[geeks] Q about USB 3.0 vs Thunderbolt interface on Mac Mini

[Lionel Peterson]

Hello all,

Yesterday I was at my local big box retailer looking for an external drive for
my Mac Mini. Being a fairly recent model it has both USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt
interfaces, but I wasn't sure if there was an actual benefit to having a
spinning HD on the faster Thunderbolt interface - thoughts?

I have no need for 'exceptional' speed, but when I looked at the transfer
specs on the two interfaces both seemed to be much faster than the actual data
transfer speed of the SATA interface, which itself is much faster than a
single HD spindle can throw data out of the disc platter.

I was only looking for a single-drive device, so would there have been any
benefit to spending significantly more on a thunderbolt interface expansion
drive or was I correct in getting a USB 3.0 drive and expecting similar
real-world performance?

This post [0] confirms my suspicions, but I'm curious about your thoughts on
this...

Thanks,

Lionel