Should I pick USB 2, USB 3, or eSata for connecting my computer to a hard drive for watching movies/playing games?

2

I'm planning to buy a Drobo device (a RAID array that acts as an external hard drive), and I need to know which port configuration is sufficient for my needs. If I'm planning to use it to store and play 1080p movies, and maybe install and play games. Does it matter if I connect my computer to it via USB 2, USB 3, or eSata? Obviously some of these ports are faster than others, but what I'm asking here is if the speed difference matters for my needs. Will USB 2 be good enough, or do I need one of the faster options?

EpsilonVector

Posted 2012-07-21T10:50:49.560

Reputation: 640

Question was closed 2012-07-21T20:23:47.937

Purchasing and product recommendations are really not within the scope of any of the SE sites. Please try to rephrase your question or you can check our list of places where you can ask questions that are not SuperUser questions. – Der Hochstapler – 2012-07-21T10:59:14.013

1@OliverSalzburg Done. – EpsilonVector – 2012-07-21T11:15:22.560

possible duplicate of What data transfer rates are needed or streaming HD 1080p or 720p video, or standard quality video?

– Dennis – 2012-07-21T12:27:46.907

1For playing movies USB2 is enough. If you ever want to copy a few more to the NAS it will take ages. Go for USB3 or eSATA. Personally I prefer eSATA because it has less overhead and needs no extra drivers. – Hennes – 2012-07-21T14:13:50.200

Answers

2

For movies, USB 2 will be plenty, but for some games the extra speed of USB3/eSATA might be beneficial. This greatly varies from game to game, though. After the initial loading of a level, I don't think most games need that much HDD anymore.

Thom Wiggers

Posted 2012-07-21T10:50:49.560

Reputation: 489

Asked: 2012-07-21T10:50:49.560

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Active: 2012-07-21T11:59:31.383