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It really depends on your usage and what size of the data you are backing up and how large your snapshots are.

If you use applications like entourage that create giant single db files then you might want the faster drive. Since it will need to backup more ever hour. The same thing applies to any media application dealing with large files, over 300MB or so.

For most users, firewire 400 is fine. The initial backup will be much slower, but after that its ok.

Finding an enclosure with firewire 800 isn't that hard and they aren't that much more expensive. If you aren't on a budget, just got for the best you can.
 
I use FW800 and the incremental backups are done really quickly. I just hear my HD spin up, copy some stuff, done. No noticeable drop in performance, etc. When im unarchiving files on the external TO the external, the speeds are ridiculous compared to having my internal MBP drive do it.
 
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