When a package arrived from ASUS unannounced and unexpected last week, my heart skipped a beat. Tearing open the box in a gibbering frenzy, I was greeted by one of ASUS’ latest laptops — the N82.
One of the key features of the N82 — and indeed other models in the N line-up — is USB 3.0 connectivity. The N82′s support for USB 3.0 is hard to miss, given the little patch of telltale blue that peeks out at you from the side of the laptop, clamouring for attention.
I responded to its siren call, and pulled out all the stops to obtain a USB 3.0 hard disk drive so that I could put it through its paces.
Here’s what happened next.
Apart from the Blu-ray movie transfer test, I also transferred two other sets of files:
- Three hundred 4288 x 2848 JPEG photos, weighing a total of 1GB
- Ninety MP3 tracks encoded at 192kpbs, coming in at 524MB in total
The results were similarly impressive:
| USB 3.0 | USB 2.0 | |
| Blu-ray movie (30.6GB) | 5 mins 37 secs | 17 mins 57 secs |
| 300 JPEG photos (1GB) | 15 secs | 42 secs |
| 90 MP3 tracks (524MB) | 8 secs | 20 secs |
The difference in transfer speeds between USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 was simply quite staggering, enough to convince me that purchasing a new laptop just for USB 3.0 support was a worthy enough reason in itself.
So if you’re a multimedia aficionado, or dabble heavily in storage-intensive activities such as video production, a USB 3.0-equipped laptop like the N82 is an absolute must-have.
Moebius
Moebius has worked in the technology industry for over 7 years, and has spent time (or done time, as he prefers to call it) in some of the world’s largest PR and ad agencies, serving blue chip tech clients. He loves writing for Tech in Style because it puts him in close touch with gadgets that he cannot afford. When not salivating over the latest hardware, Moebius spends an inordinate amount of time gaming on the PC, Xbox 360 and Wii — much to his wife and son’s chagrin. He also dabbles in home music recording and videography.