Reads in SATA versus Reads in USB 2

[dbminter]

I've noticed something lately in my Read speeds.

 

 

I'm getting faster Read speeds on my USB 2.0 LiteOn versus the SATA LiteOn.  I've had 2 different SATA LiteOns in the same bay on the same SATA channel and I still get faster Reads on the USB.

 

 

I would think SATA is faster than USB 2.0, but according to my results, it's not.  Am I wrong? 

 

 

It's been like this for about a year now.

[LIGHTNING UK!]

How different are they exactly?

 

Both buses are faster than the hardware (at least where reading is concerned) so there shouldn't be anything limiting the read speed except the drives themselves.

 

SATA is loads faster than USB 2.0.

 

You'd be lucky to see 35MB/s on USB 2.0. That's a walk in the park for SATA.

[dbminter]

Unfortunately, it's not consistent.  I insert discs into the SATA drive and check the supported read speeds.  Sometimes it's higher than other times.  Usually, it's a difference of about twice the speed.  And read time tests bear this out.  The USB drive is about twice as fast.

 

 

There's no real reason to it.  Sometimes the SATA drive is twice as slow as the USB and sometimes it's not.  Plus, the type of source seems to make a difference.  For instance, a DVD Video, even when not protected, reads slower than a disc that is just data, even though, technically, a DVD Video disc is just data, too.

 

 

It makes no real sense, actually. 

[LIGHTNING UK!]

Rip lock?

 

Different disc formats read at different speeds too.

[dbminter]

I don't think it's RipLock because I've had 2 different LiteOns on this channel that did the same thing.  Plus, sometimes, DVD Video on a DVD-5 reads to an image file in like 5 minutes and sometimes 10.  However, they were both LiteOns, so it could be a lock across the board on LiteOn.  But, there doesn't appear to be RipLock on the USB LiteOn, then, so, that probably can't be the case.

 

 

Plus, the application can make a difference, too.  For instance, I no longer read DVD-9 DVD Video with ImgBurn.  I use AnyDVD instead because AnyDVD tends to read them in at a faster rate.  A DVD-9 takes about 30 minutes in ImgBurn on the SATA LiteOn.  In AnyDVD on the same drive, it takes about 15.

 

 

For instance, yesterday or the day before, I had an unprotected DVD-5 DVD Video disc that was pressed media.  ImgBurn on the SATA LiteOn wanted to take 10 minutes to read it.  I inserted it into the USB LiteOn and it read it in in 5 minutes.

[LIGHTNING UK!]

The application makes no difference. Unless something funny is going on, hardware is always the limiting factor with these things.

 

Go back to the disc that reads at different speeds in different drives and post the disc info from each one. If you're saying the disc info sometimes changes just from reinserting the disc, try to capture that change too.

 

If both drives list the same read speed, they should both be able to read the disc in the same amount of time. The max read speed entry in the log after the read operation should match up and the transfer rate graphs should be nice smooth curves.

[dbminter]

I will try to remember to do such things next time I encounter a read.