I have been told ethernet to a networked computer 6 feet away would be WAY faster than USB 2.0 to a Seagate FreeAgent 250GB HD. I just created two images of my HD using both. The ethernet took 2.5 hours. The USB to the HD took 31 minutes. Is USB 2.0 much faster than ethernet or do I have something wrong with my router or some other problem?
USB is the faster interface. However, where the ethernet connected HDD comes into its own is that it is accessible from ALL machines connected to that network whereas a USB connected device is only accessible to the machine that it is directly connected to (and to the rest of the network if sharing is enabled BUT only if the host computer is switched on).
4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
Graphics card(s)
MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
Monitor(s) Displays
ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
Screen Resolution
1440x900
Hard Drives
OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
Thanks guys. I thought I had a problem. That does explain what happened. Sound like on a home network....my little Seagate 250GB USB HD will be just fine. I have only had it for 6 hours and I love it already. These are good little drives for the $$. Got mine at WalMart on sale for $67. Wish it was 7200 rpm though. Walmart.com: Seagate FreeAgent GO Portable Hard Drive, 250GB 5400RPM - Sky Blue: Computers