In our review of the ASRock Fatal1ty Z77 Professional-M, we discovered something odd with the USB 3.0 performance. In our tests, we have used the latest BIOS and Intel USB 3.0 and ASmedia USB 3.0 driver on the same board to test it’s performance. In the results below, we also tested the same SSD, a Kingston SNB 425 Vseries SSD using the external Sunbeamtech USB 3.0 docking station.

Here are our results with the docking station attached to the ports. We first tested it using SiSoft Sandra 2012 Physical disk test.

Using the ASmedia USB 3.0 support ports

We get a read performance of 202.15MB/s. This is consistent with our tests of the SSD on the docking station months ago on the older platforms using ASmedia or Etrontech controllers.

Using the on board Intel Z77 supported USB 3.0 ports

To ensure everything is working correctly, we checked the device manager and also ensure that the latest driver (available from the ASRock support website) is installed.

We were astonished that the USB 3.0 performance read tests give us only 41MB/s. That is way below the normal performance of a USB 3.0.

On page 2, we used CrystalDiskMark to verify our results :

If you bought the Intel Z77 chipset mainboard, one of the reasons you wanted it is because of embedded support of USB 3.0 in addition to other new features that are incorporated on board by the various manufacturers.

Unfortunately, the performance of USB 3.0 doesn’t seem to be on par or better than those using ASmedia chipset.

In fact, according to reports found in many forums, users have found that the speeds they achieved using an external USB enclosure to be far from expectation. For example, a sequential read usually gets around 220MB/s only garners 45MB/s when connected to the USB 3.0 port (intel z77) on the same motherboard.

Are you experiencing the same problems ? Discuss.

A few weeks ago, we attended an event by Promise technology, showing off it’s Thunderbolt NAS devices. As Apple is the only company that builds Thunderbolt capable notebooks, PC which is based on Intel processors and chipsets do not have motherboards which cater to this new transmission standard. According to Digitimes, Intel has recently notified its partners that the company will fully release its Thunderbolt technology in April of 2012 with several first-tier PC players already preparing to launch Thunderbolt-supported motherboards, notebooks and desktop PCs, according to sources from PC players.

Most board makers are still using third party USB 3.0 solutions while the Apple has it adopted into its products such as monitor, MacBook Pro, iMac, MacBook Air and MacBook Mini, it has strongly boosted demand. With the price of Thunderbolt technology dropping in 2H 2012, it is expected that board makers and notebook makers will adopt this technology onto to PC platform.

Currently Sony is expected to adopt Thunderbolt technology into its product lines with players such as Asustek Computer also expected to adopt the technology into their high-end notebook products. Gigabyte Technology, which has been aggressively adopting new transmission technology into its product line, is also expected to launch Thunderbolt-featured motherboard by April 2012 to compete against other brands.

Here is a link to the Promise SmartStor products which feature the Thunderbolt technology.

Small enough for transit, ample storage space for large files and SuperSpeed for rapid data access – Sharkoon raises the benchmark for USB3.0 sticks a little higher and presents in time for Computex another model in their high-performance segment: The Sharkoon Flexi-Drive Ultimate achieves sequential read rates of up to 200 MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 120 MB/s. Storage capacity is available in either 64 GB or 128 GB.

The Sharkoon Flexi-Drive Ultimate uses a powerful Single Chip USB3.0 Controller and four eight-channel controlled MLC storage cells. The memory stick is in a high-quality, black aluminium case with a protective cap and keychain eyelet, measures 79 x 27 x 9.3 mm, weighs 40 grams and supports the operating systems Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32 and 64 Bit), Mac OS 10 as well as Linux.

End customers can find the Sharkoon Flexi-Drive Ultimate available during calendar week 23 for the suggested retail price of 139.90 euros (64 GB) or rather 229.00 euros (128 GB) in authorized retailers.

Kingston HyperX MAX 3.0 External USB 3.0 (64GB) Review
Bluetooth 10 Jan 2011

Kingston Technology joins the ranks of companies delivering SSDs last year. They made in roads with their Value series of SSD products making it available for users. To make it available in a form that is portable and durable, Kingston introduced  the SSDNow V series S2BN that comes with a USB 2.0 enclosure.

Although the SSD performs pretty well, it is hampered by USB 2.0 limitation if connected as an external portable drive.

HyperMAX 3.0 is going to remove the bottleneck (~35MB/s) and give it a speed boost. The HyperMax 3.0 comes in a blue alumimium enclosure which is sealed. Warranty will be void if rip open the enclosure.

The drive comes with a USB 3.0 cable with a blue connector on one end for the PC/Notebook with USB 3.0 connector. The other looks quite different from the usual connector we see. That plugs direct into the SSD drive.

HyperX MAX 3.0 promises a read speed of up to 195MB/s and Write speed of up to 160MB/s.

In the next few pages, we take a look at the package followed by benchmarks of the drive in USB 3.0 with NEC 3.0, Etrontech controller and traditional USB 2.0 connector.

Kingston HyperX MAX 3.0 Features and Specifications

• Performance: USB-IF SuperSpeed-Certified
• Standardized: Complies with USB 3.0 specification standards, compatible with USB 2.0
• Sequential Speed: Read: up to 195MB/sec., Write: up to 160MB/sec
• Shock-resistant: Built with Flash components so no moving parts
• Portable: Aluminum design is sleek, stylish and rugged
• Silent: Runs silently with no moving parts
• Easy: Plug & play with no driver required; utilizes USB bus power with no additional bus power required
• Guaranteed: Three-year warranty
• Capacities**: 64GB, 128GB and 256GB
• Dimensions: 2.89² x 4.67² x 0.47² (73.49mm x 118.60mm x 12.00mm)
• Vibration Operating: 20G Peak, 10-2000Hz, (20min/Axis) x 3 Axis
• Vibration Non-operating: 20G Peak, 10-2000Hz, (12 Cycle/Axis) x 3 Axis, x 20min.
• Operating Shock: 1500G
• Operating Temperature: 0° to 60°C/ 32° to 140°F
• Storage Temperature: -20° to 85°C/ -4° to 185°F
• Power Consumption: 4.5W
• Dual LED: Blue for USB 3.0, green for USB 2.0

EtronTech USB 3.0 outperforms NEC USB 3.0 controller

Lately, we tested a couple of new boards based on the INTEL P67/H67 chipset. Most of these board uses the NEC USB 3.0 chipset to power 2 ports of USB 3.0 interface.

While most vendors prefer to use the tested and proven USB 3.0 controller from NEC, ASRock board uses the EtronTech chipset on it’s P67 and H67 series.

We did some tests on the performance of USB 3.0 with a USB 3.0 SSD drive  and found that the Etrontech does perform better. Here are some quick numbers.

PCMark Vantage HDD benchmark

NEC  21113
EtronTech  22782

Difference +7.9%

SiSoft Sandra 2011 Disk Benchmark

NEC 146.76MB/s
EtronTech 156.11 MB/s

Difference +6.37%

Not only sequential read/write performance, it also outperform it in IOPS in random write.

Click here for more details.

Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 (DTU30) 64 GB USB 3.0 stick Review – Intro
bluetooth 20 Dec 2010

If you are one that relies on USB sticks for your important documents and large files, you would have long wanted this, a USB 3.0 based device that delivers faster reading and writing.

Kingston, the renown storage king now brings you the 64GB USB 3.0 stick. The Kingston’s DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 (DTU30) features the latest technology for USB Flash drives, making it ideal for early adopters who want to take advantage of all the performance improvements offered by USB 3.0 right away.

In the past, transferring from USB 2.0 is always a pain in the neck. We are stucked with a reading of only 30MB/s for read/write.  With the new USB 3.0 stick,  data transfer rates for USB 3.0 to 80MB/sec. read and 60MB/sec. The new USB 3.0 is 2.6x faster in read and 2x faster in write.

If you use an existing board or notebook with USB 2.0 only interface, this stick is backward compatible with USB 2.0. The package comes with a USB 2.0 Y cable for you to plug the DTU30.

In the subsequent pages, we take a look at the performance of it running on USB 3.0 capable board and running it in the compatible USB 2.0 mode. The first chart shows the performance using USB 2.0 while the second shows the performance when paired with a USB 3.0 port on a NEC USB 3.0 controller chip on board.

Features/Specifications:

• Capacities* – 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
• Requirements – system with USB 3.0 port
• Fast** – data transfer rates for USB 3.0 to 80MB/sec. read and 60MB/sec. write; USB 2.0 = 30MB/sec. read and 30MB/sec. write
• Backwards compatible*** – with USB 2.0.
• Dimensions – 2.90″ x 0.87″ x 0.63″ (73.70mm x 22.20mm x 16.10mm)
• Operating Temperature – 32° to 140°F (0° to 60°C)
• Storage Temperature – -4° to 185°F (-20° to 85°C)
• Simple – just plug into a USB port
• Practical – durable casing with a solid lanyard loop
• Guaranteed – five-year warranty

ASUS O!Play HD2 multimedia player
Bluetooth 21 Nov 2010

IPTV is the trend these days. With more and more content going online, it is not surprising that multimedia players that support multiple formats are welcomed. ASUS O!Play HD2 is just another in this crowded marketplace.

ASUS O!Play HD2 can be said to be the third incarnation of the O!Play series. The previous models were R1 and R3. So, what are the improvements over the earlier models. ?

Basically, the O! Play HD2 is the world’s first USB 3.0 media player. It also has a bay for a 3.5″ HDD with NAS Support. There is support of iPhone, using it as a remote control. If you are a person who goes for hi fidelity sound, the good news is that you now can have TrueHD 7.1 channel surround audio. On top of all these, it is DLNA certified to work with your compatible devices in your home theatre (DLNA is a standard for moving media across a variety of devices. With DLNA, O!Play lets you transfer and manage media files quickly and have them play on your TV via a wired internet connection). You can thus playback all sort of media formats support (see below for a list of supported formats).

If offline contents from your collection is not enough, you can go online and check out the TV and Radio stations. Some 600K streams delivers excellent video quality. On top of that, you can turn your connected TV into a large photo frame as it supports Picasa and Flickr. There is also Weather  and Stock info available.

Specifications

 NEXT PAGE

Sunbeamtech USB 3.0 HDDPAL docking station Review
Bluetooth 20 Aug 2010

Ever since NEC USB 3.0 becomes the defacto chipset for USB 3.0 support, USB 3.0 enclosures are beginning to flood the market as a replacement for the aging USB 2.0 and an alternative to eSATA.

While enclosure is still a hard plastic with electronics that connect your USB port to SATA HDD, it would be quite troublesome to change HDD or SSD as and when you like it.

Powered by the Jmciron  JMS539 SATAII<->USB 3 chipset, this plug-n-play ready, high speed USB3.0 HDDPAL provides the user with flexibility, portability and performance. The unit supports both 2.5” and 3.5” SATA drives up to 2TB in size. The docking station is hot-swappable and comes with two high performance interface, USB3.0 with a maximum transfer rate of 5Gbps, so it can be moved from computer to computer with ease for all your backup needs.

The package consists of the unit, USB 3.0 cable, 12V/2A DC adapter and a user manual.

Below is a video showing what is inside the package.