Download speed on usb-powered external hard drive versus flashdisk

[fierarul]

Hy,

I have an Asus WL500gp and I've noticed that the download speed on a 1GB flashdrive (Verbatim) is quite slow. It's that slow that I've stopped downloading on the router and I'm using my macmini for this.

Now, I would like to stop using the mini so I plan on buying an external hard drive.

First: does the router work with bus-powered external drives ?
Second: does the router know to spin-down the drive when it's not used (ie. put to sleep and wake up when needed) ?
Third: will the download speed be any better ?

I think the low speed was due to the flashdrive write-access. The speed is vastly greater on the macmini so it's *not* a network issue.

So, will the external hard-drive with the better write-speed improve this ? What's concerning me is that maybe the router itself has a slow CPU or some other resource that limit transmission's download speed.

[avberk]

First: does the router work with bus-powered external drives ?

Answer: mostly works ok with 2.5" usb disks, not always.

Second: does the router know to spin-down the drive when it's not used (ie. put to sleep and wake up when needed) ?
Third: will the download speed be any better ?

Answer: No, but do a search on 'hdparm' in the forum

So, will the external hard-drive with the better write-speed improve this ? What's concerning me is that maybe the router itself has a slow CPU or some other resource that limit transmission's download speed.

Answer: maximum write speed is about 2,5 MB/sec (wired)
(due yo slow cpu i assume)