M1: TimeMachine backups and file transfer speeds over USB-C?

[kkclstuff]

HI,
Wonder what TimeMachine backups and file transfer speeds over USB-C look like on the new M1 Macs vs the old USB2. Obviously they 'should be' faster, what you guys seeing in the real world? (Prepping for a new M1 and trying to figure out my TB/USB hub needs etc)

 

[rspeaker]

Have to go back a ways to test USB2 transfer speeds! For uninteresting reasons, I had to do a restore on my 2016 MBP a few weeks before I got my M1 MBA, and I used a traditional hard drive. By the time my MBA showed up, I had gotten a Samsung T7 SSD and used that for Time Machine, it was roughly twice as fast as the HDD.

USB3 will be way, way faster than USB2, and if you happen to be using an SSD for backups, even faster.

(I went back to using a regular HDD for Time Machine after I set up my MBA. An SSD is overkill for day-to-day backup duties.)

 

[velocityg4]

How big of a difference will depend on your backup medium. As you are comparing USB 2 to (up to) USB 4.

Now if it is a regular ole 5,400 RPM HDD. You probably won't notice much difference in speed going from USB 2 to USB 4. Except for larger files where linear speed matters. 7,200 RPM would be a bit more noticeable. Still mainly in sustained transfers. I/O heavy parts of the backup will still not be much different due to all the latency involved with HDD seeking files.

If you are comparing a USB 4 NVMe SSD (a good quality one at that) on a USB 2 vs USB 4 connection. There will be a vast difference in backup speed and time taken. Really this would go for any SSD. I'm just targeting a USB 4 NVMe as that would be the most dramatic difference.

 

[deeddawg]

USB-C is a type of connector

Depending on the cable/data-connection (USB2/USB3/Thunderbolt/etc) and the device attached (fast SSD, slower SSD, spindle HDD) you can experience vastly different speeds.

@velocityg4 addresses the device dependency well. A typical cheap 2TB external HDD (5400rpm) is still gonna be pretty slow, even if it's a USB3 drive, relative to a fast SSD. Not a big deal IMHO for backups.