3.0 is hidden in the shadows for a while, but finally here. Slowly but surely, computers with USB 3.0 on board are emerging from his hiding place and land at retailers, such as new external hard drives and accessories.
To see how quickly the new USB specification is actually picked up Tom’s Guide N61Jq-X1, multimedia entertainment laptop from ASUS. The last entry in the series N61 has integrated USB 3.0 and benefits from ASUS that is 10 times faster than USB 2.0. To test the speed of USB 3.0 hard drive is in fact the couple N61Jq-X1 with two external USB 3.0 devices: Seagate 500GB BlackArmor PS 110 to 1 TB and 3.0 Western Digital MyBook. The first uses a 2.5 “disk, while the My Book is a 3.5″ drive. Both drives spin at 7200 rpm.
Sound good?
Before going down to numbers, let’s talk about USB 3.0. What is the problem? Well, in addition to being nearly a decade after the launch, USB 2.0, 3.0 is supposed to be capable of reaching speeds of 10 times that of USB 2.0, a rate of 5 Gb / s, compared to 480 Mb / s. This results in theoretical transfer rate of over 400 MB / sec. In addition, USB 3.0 sends more than twice as much energy for what is billed, if your next USB powered MP3 player does have to charge for maybe 30 minutes instead of an hour. Finally, USB 3.0 is more efficient because the ports can enter a power saving sleep mode when not in use. All very well, especially the transfer rate, but only when tested between two USB 3.0 external hard drives and N61Jq-X1 know how fast the new specification really is.
If ASUS N61 Series rings, we have revised our laptop N61Vn for Holiday Gift Guide several months ago. However, this new entry in the series comes with several improvements.
The N61Jq-X1 gets an upgrade processor in the form of a Core i7 720QM and a new GPU ATI Mobility Radeon 5730. Even if you lose the Blu-ray Disc (DVD-RW is in place), 4 GB DDR3-1066 RAM, 320 GB 7200rpm HDD, 16 “LCD 1366×768 resolution with LED backlighting, Home Premium and Windows 7 remain.
Asus N61Jq-X1
720QM Intel Core i7 processor (1.6GHz, 6MB cache)
ATI Mobility Radeon 5730 (1GB DDR3 VRAM)
4 GB of RAM DDR3-1066
Storage 320 GB 7200 rpm
Optical DVD-RW
Display 16 “1366×768, with LED backlighting
Operating system Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
Size 15.4 “x10.6″ x1.2 “-1.5″
Weight 6.5 lbs.
The N61Jq-X1 offers three USB ports, HDMI, VGA, eSATA, Ethernet, audio and microphone ports, and Express and SD card slots. USB 3.0 is an excellent complement, but it would be good for three USB 3.0 ports, were able in one place, located on the left side, near the Express card slot.
Although the impetus of a new chip Core i7 is expected and welcomed, you probably will not differentiate between 720QM and Core 2 Quad Q9000 in the previous N61. Most differences are in the energy consumption of 720 and Turbo mode, which increases the clock speed of 1.6 GHz to 2.8 GHz quad core when one core is used. As most applications are not coded to fully utilize a quad-core, or even a dual core CPU, this increase will give you an advantage in most daily tasks.
ATI 5730 comes with 1GB of DDR3 VRAM, which is the same as Nvidia’s GT240 in the past N61 mobile. The big difference here is that the 5730 can accommodate DirectX 11, while the GT240 is limited to DX10. In the short term, this means little because there are only a handful of PC games that are DX11 capable. However, this situation will change during 2010 in order to have a capable GPU is certainly useful. DirectX 11 is a blessing for the players because of their greater support for multi-threaded, which means that game developers can make better use of two four dual-core processors in computers.
The rate of images produced by the N61Jq-X1 are impressive for a laptop in the multimedia category. Whether you’re playing Team Fortress 2, Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2 or Quake Live, you can expect frames per second (fps) in years 40 and 50 with high settings and anti-aliasing and vertical sync enabled on the native resolution 1366×768. If you want to get that 60 FPS sweet spot, turn off the vertical synchronization and composition notch to 1280×720 resolution to work. Other benchmarks we generated 5912 results in 3DMark06 and PCMark05 in 4349. Unfortunately, not much to compare with the Futuremark website. The material N61Jq-X1 is so new (mostly 5730) than any other system on the same equipment on site. However, the numbers X1 argue against N61Jq longer available mobile equipment, except for 17 or 18 “desktop replacement.
In general, N61Jq X1 is a good value at $ 1,099.99. Its predecessor was the same price there are just two months and it came with a weaker processor and DX10 graphics (not to mention any USB 3.0 port). Our only complaint about the N61Jq is the lack of a Blu-ray. If an old model features comics, why bring in a new, more powerful version? If you are a player looking for a laptop that could cost you $ 1,500, $ 2,000 or more, the X1-N61Jq worth a look.
3. Western Digital My Book 3.0 (1TB)
Western Digital made the move to USB 3.0 with 1TB My Book 3.0, but how fast is this external hard drive new?
Besides the new faster connection, do not leave many models of 3.0 My Book My Book prev. The chassis and physical (5.3 “x1.9″ x6.5 “, 2.6 pounds) are almost identical, with a power switch and power connector on the back. The USB connection is now regarded as two Tight-Port Mini USB. If you already have an external Western Digital MyBook, 3.0 foot stack or side by side with units very well.
One advantage that we are very pleased to see is the inclusion of a PCI Express (PCIe) x1 USB 3.0 card. WD are we supposed to use the MyBook an office because of his size, so that the card is designed for desktop users who do not have USB 3.0 on board. If you are a laptop user with USB 2.0 only, the My Book 3.0 is strangled at 2.0 speeds.
Besides the driver software for the PCIe card, no software provided with the My Book 3.0. If you are looking for an automatic backup software or third backup of Windows are options to explore. When formatted in NTFS for Windows, 3.0 MyBook 931 GB available.
Of course, the most important aspect of the My Book 3.0 is the speed of transfer. We tested the MyBook 3.0 on two machines: the ASUS N61Jq-X1 and an office (Core i7 860, Gigabyte Motherboard P55a-UD4P Professional and Windows 7). The motherboard has USB 3.0 on the electronic scoreboard, and it is a fair competitor for the Asus.
Although the outcome USB 3.0 Desktop for increasing efficiency, has reported 3.0 MyBook high read / write compatible with both machines.
File Type Size (MB) Write Speed (office) Speed Reading (office) Write Speed (mobile) speed reading (mobile)
Combined 5891.62 56.65 MB / s 65.46 MB / s 40.08 MB / s 57.76 MB / s
Document 62.3 20.77 MB / s 31.15 MB / s 6.92 MB / s 20.77 MB / s
Video 4479.18 78.58 MB / s 86.14 MB / s 58.17 MB / s 86.14 MB / s
Photos 769 25.63 MB / s 69.91 MB / s 24.81 MB / s 64.08 MB / s
Music 581 41.5 MB / s 116.2 MB / s 29.05 MB / s 83 Mb / s
Who burns quickly. Speeds reading and writing in the office are better in general but using the My Book 3.0 with the clock has not been N61Jq-X1-Fest at all. Even faster will be the keys USB 2.0 transfer rate up to 20MB / s low 30MB / s wide, so the video and write to the MyBook to 78 Mb / s is amazing. In addition, while the 6.92 MB / s write speed records seems slow, almost five times faster in the sense that the Patriot Magnum flash drive we’ve tested a few weeks ago. The combined file type read / write speeds are important if you want a good idea of how the function MyBook as a backup, both the desktop and the laptop blows USB 2.0 MyBook any unit outside the water.
The My Book 3.0 is a perfect complement to any computer, provided that you do not mind the lack of backup software. The included USB 3.0 PCI card is a welcome bonus, and transfer speeds are a class apart. But he added that speed has a price above $ 179.99. If you are a notebook user who wants something a little more portable, then click on the next page of our breakdown of the external disk drive USB 3.0 compatibility.
4. Seagate BlackArmor PS 110 (500 GB)
While My Book 3.0 is more comfortable sitting at his desk in the study, Seagate BlackArmor PS 110 is a USB 3.0 mobile power. With 500 GB of storage (465 GB NTFS), the PS 110 is based on a drive 2.5 “7200rpm Seagate. Because the SP 110 is based on a small format hard drive size (3, 15″ x0.49 ” x5.12 “) and weight (0.8 pounds) are significantly lower than the MyBook 3.0. From 500 GB is the largest size available in laptops today (without using two drives in RAID, of course), the PS 110 is the perfect candidate for an automatic backup of the device coupled with a laptop.
Speaking of automatic backup, the 110 PS BlackArmor includes backup software, which has a number of different characteristics. Backup specific folders for system mirroring the set to create backup CD (or just the ISO to a CD), backup BlackArmor is one of the best pieces of backup software that we seen recently.
As Western Digital includes a PCI card with USB 3.0 My Book 3.0, Seagate understands that USB 3.0 is a new standard. Therefore, for those who do not have a laptop with on board USB 3.0, Express Card with USB 3.0 port is included. While this makes the PS 110 is compatible with most phones available, the card also has a USB 2.0 port via a dongle, apparently for the extra power. This is not the best setup, but it will do in a pinch. We have not had the chance to try the Express Card solution, because the adapter cable does not reach a second USB port. Both Seagate and Asus share the blame, because a) you should have something like the USB dongle to start and b) 3.0 USB port N61Jq-X1 is on the left side of the computer, There was therefore no other USB port on your doorstep.
If you have a laptop with integrated USB 3.0 (such as tests Asus’re), then PS 110 requires only one port for power and data.
We tested the PS 110 with the same machines (N61Jq-X1, a desktop with onboard USB 3.0), the My Book. However, the overall picture and write speeds are slightly slower with the smaller unit.
File Type Size (MB) Write Speed (office) Speed Reading (office) Write Speed (mobile) speed reading (mobile)
Combined 5891.62 41.2 MB / s 81.83 MB / s 38.01 MB / s 54.05 MB / s
Document 62.3 10.38 MB / s 12.46 MB / s 6.23 MB / s 15.58 MB / s
Video 4479.18 65.87 MB / s 78.58 MB / s 52.7 MB / s 72.24 MB / s
Photos 769 32.04 MB / s 64.08 MB / s 21.97 MB / s 59.15 MB / s
Music 581 36.31 MB / s 83 MB / s 27.7 MB / s 64.6 MB / s
It’s fast, portable storage, however. Even at lower speeds, the geniuses PS 110, even faster than USB 2.0 drives are capable of. However, as the My Book 3.0, this speed has a high price of $ 179.99, which is a lot to spend on a 500 GB external, but if you feel the need for speed, try one of size.
Conclusion: USB 3.0 at home and on the road
By late afternoon, both the Western Digital MyBook 3.0 and Seagate BlackArmor PS 110 are adapted to their environments. The My Book 3.0 is an excellent complement to any desktop settings. Whether you use the MyBook as a monster media or backup device, the high transfer speed will satisfy all users of power. And if you need 3.0 on the motherboard, including PCI card offers two USB 3.0 ports to play.
BlackArmor The PS 110 is a great portable external hard drive, especially if coupled with a laptop computer with USB 3.0 onboard. Express Card allows laptops to include older 3.0-friendly, but the system is somewhat cumbersome. The included backup software is also a pleasure to use and should make backups of the media, or even your entire operating system a breeze.
If you’re in the market for a new laptop, the ASUS N61Jq-X1 is priced at $ 1099.99. If the removal of the Blu-ray makes us frown, USB 3.0, the new Core i7 CPU and DirectX 11 graphics are very nice additions. The maps of 5730 only improve with age in the short term, because new drivers are on track mobile ATI directly, the hardware, Chris Angelini Tom said last week. Audio while the N61 does not fit the mold for a desktop replacement, is powerful enough to handle the latest PC games while powering through your daily tasks such as Microsoft Office series of HD video, and transcoding on iTunes.
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