Why is my time machine backup so slow even when directly connected with usb 3.0?

Question

On my new 15" Retina running OS 10.7.5 the backup of about 225 GB would estimate about 17 hours and then stall out around 22 GB or so.
Now it seems to hang on the setup.
I've just gone back to my old machine (late 2008 15" MBP running OS 10.7.4) to see if it would work any faster I am getting an estimate of "about a day" on about 280 GB. (Backwards compatible at USB 2.0 speeds of course).
In both instances I am directly connected via USB 3.0 to a Seagate 3TB desktop drive that I reformatted to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) right out of the box.
I bought this drive to replace my old 500 GB Time Capsule which is much too small to maintain backups for my MBP and my wife's Air. My plan was to run the initial backups hard-wired (for speed) and then attach it to a new Airport Express for subsequent backups.
No network or wireless to potentially cause this lag.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!

Answer 1

It's true. I love Google. Miss the maps on the iPhone5 for sure.
Like you say, I end up expanding all my searches in Google to give me more results within apple discussions rather than search here.
I moved the external 3 TB drive over to the Time Capsule via its USB port and it is showing up. So that's one bullet maybe dodged so far.
On a grander scale, I'm currently in the midst of trying to redo my home network and I'm in a little over my head.
I will try to explain...
My previous network ran as follows:
Time Warner cable coax ----------> their provided Motorola modem ----via ethernet---> My old 500 GB Time Capsule creating the WIFI network for my place and feeding three other old style Airport Express devices in various rooms extending the network but essentially just for AirTunes
Also, the Time Capsule ran ethernet cables to my Western Digital TV and Western Digital MyBook Live Duo 4TB drive. Both of these Western Digital devices have wifi built in but I wasn't getting the playback speeds I was expecting so I hardwired them with ethernet for faster service which has been working for a while.
NOW.....
I am replacing the three old Airport Express devices with three new Airport Express devices and making one of them the Master device to create a new network (dumping the old one and trying to start fresh).
Here's my plan and what I have hooked up so far.
TWC coax ----> Motorola modem ---ethernet----> Airport Express #1 (creating WIFI network for Airport Express #2 and #3 AND ---------ethernet-------> Old 500 GB Time Machine-----ethernet #1-----> WDTV Live AND ----ethernet #2------> WD MBLD 4TB AND NOW -------USB-----> 3TB Seagate external for Time Machine drive expansion. ALSO POSSIBLY -----ethernet #3------> Apple TV 2 for the same reasons I have the WD devices hooked up via ethernet. I don't trust the wifi to be fast enough for video streaming.
Now, despite having read wikis and other explanations for Bridge mode, DHCP and NAT settings for routers (in this case, the TM) I still can't figure exactly what mode the TM should get setup with.
Also all of these devices are set up in different pockets on the same shelf so I was worried that all the WIFI signals would interfere with each other (hence all the ethernet).
My plan was to turn of the wireless in the TM and have all of these devices branch off via ethernet. Which brings me back to my uncertainty regarding whether to set the TM to Off (Bridge Mode), DHCP, or DHCP and NAT.
From what I've read I would think it should be in Bridge mode but I also read some things about how bandwidth use in bridge mode can be very high and could cause problems using the internet possibly over my overall wifi network? Although I'm not sure I'm understanding that correctly.
I apologize for my lack of understanding in setting up a complicated network. I've just been wanting to get all of this working the way I've hoped (correctly) for a long time.
Thanks in advance for any more advice!