As promised, in addition to the info I posted above, here are the results of some speed tests:
My "early 2010" MacBook Pro 17" (2.66 GHz i7, 8GB RAM) does
not have a Thunderbolt port.
Instead of T-Bolt, I've added a Sonnet eSATA-3 dual port ExpressCard34 adapter. I also replaced the internal DVD drive with a Seagate SATA-2 750GB 7200rpm 2.5" HDD. The 2nd internal HDD is connected to the MBP's internal SATA-2 interface.
I have a OCZ Vertex-3 240GB SATA-3 SSD drive, or as John Brawley affectionately refers to it, the SSD drive of death.
JB has had something like 6 of these drives fail on him, which I wish I'd known before I bought one. So, buyer beware. YMMV.
I recorded 25 min. of uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2 1080p25 PAL video onto the SSD using my Hyperdeck Shuttle v.1. The resulting Quicktime ".mov" file is 213GB. Alternatively, about
2-hours of ProRes 422 HQ recorded using a BMCC would result in a similar ~213GB size QT file.
When I insert the SSD into the external enclosure (OWC Mercury Elite Mini, which includes a eSATA-2 port), the 213GB file on the SSD can be copied to the 2nd internal HDD in my MBP in 45 minutes.
When I run BMD's Disk Speed Test against the SSD (with the 213GB on the SSD, so it's almost full), the result is 100 MB/s write, and 180 MB/s read. If I delete the 213GB file so the SSD is empty and run the speed test again, the result is the same.
Before I deleted the 213GB file from the SSD, I also timed how long it took to copy it to a Seagate 3TB SATA-3 7200rpm HDD in another external enclosure. The 3TB drive is connected to the Sonnet adapter card via eSATA-3, so the 3TB drive is capable of the same max. SATA-3 speed as the card. However, because my SSD drive is in an enclosure with a eSATA-2 interface, the time to copy from SSD to external 3TB HDD is the same: 45 min. Again, the limiting factor is the eSATA-2 interface.
I ran the BMD Disk Speed Test against the 3TB HDD. When the 3TB HDD was empty, the results were: 105 MB/s write, and 188 MB/s read. I have 3 of these 3TB drives, and 2 of them are 1/2 full. The speed test results for the 1/2 full drives is only slightly slower: 103 MB/s write, and 178 MB/s read.
I ran the disk speed test against the 2nd internal HDD in my MBP. This drive is currently about 2/3 full. The results are: 88 MB/s write, and 92 MB/s read.
One last test: I ran the BMD disk speed test against the SSD drive in the 2.5" external enclosure, but this time, instead of connecting it via the enclosure's eSATA-2 port, I connected it to my MBP via its FW800 port. The results are: 76 MB/s write, and 81 MB/s read.
The above is just a sampling of real-world results using a 2 yr. old laptop computer with some new, but not state-of-the-art, storage systems.
Based on what other users have reported, you can expect far faster speeds using a Thunderbolt-equipped computer with T-Bolt peripherals. eSATA-3 is slightly faster than USB-3 (and much faster than FW800), but T-Bolt is 3-5 faster than eSATA-3. Of course YMMV depending on the particular combination of hardware & software (& drivers) installed.
Cheers.