How do i check the speed on my USB port itself?

Dark Rider

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I do not want to check the speed on a USB 3.0 flash drive or external drive. I need to know the speed of the port itself is transferring at full 3.0 capacity.

What I have is an external mechanical USB 3.0 hard drive. I know it's a 7200 rpm drive. My 3.0 USB ports on my laptop are not using the blue USB plastic to denote 3.0 speeds, they use black plastic.

Therefore I am not confidant they are running at full 3.0 speeds. I want a tool that will measure the port speeds independently of any drive or device on the USB port.

I did find this but I do not have any Advanced tab to check for or to reset the device to Super

There are four USB specs: 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, and 3.0. But to confuse things, each USB spec has more than one data rate assigned to it. Those rates are "low", "full", "high", and "super."
Therefore, benchmarking data throughput solely on speed is not necessarily conclusive as to what the actual spec being used. Thus, a USB 3.0 port may not be actually running at a "super" rating but at a "High" rating instead.
On a Windows machine, check the data rating of the USB root/hub - Goto: Device Manager --> USB Controllers --> USB Root Hub (Right Click) --> Properties --> Advanced (Tab).
It should tell you the data rating for the USB hub/port. Once you know that, you'll know the maximum throughput from the computer's POV.
Low = 1.5 Mbps Full = 12 Mbps High = 480 Mbps Super = 5 Gbps
windows - Verifying USB connection speed (USB 3 or USB 2?) - Super User

Here is what the listing looks like in device manager Under the two 3.0 USB hubs at the top, there is no advanced tab.

device manager.PNG

Ideas?
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64 bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion G7-2251dx
    CPU
    AMD A-8 4500M
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    8 Gigabytes DDR3 sdram
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    Discrete ATI Radeon HD 7640G with 2 Gigs
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    Hard Drives
    500 gig
    Internet Speed
    3.5 mb/sec
As my understanding, whether it's a usb 2.0/3.0 usb stick or 2.0/3.0 usb port the speeds are predefined and the same. It's the actual connection type and not the device itself.


  • USB 1.1 = 12 Mbit/s
  • Firefire 400 = 400 Mbit/s
  • USB 2.0 = 480 Mbit/s
  • FireWire 800 = 800 Mbit/s
  • USB 3.0 = 5 Gbit/s
  • eSATA = Up to 6 Gbit/s right now as it depend on the internal SATA chip.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X 4 965 BE
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-MA790X-DS4
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    G-Skill 8 GB PC 8500
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    Mouse
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Right.. but I need to verify it. I added info to the post above you may have missed.. I was still editing the post. This may change your answer. Thanks..
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64 bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion G7-2251dx
    CPU
    AMD A-8 4500M
    Memory
    8 Gigabytes DDR3 sdram
    Graphics Card(s)
    Discrete ATI Radeon HD 7640G with 2 Gigs
    Sound Card
    IDT Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900
    Hard Drives
    500 gig
    Internet Speed
    3.5 mb/sec
You wanting to verify the settings of those ports with in your system? If so, that's done in the BIOS. You'll just have to check your BIOS settings and consult your mobo manual to find out where those settings are.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X 4 965 BE
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-MA790X-DS4
    Memory
    G-Skill 8 GB PC 8500
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD XFX HD Radeon 6790D
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2l Samsung SyncMaster S20B300
    Screen Resolution
    1600 X 900
    Hard Drives
    Seagate Barracuda 320 GB w/OS
    Seagate Barracuda 1 TB data storage
    PSU
    Ultra X4 750 watt fully modular
    Case
    Thermaltake OverSeer RX 1 fulltower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper212 120mm
    Keyboard
    Logitech G510
    Mouse
    Razor DeathAdder 3.5
You wanting to verify the settings of those ports with in your system? If so, that's done in the BIOS. You'll just have to check your BIOS settings and consult your mobo manual to find out where those settings are.

I think what Dark Rider is saying is that the usb socket on his laptop is not Blue like it should be, so he would like to plug a usb 3 device into and use some software to tell him if the socket is actually transferring at usb3 speeds.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win8.1.1 enterprise
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    PC/Desktop
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    Hinze57
    CPU
    AMD FX 6100 6core 3.30gHz
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    gigibyte ga-78lmy-s2p
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    4gig ddr3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radon hd5000 Series
    Sound Card
    onboard realtek hd
    Monitor(s) Displays
    19" viewsonic/ 22"Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    128gig ssd Kingston
    80gig WD 10000 rpm spinner
    Case
    micro
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    microsoft curve 200
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless M215
    Internet Speed
    high speed 20
    Browser
    ie 11
    Antivirus
    windows defender
    Other Info
    updated enterprise apr 2/14
If so, then PassMark USB3Test would be a good software to use to benchmark a USB 3.0 drive with.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
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    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
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    Internet Explorer 11
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    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
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    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
If so, then PassMark USB3Test would be a good software to use to benchmark a USB 3.0 drive with.


Edit:

I tried it.. it told me it could not find any passmark USB devices. Seems I need to find a way for it to see my USB ports/drives or i'll have to have another solution.

Er.. I do not have a loopback plug device to hook to the system if thats what it's looking for. Seems the docs about that app and it's being intertwined with the loopback device and drivers are very scarce on usable info. it's very confusing.

Edit # 2

Oh yeah Brink.. thats not gonna work.. the device they want you to use with the software you suggest is 120 dollars LOL PassMark Software - USB 3.0 Loopback Plugs and USB Test Software

Looks like the passmark Usb3test is not good for anybody unless your a repair shop that has to troubleshoot lots of USB ports LOL

Got any other.. er.. lets say, free options? LOL
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64 bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion G7-2251dx
    CPU
    AMD A-8 4500M
    Memory
    8 Gigabytes DDR3 sdram
    Graphics Card(s)
    Discrete ATI Radeon HD 7640G with 2 Gigs
    Sound Card
    IDT Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900
    Hard Drives
    500 gig
    Internet Speed
    3.5 mb/sec
Oops, missed that tiny little detail. Sorry. :eek:

You should be able to pretty much use any hard drive benching software to also test the read/write speeds of a USB drive as well to get a benchmark for it.

HD Tune (free trial)

Crystal Disk Mark (free)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
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