Question about USB 2.0 external hard drives

[mackmack1]

I am thinking about storing all my roms/emulators on an external hard drive.  My mobo only supports USB 2.0.  I am running windows 7 64-bit, duo core 3.3, 4gb ram, gtx 560ti.  Will I take a performance hit accessing everything over usb 2.0?  about how bad would it be compared to getting a sata drive?

I did a search but the posts on here I found weren't specific about using usb 2.0 vs usb 3.0 which is a huge difference.   I have spent a lot of money to build the cab, build the computer, and working on getting all the software so I would rather not ruin it all.   Just wondering if anyone else out there uses an external usb 2.0 drive for everything and how it works for them.  Thank you.

[keilmillerjr]

I believe mame loads the rom file into your system ram. A faster disk could possibly make this process quicker, but most file files are tiny anyways.

I assume Mame would read CHD's like a normal hard drive. Is usb 2.0 fast enough to keep up with normal read times of the emulating machine? Probably. My mid 2011 27" imac didn't come with usb 3.0, though it came with thunderbolt.

Correct me anyone if my assumptions are wrong. They are not facts (that I know of).

[mackmack1]

Thanks for the reply.  I am using hyperspin front end if that makes any difference.  Also, I am planning on emulated games all the way up to dreamcast and ps2.  I know my computer can handle it I just want to make sure I am not severely bottlenecking things.

Note sure how mame/hyperspin works in terms of how much it dumps to ram or how much is used directly from hd. 

[Generic Eric]

Re:
USB 2 vs USB 3.

There has been some mention of USB 3, but not much.  That is not a definitive answer, but take it for what it is worth.

Also, consider the date on the posts you did find? If they were after 2010, maybe they were USB 3.

Also, a substantial amount of people are using PCs that are refurbs, repurposed after an upgrade, curbside or dumpster PCs.  For sure, there are people using new PCs, but for a long time people were pushing the P4 cart and 2Gig of ram cart; I can't see those PCs having USB3. 

Anyway, none of that answers your question about hard drives either.