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Topic: USB vs. FireWire |
b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 10 Dec 2006 4:07 pm |
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| Which is better for an external hard disk, USB 2.0 or FireWire? |
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Bruce Wutzke
From:
Marion, Iowa
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Posted 10 Dec 2006 4:48 pm
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| I got the combination on mine. I asked several opinions and it seemed to be another debate. |
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Robert Leaman
From:
Murphy, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 10 Dec 2006 4:54 pm
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I run a Western Digital 160GB external HD. It has its own power supply that runs from 100-240VAC@47-63Hz. The drive came preformatted and needs a USB 2.0 connection. It works like a charm and when the 120VAC is turned on, it inserts itself into the computer drive hierarchy. I never remove the USB cable when I remove the power connection. I do NOT use any remove hardware sequence to shut it down, I pull the plug. I bought the drive at www.buy.com. Western Digital has an outstanding warranty policy and they cross-ship when a drive is in warranty. I have no firewire experience but this HD works exactly how I want. My computer has a firewire port but I never use it.
I think that WD makes a 500GB external drive. That's quite a bit of storage.
Well, since I am smart enough to know when the external HD reads/writes (it has a LED that tells me), I don't pull the plug at that time. Also, I am smart enough to know that interrupting a HD when it is active, is not supposed to be done. However, thanks for the critique.[This message was edited by Robert Leaman on 11 December 2006 at 08:12 PM.] |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 11 Dec 2006 3:03 am
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USB 2.0 and firewire are about equal. On newer PC's (e.g. Windows XP systems) USB 2.0 is the predominent interface. Firewire is not even standard or an option on many machines and if you want it you have to add a PCI card.
Also, some newer BIOS' have an option to boot from USB, but Firewire is not even a BIOS option, |
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Dave Potter
From:
Texas
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Posted 11 Dec 2006 4:47 am
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| Quote: |
| I do NOT use any remove hardware sequence to shut it down, I pull the plug. |
Hot-swapping is one of the features of the USB spec, and I routinely do it with all my USB devices EXCEPT my HD. If there's any readin' or writin' goin' on when you "pull that plug", data corruption could be the result. I simply don't see any compelling reason to chance it.
You're welcome. And, good luck.[This message was edited by Dave Potter on 12 December 2006 at 04:29 PM.] |
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Dave Potter
From:
Texas
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Posted 11 Dec 2006 5:03 am
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| Quote: |
| Which is better for an external hard disk, USB 2.0 or FireWire? |
For Mac, or PC? Firewire 400 or Firewire 800? There are some factors to consider.
Intended application also figures in - USB is designed to write to a drive in chunks, while Firewire was designed write in a constant stream, as audio or video is recorded and sent to be written to a drive. Firewire was developed specifically for audio/video applications. When recording audio, you'll get better performance from a firewire drive.
You may find other helpful info here.
Me - I've got more USB ports than Firewire ports, and I only archive to my external HD, so speed isn't as critical. I went USB 2.0.[This message was edited by Dave Potter on 11 December 2006 at 05:05 AM.] |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 11 Dec 2006 7:00 pm
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I should have mentioned that I use a Mac, I guess. I've tried to USB 2.0 external drives on two different PCs and they seem to be really slow. I was wondering if I could expect faster performance from a Firewire drive on my Mac.
------------------
 Bobby Lee
-b0b- quasar@b0b.com
System Administrator
My Blog
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basilh
From:
United Kingdom
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John Fabian
From:
Mesquite, Texas USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 15 Dec 2006 3:10 am
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I'm using several FW 400 external drives for backup and video. They work great. You just plug in the FW cord and the system sees it. When you're done simply unplug. Many external drives come with both USB 2.0 and Firewire interfaces built in so you could use either one.
BTW, my 1TB Maxtor (2 500GB drives in RA1D 0 configuration) uses FW 800 and really screams. :0
I now use it exclusively for all my video editing. |
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Joey Ace
From:
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 15 Dec 2006 7:51 am
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My Powerbook G4 can't boot from a USB drive.
I do backups by cloning my entire internal drive to an external Firewire drive. So FW is better if you want an emergency remote boot.
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 15 Dec 2006 9:23 am
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| Thanks for the input, folks. I just ordered this one from Amazon.com. Looks like a good unit. |
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