Does this Seagate HDrive have Firewire 800?

[Dal123]

After a good external hard-drive, want 1TB, and as fast as possible, budget up to £150. Noticed this Seagate HD http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/pi/36-1141540/Hard-Drives/Seagate-FreeAgent-for-MAC-1TB-USB2.0-Firewire-7200rpm-Product-Info states that it has firewire; does not say 400 or 800, I'm hoping it does not go through usb (Which I think it does).
Google image search shows that I do not have esata plugs on my powerbook 17 inch 1.33GHz power PC G4.
Any input would be appreciated as I want to buy once and buy a good one.

 

[spinnerlys]

According to the image on that shop site, it's this drive.

According to features, it should be this drive, which only has FW400.

Take a look at this HDD, as it offers FW800, USB and eSATA.
I can vouch for it, we have a dozen of them at work, and none have physically failed yet, even with abuse.

Also have a look here: http://guides.macrumors.com/External_Hard_Drives and www.everymac.com for the specifications of different Macs

 

[Dal123]

Spinnerlys, I can't thank you enough .
I nearly impulsively clicked buy. So glad I just quickly popped question. Thanks for taking the time to note the errors and thank-you very much for recommending me your drive. I will be buying your recommendation.
Thanks again

 

[hAkron]

Firewire 800/400/USB2 External Drive

This is what I use to backup my Mini and MBP
http://go.iomega.com/en-us/products...ies-mac-edition/ego-rubyred-mac/?partner=4760
It is a 1TB External Drive with FW800, FW 400, and USB 2.0
I found it on sale at Best Buy for $115 a few months ago. It also included a Firewire 800, Firewire 400 and USB Cable in the box. I was hoping the enclosure would be easy to open so that I could swap in a bigger drive later on, or use it to put my system drive in when I am re-imaging my MBP, but from what I can tell there isn't a way to open it up with out risking breaking it.

 

[telecomm]

A
Take a look at this HDD, as it offers FW800, USB and eSATA.
I can vouch for it, we have a dozen of them at work, and none have physically failed yet, even with abuse.

If you do go with a Western Digital Studio drive, don't get the new ones (without eSATA, and with an LCD display on the front). They come with a disk image that auto mounts when you connect the drive, and which can't be removed (it's in the drive firmware, so even reformatting the drive doesn't remove it).

Just google "SmartWare" (or "StupidWare", as it's come to be called) to see what I mean...

Oh, and there's a firmware update that removes the auto mounting... for every drive except the Studio (Elite, Essential). I was happy with my WD Studio with eSATA, but the new one is ruined by SmartWare.

 

[Dal123]

If you do go with a Western Digital Studio drive, don't get the new ones (without eSATA, and with an LCD display on the front). They come with a disk image that auto mounts when you connect the drive, and which can't be removed (it's in the drive firmware, so even reformatting the drive doesn't remove it).

Just google "SmartWare" (or "StupidWare", as it's come to be called) to see what I mean...

Oh, and there's a firmware update that removes the auto mounting... for every drive except the Studio (Elite, Essential). I was happy with my WD Studio with eSATA, but the new one is ruined by SmartWare.

Thanks very much for that, I've just noticed that USB 2 connection is quicker than Firewire 400. It says that it has Firewire 800, but actually it is Firewire 800 down to 400 . Also I'm using mac os x 10.4.11 and it looks like it needs 10.8 . This is where I found info http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/sol/shop/technology/computing/113829851_western_digital_1tb_mybook2_studio_edition_external_hard_drive.html?hnav=4294960198

 

[spinnerlys]

Thanks very much for that, I've just noticed that USB 2 connection is quicker than Firewire 400. It says that it has Firewire 800, but actually it is Firewire 800 down to 400 . Also I'm using mac os x 10.4.11 and it looks like it needs 10.8 . This is where I found info http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/sol/shop/technology/computing/113829851_western_digital_1tb_mybook2_studio_edition_external_hard_drive.html?hnav=4294960198

USB 2.0 will give you around 35MB/s on newer Intel Macs, but as you have an older one, you might get less, maybe around 25MB/s.
Firewire 400 will give you 30 to 40 MB/s, regardless of what Mac and Mac OS X version.
Firewire 800 will give you up to 65MB/s, but some Macs don't seem to be capable of providing that via the Firewire 800 port (I'm looking at you Mac Pro 1,1).

The HDD you linked to has two FW800 ports, one smaller USB 2.0 port and an e-SATA port.

To gain FW800 speeds you have to have a Mac with Firewire 800.

And as I wrote before, I have several of these at work and two at home, and they can deliver 65MB/s via Firewire 800.

Btw, there is also a FW800 to FW400 (9-pin to 6-pin) cable included in the box.

And Mac OS X 10.8 is still three to five years away. It will work with Mac OS X 10.4.11, I have a Power Mac with that OS and FW800 works there too.

 

[Dal123]

Thanks spinnerlys, I'm buying it now .