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New Mac Pro 6.1 USB 3.0 disk speed

C

cbm

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 22, 2002
70
0
I'm seeing tragically slow speeds for disks mounted with USB 3 on my nMP.

The same disks, directly connected to a Mac Mini or a Mac Pro (Late 2013) give wildly different results. The Mac Mini 6.2 gets very respectable speeds from an SSD in a USB 3.0 case. The Mac Pro 6.1, not so much. Is this an endemic problem?

First the Mac Mini, then the Mac Pro:
 

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Your post wasn't entirely clear. Is it the very same disk, with the very same cable? Is the disk directly connected to the Mac Pro or through a hub of some kind?
 
The very same disk, using the same cable, directly connected in both cases.

(there is a USB 3.0 hub connected to the Mac Pro, as well, but the disks are always directly connected)
 
How new is your new Mac Pro? Keep in mind that USB transfers are CPU intensive. If your CPU is already busy running other stuff, your USB transfer might suffer. Is your machine still indexing for Spotlight?
 
cbm said:
(there is a USB 3.0 hub connected to the Mac Pro, as well, but the disks are always directly connected)
Click to expand...

For the sake of curiosity, does it speed up if you disconnect the hub?

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cbm said:
How old can a Mac Pro (Late 2013) be? :)

Maybe two weeks?
Click to expand...

I only wondered because if you just set it up it might still be indexing.
 
I would also suggest disconnecting everything else.
It's a bus after all. It might negotiate transfer speeds differently when it recognizes a HUB.
 
its probably running at usb 2.0 480megabit ....it happens to me all the time for some reason when i move a hd from a old non usb 3 imac to my macbook pro or imac that has usb 3.0 you have to restart the computer.
 
I do not think nMP has hardware USB 3.0 support.
it is strictly software support which is up to 10 times slower.

Apple never thought people will use outdated USB 3.0. :)
and everybody will buy only TB drives for them.
 
1Dx said:
I do not think nMP has hardware USB 3.0 support.
it is strictly software support which is up to 10 times slower.
Click to expand...
Not true. The nMP has a Fresco Logic FL1100 4-port USB 3.0 Host Controller.

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RoastingPig said:
its probably running at usb 2.0 480megabit ....it happens to me all the time for some reason when i move a hd from a old non usb 3 imac to my macbook pro or imac that has usb 3.0 you have to restart the computer.
Click to expand...

Well, it's USB 3 on both computers, but I'll try a restart.
 
RoastingPig is on to something. Your speed is about right for USB 2.0.

I'd hook up the drive and look in system information, in the USB device tree. It should say "superspeed".
 
pmau said:
I would also suggest disconnecting everything else.
It's a bus after all. It might negotiate transfer speeds differently when it recognizes a HUB.
Click to expand...

I'll do that experiment.

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chabig said:
I only wondered because if you just set it up it might still be indexing.
Click to expand...

Ah. No, indexing is not going on.
 
Sounds like a USB speed negotiation problem.

Have you tried plugging in your USB drive and rebooting the MP? See if it renegotiates the speed properly. Switching between two computers can create this issue at times and while it shouldn't -- it does.

Also, if you really want to get full speed, consider a Firmtek enclosure. Not all external USB enclosures are the same for USB3 speed. Here is a review to bring the point forth -

http://www.barefeats.com/hard161.html
 
I know you wanted to see USB 3.0 numbers to a nMP, but the numbers you are seeing using Blackmagic are nearly the same I saw this morning with a LaCie fw800/USB3.0 rugged (1TB 5400 rpm drive) connected to my 2012 MacBookPro which has USB3.0. I am bench marking all my external drives and so forth ahead of my promised February delivery. My reaction was the same as yours, what the heck is going on here.

I switched to quickbench to record the performance as I use Cinema4D and or other apps that feed Lux Renderer that both use GPU. The texture files I use (4096 x 4096) average around 500K and Quick bench does 10 different file sizes, provides seq read/write results, and more importantly for me random read/write results also.

Same drive that tossed off the same blackmagic data, 20 minutes later gave me 5.4mb read and 12.3 write (5 cycles and Disc Cache and asychronously both checked, read 30 milsec delay and write 20 milsec delay the later being the defaults)

The app is 14 USD.
 
Your drive is connecting at USB 2.0 speeds.

It could be a cable issue or interference issue Try different ports, or different cable.

Also give a try to disabling WiFi and Bluetooth.
 
For reference, here's a 840 Pro in an Inateck USB3 enclosure; I have both wifi and BT on as well.
 

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