USB 3.0 & the Corsair Voyager GTR: A Match Made in Heaven?

Written by: SKYMTL
Testing by: AkG


Let’s set the stage here. Back when we first reviewed the brand new Voyager GTR series, we mused that Corsair’s blazingly fast drive was being held back by its USB 2.0 interface. Since our test system hasn’t yet been upgraded to a USB 3.0 compatible motherboard, there was no real way to test out this theory. To be honest with you, at first we doubted there would be any change when using a performance-capped USB 2.0 device on a USD 3.0 interface. However, after receiving numerous emails asking for some tests to be done with this flash drive on an interface that offers higher bandwidth, we decided to take the plunge.

Instead of moving to a brand new motherboard sporting the latest interfaces, the decision was made to go with a simple yet cost-effective solution. We contacted ASUS about their U3S6 add-in card and they were more than happy to send one. This $25 ($35 in Canada) board installs into any free PCI-E x4 slot on your motherboard and offers both USB 3.0 and SATA 6 with an interface that supposedly doesn’t bottleneck either. Interestingly, you could buy almost seven U3S6 cards for the price of a single 64GB Corsair Voyager GT.

As with anyone, we’re excited about the performance that both USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps bring to the table but it’s quite apparent that it will take a while before both technologies are widely accepted. AMD’s new 800-series motherboards natively support the newest SATA as will Intel’s upcoming Sandy Bridge architecture but the general acceptance of USB 3.0 is a while away. So until that time we will need to stick with bridge chips on our motherboards or add-in cards like the U3S6 from ASUS.

Before we get to the meat of this article it’s important to remember this isn’t a review but rather a testing update so the number of tests run will be limited. You can find our full Corsair GTR review and testing setup and methodologies here. We know many of you have been eagerly anticipating the results so we may as well get on with the show.