External Superdrive for iBook: USB vs. FW? Pros/Cons

[kafkasyrup]

Hello all,

I did a quick search in the PPC Macs forum/archive before deciding to post, but couldn't find a whole lot. Nonetheless, I hope I'm not re-beating a dead horse.

A swap-out of my late iBook's dying and noisy combo drive for a superdrive taken from an '06 G4 Powerbook seems to be too much of a challenge for my "duct tape and extra parts are a good thing" approach to repair work. So, I intend to use the SD externally for now.

Can anyone offer insights/advice/resources into the pros/cons of USB vs. Firewire connections?

Thanks

 

[MisterKeeks]

I would go with Firewire if at all possible- it's much faster.

 

[jbarley]

i would go with firewire if at all possible- it's much faster.

+1

 

[mike457]

I have tried both, and I don't really think you're going to find the difference that noticeable, assuming you have USB2. If you're playing videos, you won't see any difference at all. If you're copying files or burning disks, you'll find firewire somewhat faster, but not so much so that it's worth a large cash difference.

 

[MisterKeeks]

There actually is fair amount of difference, I would go with FW.

 

[California]

Firewire but unless you have the final revision iBook, you do not have USB 2.0.

Also, swapping out the hard drive while you are putting in a new optical drive on an iBook makes the pain worthwhile.

P.S. An egg carton is what you use for screws when taking apart an iBook. You just put the screws for each section in the egg carton in order and reverse on the way back.