USB 3.0 Laptops

[stryder256]

Can someone list all the laptops that currently feature USB 3.0? I know the ASUS N61JV-X2 has it, but based on the reviews listed on Amazon, it looks like it was very poorly manufactured.

So, that being said, is there a website listing all the laptops featuring USB 3.0?

Are there ones coming out around the corner that I should be aware of?

Thanks!
Jonathan

[MidnightSun]

Personally, I would not look for laptops based on whether or not they have USB 3.0. Why?
1.- Because the benefit of USB 3.0 (increased transfer speeds) will pretty much only make a difference for external hard drives. Many external hard drives already have the eSATA interface, a much more common port on laptops (although not on all laptops). This interface will already let you transfer data at the hard drive's maximum speed, so USB 3.0 is kind of redundant.
2.- USB 3.0 isn't supported by Intel's platform yet, so few manufacturers are producing USB 3.0 devices yet, and those who are are selling them for very inflated prices.

But that said, it's your decision.

Here's three:
Lenovo Thinkpad W510
HP Envy 15
Dell Precision M6500

[stryder256]

Thank you that really helped seal the deal for me, especially since most USB 3.0 setups are super expensive!

[wishmaster.dj]

but for the record, the Asus N series - N61jq / N71jq have usb 3.0 laptops.

[tcd]

However if you buy a laptop and intend to use it for more years then it's better to buy one with USB 3.0.

It will be very appreciated to have a list of nooteboks/netbooks that have USB 3.0 support. At least until most of the producers will have USB 3.0 in standard options.

P.S If you know about a laptop with USB 3.0 support then can you post in this thread ?

[Shwonx]

I say, if you cna't find one with USB 3.0, find one with an express slot so you can upgrade later.

If it works that way... kind of new to the hardware side of computers.

[FXi]

I agree with TCD. If you plan to keep a laptop "going" for a few years you will see a rapid changeover to USB 3. While the bandwidth won't help everything, it will help wireless wifi and cell broadband adapters, external monitor drivers, next generation videodiscs (think 4x blu ray standards) and similar kinds of bandwidth heavy devices.

Many of these same questions were asked in the early days of USB 2.0 and that, too, took a fairly short time to be in many devices. Not all devices "need" the bandwidth, and they didn't back in 2.0 days either. But standardization brings down costs and often it's just as easy to go with one standard even if you don't need all the bandwidth.

This also makes hubs more efficient too, since you can now drive multidevices off a single connection. Think "docking station" if you will where the sum of the bandwidth needs of all those devices is driveable off of a single USB 3 connection. These are not all things that are here right now, but if you are still holding the laptop you bought today two years in the future from now and still hoping to use it with current devices you purchase, you might want to think about USB 3 being everywhere by that time, printers, mice, hubs, external drives and so forth.

In my mind, at this time, I would skip USB 3 only with serious consideration as to whether I'd want an expresscard solution as my USB 3 connection to the world in a year or two. It won't be longer than that. Videocameras are also likely to use it for HD video.

[Bronsky]

The New Sager NP5125 has USB 3.0. Looks like an interesting notebook for a base price of $889. Available at the end of the month.

Bronsky

[moviemarketing]

There is a really amazing speed difference using a couple of raid0 USB 3.0 external SSD, or even single SSD in my 3.0 external dock. I haven't tried the new OCZ yet.

However when I use a 7200RPM external drive with USB 3.0, the best speeds I can get max out at around 250-300MB/s reading from my laptop writing to the drive and 130-160MB/s reading from the drive, writing to laptop. This is transfering about 10GB of ISO files with a Western Digital MyBook 3.0 drive. I believe it is 7200RPM but not certain. Transferring the exact same files with other 7200RPM external drives in a USB 3.0 dock, I can only reach transfer speeds of around 50-60MB/s (read from the drive, write to laptop) and 130-150MB/s (read from laptop, write to drive).

I would have to imagine even if you use an external SSD with USB 3.0 but your internal laptop drive is not SSD, then transfer speeds would be limited by your internal drive in a similar way (i.e., you would reach the maximum read/write speeds of your internal laptop drive).

In my case, I have to transfer huge video files around all day and saving time here enables me to move on to other projects more quickly, so it certainly has been worth it. We have had a lot of cases where we have to transfer files for a client and the transfer process takes several hours with Firewire, for example.

Also I have a Buffalo USB 3.0 12x blu-ray writer from Japan that only accesses the higher write speeds when connected via USB 3.0.

[Tommyboy1465]

If interested check out the Dell Precision M6500 which has the USB 3.0 option