So which would be faster?

Hi guys,

I have always used my Mini with the internal HD as the main one. It's 5400 rpm I guess, I can't recall because it's not the original one but a 160gb one since the old one fried (it says 1.5 gigabit in the 'about this Mac' section, this is 5400rpm speed right?)

I also have an ATA external 120 7200rpm GB (bought when 120 GB was a LOT), but anyhow I just got a 1Tb 7200 SATA, just waiting for the Firewire case to arrive.

My question is, which one of these drives would I get better speeds and performance using as my main one? The Firewire400 one or the internal 5400 drive? I guess there won't be any significant difference between the ATA and SATA one because they'll be both connected via FW400 so they won't reach their full speed (I'm right on this, am I not? Not sure lol).

Thanks for any answers.

I see. Currently when I'm using my external 120gb FW400 ATA it feels faster but I don't have nearly the same menu items and extra stuff installed so it's not a fair comparison. It only has Mac OS X and my media files.

I guess it would be faster if the mini had an e-sata port since the case supports that...

Thanks for the answers. How about FW800? I'll probably upgrade my Mini when the new version arrives.

alust2013 said:

FW800 is certainly faster, although it probably still won't match the internal SATA interface.

Click to expand...

Oh damn. Changing the internal HD is like performing heart surgery (since I guess I could use a 7200rpm drive in the mini, right?).

I better wait for the new mini then, unfortunately it won't have an e-sata port I suppose since it's usually based on the lower-end macbook pros and Thunderbolt HDs/cases won't be exactly easy to find in Brazil unless you go to an Apple Store and pay triple the price you guys pay in USA