External drives

[Ifti]

I current have 2 My Passport Studio drives, both connect via FireWire800.

1TB drive - used for backup images etc
2TB drive - used with iMovie, FCP, and general scratch disk.

Would I see any benefit in selling these and replacing with USB 3.0 drives instead (Im looking to buy a new MBP with USB3) bearing my uses in mind?

 

[Ifti]

After a bit more research I understand the concept is this: usb sends info in packets, firewire is a steady stream.
Therefore I would be better with sticking to Firewire800 for my editing, and USB3.0 for just moving data between my work and home systems?

 

[marzer]

After a bit more research I understand the concept is this: usb sends info in packets, firewire is a steady stream.
Therefore I would be better with sticking to Firewire800 for my editing, and USB3.0 for just moving data between my work and home systems?

For backup/archiving photos, your current usb 2.0 drive is fine, speed wise. But for live editing you definitely should consider usb 3.0, it will be so much faster than FW800.

 

[Ifti]

For backup/archiving photos, your current usb 2.0 drive is fine, speed wise. But for live editing you definitely should consider usb 3.0, it will be so much faster than FW800.

Will I notice a difference when using as a scratch disk with iMovie/FCP though?
I currentlyhave Firewire800 drives, not USB2.
Thanks

 

[theSeb]

Will I notice a difference when using as a scratch disk with iMovie/FCP though?
I currentlyhave Firewire800 drives, not USB2.
Thanks

It depends on whether your drive is a 7200 RPM or 5400 RPM model. Do you know? If it's 5400 RPM, then you will see a minimal increase since a 5400 3.5" HDD is only barely faster than what FW800 can already provide.

 

[Ifti]

I have My Passport Studio drives - Im assuming these are probably 5400rpm?

a 1Tb and a 2TB of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005MHN5...nd=1656489571410753412&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=

 

[marzer]

Will I notice a difference when using as a scratch disk with iMovie/FCP though?
I currentlyhave Firewire800 drives, not USB2.
Thanks

Oops. Sorry. Misread the original post.

FW800 is plenty fast enough for storing backup images. For live editing, yes, I'd recommend upgrading to USB 3.0 or even Thunderbolt. Either of those interfaces will give you speeds at least as fast as an internal hard.

One thing to consider is cost/performance. Do you feel editing off the FW800 drive is too slow? Is it worth the cost of the USB 3.0 upgrade to get improved performance for those tasks?

 

[Ifti]

Oops. Sorry. Misread the original post.

FW800 is plenty fast enough for storing backup images. For live editing, yes, I'd recommend upgrading to USB 3.0 or even Thunderbolt. Either of those interfaces will give you speeds at least as fast as an internal hard.

One thing to consider is cost/performance. Do you feel editing off the FW800 drive is too slow? Is it worth the cost of the USB 3.0 upgrade to get improved performance for those tasks?

Thats a very good question. Ive not had any problems with the FW800 drives at all TBH. I may stick with them for my editing and backups etc, and replace by more 'portable' drive which is used to transfer data between work and home to USB3.....

It wouldn't be an extra cost, as the drives I have are quite new and actually are worth more then USB3 drives of the same size! However, its a bit of a hassle changing and moving my data across etc I guess......