External vs Internal HDD?

[saladcrack]

Are the speeds from an external HDD using USB 3.0 or 3.1 the same or similar as an internal HDD using regular SATA connectors?  I want to build a computer in a super small for factor case like the RVZ02 or Node 202 but neither have 3.5" HDD spaces but I need terabytes of space not just 500gb of SSD storage and I really don't have the money for higher capacity SSDs.

[Lurick]

Most mechanical drives are pretty much going to give you rates between 120MB/s and 150MB/s which is far below USB 3.0 transfer rate of 625MB/s. You might have some slower transfer rates but most of the bottleneck comes from the drives themselves.

[saladcrack]

5 minutes ago, Lurick said:

Most mechanical drives are pretty much going to give you rates between 120MB/s and 150MB/s which is far below USB 3.0 transfer rate of 625MB/s. You might have some slower transfer rates but most of the bottleneck comes from the drives themselves.

So if I get an external HDD enclosure that uses USB 3.0 it should perform the same as if it was installed internally with SATA data cables?

[Lurick]

Just now, Gamessys said:

So if I get an external HDD enclosure that uses USB 3.0 it should perform the same as if it was installed internally with SATA data cables?

Pretty much, yah. The speeds could be a bit lower and of course it all depends on the type/size of files you are moving around but generally you shouldn't notice much of a difference.

[saladcrack]

Just now, Lurick said:

Pretty much, yah. The speeds could be a bit lower and of course it all depends on the type/size of files you are moving around but generally you shouldn't notice much of a difference.

I'd be playing games mostly.