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Apple to completely do away with firewire?

TuffLuffJimmy said:
The current issue is:
Apple took FireWire out of the Macbook. This would not have been a big issue had it been replaced with USB 3.0. Since USB 3.0 does not exist, and USB 2.0 is not a replacement for anyone who needs FireWire, then the macbook is worse than the old when it comes to I/O. It really sucks that the Macbook has lower specs (other than the graphics card) than its previous iteration.
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I also agree with you on the fact that they jsut took out FW and didnt replace it with anything, it would have been much less an issue if it was replaced with something else. but seeing as there is no suitable replacement as of yet, it was a terribly stupid thing to do on apples part.
 
JamesGorman said:
i always figured FW 3200 would be faster than usb 3.0, but i also thought that usb 3.0 would be faster than at least FW 800
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USB 2.0 is rated as 480Mbps.

In actuality it gets around 200-240Mbps, or about half it's rated speed.

FW400 gets around 380Mbps which is much closer to its rated speed. Roughly, it is about twice as fast as USB 2.0.

If USB 3.0 is similar to USB 2.0 in performance, then we'll see around 2.5Gbps which is faster than FW800 at 760-780Mbps.
 
sushi said:
USB 2.0 is rated as 480Mbps.

In actuality it gets around 200-240Mbps, or about half it's rated speed.

FW400 gets around 380Mbps which is much closer to its rated speed. Roughly, it is about twice as fast as USB 2.0.

If USB 3.0 is similar to USB 2.0 in performance, then we'll see around 2.5Gbps which is faster than FW800 at 760-780Mbps.
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Yeah, thats what i had thought, and thats precisely why i started this thread lol, Theres no doubt usb 3.0 is going to be fast, but well just have to see about those sustainable transfer speeds that tuffluffjimmy is talking about. Hopefully there decent because I see myself using lots of USB perhipials, as i currently do. well just have to wait to see how it all compares when 3.0 is finally released.
 
If you type lol one more time...:rolleyes: And, it's not helpful to ask for opinions and then argue with them.

They are different systems of transferring data. USB3 will have a significantly improved burst rate, and even a higher sustained rate, but FW3200 (and in some cases FW800) will be better for applications that involve large transfers, like video. USB peripherals will still use USB3 - the two formats are not competing in the same market. No one is expecting FW keyboards and (resurrected) FW iPods.

Most peripherals don't need high sustained data transfer rates and so USB 3 is great for the backwards connectivity with older USB2 devices.
But, for serious data transfer, the strongest case can be made for using FW -- period.
 
Grimace said:
...No one is expecting FW keyboards and (resurrected) FW iPods.

Most peripherals don't need high sustained data transfer rates and so USB 3 is great for the backwards connectivity with older USB2 devices.
But, for serious data transfer, the strongest case can be made for using FW -- period.
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Then we should've continued with FW iPods if we were basing it solely on technological reasons.
 
JamesGorman said:
im not denying that right now FW is far superior to usb, but with the new release im sure they will have worked those things out. And there is no denying that if the sustained transfer speeds were good that usb 3.0 would blow FW out of the water
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Yes, but leaving out Firewire in TODAY's laptops, because USB 3.0 is coming 'soon'? By that logic, in another couple of years, when USB 4.0 is first announced, but not available yet, Apple should start eliminating USB 3.0 connections from their computers, because USB 4.0 coming 'soon'!
 
robeddie said:
Yes, but leaving out Firewire in TODAY's laptops, because USB 3.0 is coming 'soon'? By that logic, in another couple of years, when USB 4.0 is first announced, but not available yet, Apple should start eliminating USB 3.0 connections from their computers, because USB 4.0 coming 'soon'!
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Ah but then the ports would still look the same wouldn't it? USB 1.0 and 2.0 have the same physical port structure, I think 3.0 will remain the same too. Its only FW400 -> 800 that had the change.
 
darkcurse said:
Ah but then the ports would still look the same wouldn't it? USB 1.0 and 2.0 have the same physical port structure, I think 3.0 will remain the same too. Its only FW400 -> 800 that had the change.
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I believe it's backwards compatible, but I also read somewhere that USB 3.0 devices will not fit into older ports because of very small differences.
 
no doubt usb 3.0 will be fast but how much processor power will it need to transfer data, and when you look at it the only thing that usb 3.0 would be good for (if the speeds are true in real world) is transferring from ssd, esata is as fast as they can make Hard Drive why buy something new if esata does it as fast as posable all ready

i know the president of Trade association (the one's who Now kinda own firewire) and he said the only reason they are making usb 3.0 so fast, is so it is (theoretically) like 5 time faster then firewire 800 or even 3200
http://www.1394ta.org/
 
just a quick question.

how many people would sacrifice a Usb port on the macbook for a firewire port?
 
snowballer said:
just a quick question.

how many people would sacrifice a Usb port on the macbook for a firewire port?
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i would, just for the sake of having the expansion abilities, i dont use FW now but it is always an option. Bur if needed you could always buy a usb hub to have more than the one port:cool:
 
JamesGorman said:
i suppose we will just have to wait and see, as no one really knows how usb will perform under real world tasks. I guess we can all just hope for the best. Btw, how important is FW to you guys? is it a necessity in what you do?
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Very important. Not only do I have to connect to external drives for editing since Apple doesn't believe in real desktop replacement laptops with two internal drives, but some of those drives don't have a second FW port to daisy chain... another features that USB can't do, and may not do in 3.0.

I would love to have two FW800 ports, and to answer your last question, YES, I could care less about this third useless USB port on my 17"... give me another FW800 port or eSATA!

Grimace said:
Most peripherals don't need high sustained data transfer rates and so USB 3 is great for the backwards connectivity with older USB2 devices. But, for serious data transfer, the strongest case can be made for using FW -- period.
Click to expand...

NUFF said! Even the iPod won't need it since you really have to upload that first large amount of data if you have more than 20GB, after that it's little bits and pieces. Even the 1.2GB movie will only take a few minutes. But when it comes to off loading your HD scratch of 48GB then FW is the way. Or when it comes to connecting your portable rig to an AJA IOHD or XDCAM deck then you'd better be using FW, since those 50GB XDCAM discs would take FOREVER to move across USB.

I hope that FW3200 comes to fruition some time soon. USB is great for light work, but heavy movers like many of us here at MacRumors need fast transfers, and even the 3.2GB/s of eSATA is wonderful, but you have to take up that extra port to provide power to your portable drive and stick your eSATA connector in an express card slot, making your book a bit unwieldy at times.

The biggest benefit for FW3200 is just that, portable, single cable data transfers and sustained read/write speed that is daisy chain-able, backward compatible down to FW400, easily accessible, and relatively cheap. The only downside is that the cables are easy to pull out... nothing being more careful can't cure.
 
With USB, it seems like the industry is clinging to a standard that is inferiour to FW in every respect, just because they can .

As for Apple, why they abandon max compatibility and fast and reliable data transfer ports for part of their product line , is beyond me.
 
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