dbminter Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 I should have a new computer in about 2 weeks and it will be my first exposure to using USB 3.0. I have a USB 3.0 HDD I've been using on USB 2 on my current computer. So, I have to have the drive's power cable plugged in in order to power it. However, wasn't USB 3 designed so the USB 3 cable could supply power to the device, too? If so, does it supply enough power to power a USB HDD? Will I still need to plug in the power cable to use the USB HDD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIGHTNING UK! Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 It can supply 900mA according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_3.0 So that's 400mA more than USB 2.0 I believe. It may or may not be enough to power some hdds. Most enclosures seem to come with a 2 amp PSU though so I doubt it'll work for anything other than a smaller sized 'portable' hdd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbminter Posted August 29, 2014 Author Share Posted August 29, 2014 Yeah, the drive I'm contemplating, it's not a portable size HDD. It's a 4 TB, I'm guessing 3.5 inch drive in a USB enclosure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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