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Buffalo claims 64% USB storage speedup

by Steve Kerrison on 4 September 2007, 13:09

Tags: TurboUSB MiniStation, TurboUSB DriveStation, Buffalo Technology

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Buffalo Technology has released two new external storage products that it reckons out-perform other USB 2.0 solutions. So what has the company done to achieve this?

The products in question are the MiniStation - a 2.5" hard drive in a portable enclosure, and the DriveStation - a 3.5" external drive. The new "TurboUSB" variants deliver better performance than their predecessors and competitors, the company claims.

The TurboUSB DriveStation comes in flavours up to 1TB in capacity and features circuitry to detect when it's plugged into a host machine, allowing it to conserve energy when it can't possibly be in use.

The drives used in the TurboUSB DriveStations are SATA, one of the reasons for Buffalo's claimed speed boost. But TurboUSB technology seems to be a performance enhancement in its own right, making the product 25% quicker than a regular SATA->USB enclosure.

The TurboUSB MiniStation is bus powered and features a wrap around cable for tidiness. Buffalo has used 5400rpm drives in the range, making them quicker than 4200rpm alternatives.

Buffalo TurboUSB MiniStation

The 2.5" TurboUSB MiniStation


The company doesn't reveal whether the 2.5" drives are SATA or PATA. Either way, they're kept inside a "floating" shock resistant case. Again, TurboUSB adds even more to the throughput, delivering a claimed 64% data rate boost over a 4200rpm solution.

Both MiniStation and DriveStation products come bundled with backup and security software.

The packeted nature of USB data transfers doesn't lend itself to sustained file read/writes. That's why the theoretically slower Firewire 400Mbps interface can out-pace a 480Mbps USB in certain file transfer scenarios.

Given that the TurboUSB products don't require special drivers, we're guessing that in addition to using the latest drives, Buffalo might be using a newer bridge chip that delivers better performance over older versions.

Whether that is actually the case remains to be seen. Somebody will have to crack one of these devices open to find out.

Get more info, including model numbers and pricing, in Buffalo's press release.



HEXUS Forums :: 4 Comments

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Not bad. But it says up to 64% MAX compared to usb 2.0. Who knows, maybe in reality it's actually just 15% overall. I'd wait until hexus get their reviews done on it b4 making a hype.
Doesn't actually sound like its anything to do with USB, unless I've read wrongly.

5400RPM drive instead of 4200RPM - doesnt mention cache.

Newer variants of drive should outperform older types too.
whats wrong with 7200rpm 2.5" drives for when you want to boast about speed?

or are they keeping that one back for the next amazing speed breakthrough claim?
LOL - indeedy :D

Going to be rivalling Sony soon for the marketing guff……..