Is there any advantage to USB 3.0 on an external DVD writer?

Question

Given that many external DVD writers max out at 8x for read and write, and that even a 16x would require a throughput of at most 22 MB/s (which is below the low end of observed throughput for USB 2.0, which is 25 MB/s according to Wikipedia), is there any practical advantage to having an external DVD writer that supports and is connected via USB 3.0 over USB 2.0? Power? Bandwidth saturation due to multiple devices?

Solution

Short answer : No, unless you are using a high-quality BluRay writer.

A DVD writer at 8x means a max theoretical speed of 8 X 4.5 MB/s which equates to 36 MB/s. USB2 has a real world speed of around 35 to 40 MB/s, therefore is good enough for these drives.

However, for BluRay writers at 12x or 16x, this means a theoretical speed of 54 or 72 MB/s, which is more than USB 2 can handle.

Another difference is power usage, where USB2 can do up to 500 mA, while USB3 can do up to 900 mA. USB2 power may be a limiting consideration when buying a DVD writer.

But I'm not sure that the difference in real world speed in using a 12x/16x drive via USB2 vs USB3 is worth the price difference, especially if you are not planning on using BluRay.