Computer Components FAQ

Q USB 3.0 vs 2.0 speed difference?


A USB 3.0 is up to ten times faster, and fully backwards compatible.
In a nutshell USB 3.0 devices can theoretically transfer data up to ten times faster than USB 2.0. In reality the upper end of the USB 3.0 theoretical performance band is rarely achieved but since USB 3.0 devices are fully backwards compatible there is no advantage to having a USB 2.0 device. In terms of consumer grade flash drives the highest USB 3.0 read speeds we have seen are approximately 250 MBps which is around a 1/3 of the theoretical maximum (625 MBps) but still over five times faster than the fastest USB 2.0 flash drive (50 MBps).

The Best.
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $270Nvidia RTX 4060 $295Crucial MX500 250GB $30
Intel Core i5-12400F $149Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $360Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $195Nvidia RTX 3060-Ti $340Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $49
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $35Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $42SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $30Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $43SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $50G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $357SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
Today's hottest deals
About  •  User Guide  •  FAQs  •  Email  •  Privacy  •  Developer  •  YouTube Feedback