So my question is about usb ports
I know the basics of port speed delivery and different kinds
So i need to reverse engineer somehow
( i mean i know if a usb device ia capable , usb 3 can deliver up to x MBs Mbs but i need a way to see what actually the port can support and compare the type A and type C port on the same machine)
But i don’t know how to figure out what is the actual port and what speed can they deliver
How can I test the speed not dependent on the device I connect to
As an example if i have a usb 3.0 device
I and i want to know if it works faster if I connect it to the usb 3 port or usb c port via an adapter, which one is more optimal
Or figure out if the usb c port is thunderbolt or usb 3.1 or 3.0 without relying on the label it has on the machine
In another matter i want to understand if a powered usb switch/hub has more benefits for external hdd s
Via usb 3.0 3.1 type A or type C
Thunderbolt is signified by a lightning symbol on the port, if it isn’t there, it isn’t Thunderbolt. That is about the only given in your scenario.
A powered USB-A hub can support more devices, without overdrawing on the supply from the computer. USB-C has higher standards for power draw, so that is less of an issue - unless you are running a laptop off batteries. So, if you have multiple USB-A 2.5" drives hanging off an USB-A hub, at some point some or all will stop working or stop working reliably, because they are exceeding the designed maximum draw of the USB port. USB-C, on the other hand, is designed to power larger devices or to power laptops through the port, so has a much higher theoretical draw - the actual power supply and motherboard tolerances will affect the actual maximum output and a manufacturer who just puts an USB-C port on a standard header designed for USB-A will bring the theory crashing down.
USB-C can be any speed from 2.0 through to 3.2 or 4.0 (not yet ratified and not currently available on any device). Without physically testing, there is no real way to know whether an USB-A 3.1 is faster or slower than an USB-C 3.1 - the controller chip will also make a difference. Is one on the main processor bus and the other on a dedicated chip? Does the dedicated chip have enough PCIe lanes dedicated to it? What else is running over the PCIe line?
Without going down into minute details of the motherboard construction and the chips, you can’t really define which port is faster or slower. For a “normal” mortal, getting the fastest USB device they can and testing each port is the only real way. But for testing modern USB ports, at least those that are “properly” connected and running optimally, you will need a striped SSD array attached to the port, otherwise you won’t be able to reach the theoretical output.
At the end of the day, if all the ports are wired up properly, there shouldn’t be any noticeable difference, unless you are really pushing the USB 3.0, 3.1 or 3.2 maximum throughput through those ports (5gbps, 10 gpbs and 20gbps respectively) and there are hardly any devices around that will push USB 3.1 or 3.2 to its limits - possibly a USB 3.1 or 3.2 10gbps network adapter, but you will need a 10gbps switch and a NAS or server with a good 10gbps port and an SSD array and enough processing power to flood the USB port.
That’s really detailed and helpful thank you so much
I have a laptop with usb-c 3.0 spec and i could get transfer speed of 107MBps copying a large number of files reliably, (via a simple usbAtoC adapter)
On another laptop (Dell xps 7530 Not my favorite)
UsbA port (labeled ss)
Usbc port(labeled thunderbolt sign)
For experience
I installed windows on the 2.5” hdd and run it on the xps via usbC with a 5-1 dongle
But the speed is way lower than i do the same but on a micro SD A10/u1 card
So i was wondering how can i test the speed to a way that I understand which port is the one to choose in terms of power and data range
Thunderbolt usbA direct on indirect powered or not
And to figure out on my other laptop if is there any difference beside shape between A/C types
Without seeing the motherboard physically to understand which port is sharing chip with what
Not my favorite)