Why am I only transfering files at 39mb/s from a SSD connected through USB 3.0

[Spuddy0108]

So, situation. I have a Samsung 840 ssd that has some data on it that needs to be  copied to a newly installed ssd. The 840 ssd is not installed in the system so I decided to use this cable and copy it over USB. The cable has "usb3.0 to sata" written on it so I assume that's a good one. I connected it to my front panel USB 3.0 ports. Those front panel ports are connected to my motherboard and plugged in the "USB3.1gen1" port as described in my motherboard manual. Motherboard is a Asus Z370 TUF gaming plus btw. So that leaves the drivers. The intel chipset driver is installed as well as the AS media USB drivers, whichever one those frontpanel usb ports use i do not know but they are installed and device manager shows nothing out of the ordinary.

 

And yet, my transfer speed is 39mb per second. What gives?

 

Edit: When using the rear IO usb 3.1 ports the trasfer speed is 300mbs

 

Pictures https://imgur.com/a/2s0pNBj

[Spuddy0108]

Nobody?

[brandishwar]

It looks like the power port on the converter is USB 2.0. Your system might be detecting that and thinking that you have a USB 2.0 device connected to the front panel. If you can, try connecting the power portion of the drive to a USB charger or separate USB plug and look at your transfer speeds then.

 

Beyond that, what are you trying to copy over? If it's a bunch of small files, those will never copy at high throughput due to some details in how file systems work unless you're using a utility to copy those files in parallel. Which Windows Explorer doesn't do that, and neither does the command-line "copy" command.

[Spuddy0108]

11 minutes ago, brandishwar said:

It looks like the power port on the converter is USB 2.0. Your system might be detecting that and thinking that you have a USB 2.0 device connected to the front panel. If you can, try connecting the power portion of the drive to a USB charger or separate USB plug and look at your transfer speeds then.

 

Beyond that, what are you trying to copy over? If it's a bunch of small files, those will never copy at high throughput due to some details in how file systems work unless you're using a utility to copy those files in parallel. Which Windows Explorer doesn't do that, and neither does the command-line "copy" command.

Thank you for your response. The extra power connector is not really needed in this scenario. The ssd has enough power without it. I just tried it and it works fine without the extra power cable but speeds are still slow. The files I coy are mostly, Adobe psd and ai files but also jpegs, png's, fonts, plugins and so on. I tried to copy a copy a couple of movies but the speed is still maxed out at 40MBs, both ways.

[brandishwar]

23 hours ago, Spuddy0108 said:

Thank you for your response. The extra power connector is not really needed in this scenario. The ssd has enough power without it. I just tried it and it works fine without the extra power cable but speeds are still slow. The files I coy are mostly, Adobe psd and ai files but also jpegs, png's, fonts, plugins and so on. I tried to copy a copy a couple of movies but the speed is still maxed out at 40MBs, both ways.

What USB 2.0 devices are connected and how are they connected to your system? If they aren't in the dedicated USB 2.0 ports, they could be causing the entire USB 3.1 bus to be throttled. It shouldn't be happening, but that's not to say it doesn't happen.

 

You could also try plugging the SSD into one of the 3.1 Gen 2 ports on the rear (they're teal and adjacent to the DVI and HDMI ports). Those ports are on a separate controller to all the other USB ports on the mainboard - they're he only two on the ASMedia controller, while all the others go through the Z170 chipset.

 

I also found this article on Medium that could provide some insight: https://medium.com/@crossphd/how-to-fix-slow-usb-3-0-transfer-speeds-213455173b91

[Spuddy0108]

On 2/17/2020 at 5:59 AM, brandishwar said:

What USB 2.0 devices are connected and how are they connected to your system? If they aren't in the dedicated USB 2.0 ports, they could be causing the entire USB 3.1 bus to be throttled. It shouldn't be happening, but that's not to say it doesn't happen.

 

You could also try plugging the SSD into one of the 3.1 Gen 2 ports on the rear (they're teal and adjacent to the DVI and HDMI ports). Those ports are on a separate controller to all the other USB ports on the mainboard - they're he only two on the ASMedia controller, while all the others go through the Z170 chipset.

 

I also found this article on Medium that could provide some insight: https://medium.com/@crossphd/how-to-fix-slow-usb-3-0-transfer-speeds-213455173b91

The usb devices connected are mouse, keyboard, Arctic 7 headset receiver and a printer. But those are all connected through the rear IO. The keyboard and mouse are in the top 2 usb ports, which are 2.0 ports. The headset receiver and printer are in the USB 3.1 gen 1 ports. I did try the rear usb 3.1 gen 2 ports to transfer files and they worked fine, transferring files at a respectable 230MBps. But it's those front 3.0 ports that bug me. I will try your theory and remove all devices apart from mouse and keyboard and see if that helps. I will also update the drivers. I let you know.

[Spuddy0108]

Still no luck. Disconnected everything apart from mouse and keyboard. Also update usb drivers but they were all up to date.

[AndrewJB]

Have you tried a different sata to usb converter?

[Poet129]

Make sure the USB 3 in the front is plugged in properly... A bad connection may cause certain pins to not work and throttle down your speed. This can be fixed by disconnecting and reconnecting your USB headers for your front USB ports. (If they are separate and not physical linked.)

[Spuddy0108]

On 2/22/2020 at 8:17 PM, AndrewJB said:

Have you tried a different sata to usb converter?

No i haven't. Should I? The  cable works fine if I plug it in the USB port on the Motherboards rear IO panel, The speed there is 300mbs

[Spuddy0108]

On 2/23/2020 at 4:53 AM, Poet129 said:

Make sure the USB 3 in the front is plugged in properly... A bad connection may cause certain pins to not work and throttle down your speed. This can be fixed by disconnecting and reconnecting your USB headers for your front USB ports. (If they are separate and not physical linked.)

I have 2 headers on my motherboard and i tried both of them. No difference though.

[IcarusLSC]

Did you try the USB 3 plugs on the i/o backplate of your motherboard?

 

[Spuddy0108]

On 3/8/2020 at 1:57 PM, IcarusLSC said:

Did you try the USB 3 plugs on the i/o backplate of your motherboard?

 

Yes. The speed there is 300mbs with the same cable

[IcarusLSC]

Sorry missed your post that said that.

It's most likely the shielding on the case header cable or the outlet itself.