View Full Version : USB Port speed test
None of the above
23rd Jun 2005, 20:32
I have a feeling that the USB 2.0 ports on my PC are not operating up to spec, eg: downloads from my digital camera seem slow. Is there any way of testing/measuring performance?
I am using Win XP, by the way. Thanks in anticipation, Gentlemen.
N o t a
Conan the Librarian
23rd Jun 2005, 23:08
Well here is a nice little surprise for you... Wouldn't be Nikon by any chance? They only run at USB1.1 speeds apparently...
Best bet is get a USB2.0 card reader and save the wear and tear on you camera at the same time. My own card reader, along with decent memory cards has made a big difference. (Nikon D70, 50 speed Kingston 2GB cards)
Hope it helps...
Conan
Lost_luggage34
24th Jun 2005, 06:49
May also be worth checking in BIOS that Enhanced USB is enabled in addition to Legacy USB.
Just a thought, as if the hardware is relatively new (2 years ?) it should almost certainly support USB2.0
I have a Canon Powershot G2 which I bought about 3 years ago. I download using Canon's Zoombrowser - it's not a speedy process, but I put that down to the size of the images to be downloaded [I don't know a huge amount about the subject!]. I recently bought a 1Gb CF card and was staggered to find that I have the capacity to take over 800 shots at the best resolution, and 7500 [yes, 7500] at lowest!
I guess to optimise performance you need to download all the manufacturers 'fixes' and 'updates'. That probably means changing hardware as well. It depends on whether you can justify the cost against the increased performance...
SilentlyScreaming
24th Jun 2005, 11:58
Best bet is get a USB2.0 card reader
Agreed, that way you don't need to cart around different leads for different cameras as well, as modern card readers take almost all forms of card - SD/MMC/XD/Flash/MS Pro etc., and problems like camera's xfer speed, and ugly proprietary (sp?) software are cirumvented.
SilentlyScreaming
27th Jun 2005, 09:40
Meant to say, to answer original post's title, IF the memory card appears as an extra drive in Windows Explorer, when plugged in via the camera, then HDTach (http://www.majorgeeks.com/HDTach_d672.html) would be able to measure the read/write speeds. If you do get a memory card reader, you could then repeat the HDTach tests, and see if either read/write average throughputs/max. burst rate, and access times improve. If you do carry out write tests, make sure you have emtpied the card of any photos first :>
None of the above
28th Jun 2005, 05:50
Thanks for your responses, Gentleman.
Conan.............
I don't think that the camera is at fault but my system has undergone an upgrade which has confused the issue.
My old motherboard had USB 1 ports and a couple of weeks before I changed it, I bought a USB 2.0 card which didn't bring any improvement in transfer speeds. Every time I connected a peripheral, a message was generated informing me that I could attain higher speeds by connecting to a USB 2 port............. which is exactly what I thought I had done.
Anyway, I went ahead with the planned upgrade last week, transferring the USB card to the new set up, but without any improvement in the situation. After much Googling I stumbled across this site:
http://forums.viaarena.com/messageview.aspx?catid=16&threadid=65851&enterthread=y
When I have summoned up the necessary strength, I shall wrap a towel around my head and see if the procedure outlined comes up with the goods. Watch and pray.
Thanks, one and all.
N o t a