Choosing USB 3.0 Devices
The number one reason to upgrade to USB 3.0 today is external storage. Because of the much greater speed of USB 3.0 compared to USB 2.0, USB 3.0 storage solutions currently on the market include:
- Desktop (3.5-inch) and portable (2.5-inch) external hard disks
- Desktop and portable SATA drive enclosures
- SATA docking stations and adapter cables
- RAID enclosures
A number of companies also produce USB 3.0 hubs, enabling you to use more than two USB 3.0 devices with a single system.
USB 3.0 External Hard Disks
Major vendors of USB 3.0 external hard disks include:
AcomData
PureDrive SuperSpeed USB 3.0 (desktop; capacities 1TB and 2TB; also available in a bundle with a PCIe USB 3.0 card)
Samurai SuperSpeed USB 3.0 (portable; capacity 500GB; also available in a bundle with an ExpressCard/34 USB 3.0 card)
Buffalo Technology
MiniStation Cobalt 3.0 (portable, 500GB and 640GB capacities)
DriveStation USB 3.0 (desktop; 1TB, 1.5TB, 2TB capacities)
Iomega
eGO Charcoal 3.0 (desktop; 1TB and 2TB capacities)
eGO Charcoal Portable Hard Disk 3.0 (portable, 500GB capacity)
LaCie
Minimus USB 3.0 (desktop; 1TB and 2TB capacities)
LaCie d2 USB 3.0 (desktop; 1TB and 2TB capacities; also available in bundle with PCIe USB 3.0 card)
Rikiki USB 3.0 (portable, 500GB capacity)
Rugged USB 3.0 (portable; 500GB (5400RPM and 7200RPM versions; 750GB; 1TB)
Samsung
STORY Station 3.0 (desktop; 1TB, 1.5TB, 2TB capacities)
Seagate
BlackArmor PS110 (500GB, portable, bundled with ExpressCard/34 USB 3.0 adapter)
GoFlex family (portable capacities from 320GB to 1.5TB depending upon series, desktop capacities from 1TB to 3TB; all include native USB 2.0 with optional adapters for USB 3.0 and other port types)
Western Digital
My Book 3.0 desktop (1TB, 2TB capacities)
USB 3.0 Accessories (Drive Enclosures, Adapters, and Hubs)
Many of the same vendors who produce USB 3.0 cards also produce other types of USB devices, such as drive enclosures, docking stations, adapters, and hubs. Some of these include: Acomdata, GWC Technology, Kingwin, Koutech, Rosewill, SIIG, StarTech, and Vantec.