FireWire 800 or Time Capsule.

[Mick B]

Need some advice guys so I dont waste my hard earned cash

Was looking around the Apple stand at a local electrical store today and noticed some good deals on external drives.

The problem I have is the Apple tech though nice was pushing me towards a time capsule for my back ups (DSLR Pics,Music,Video etc) at a cost of 199 english pounds. I said I would look around the store first.Whilst I was doing this I noticed a Iomega Ultra Max 1TB external firewire 800 drive already set up for Mac and only £159 .I thought I will have a think but the Apple tech said though a bigger drive it wont be seamless connectivity as the TC would be.

I thought Firewire was the better connection ?

What is my best options guys as I am only 6 months into the Mac from a PC so all advice accepted.

 

[Sigur]

Need some advice guys so I dont waste my hard earned cash

Was looking around the Apple stand at a local electrical store today and noticed some good deals on external drives.

The problem I have is the Apple tech though nice was pushing me towards a time capsule for my back ups (DSLR Pics,Music,Video etc) at a cost of 199 english pounds. I said I would look around the store first.Whilst I was doing this I noticed a Iomega 1TB external firewire 800 drive already set up for Mac and only £159 .I thought I will have a think but the Apple tech said though a bigger drive it wont be seamless connectivity as the TC would be.

I thought Firewire was the better connection ?

What is my best options guys as I am only 6 months into the Mac from a PC so all advice accepted.

I would get the Iomega. It is bigger and Firewire.

 

[aaquib]

If you're interested in the wireless back up features, you can always connect the 1TB drive to an Airport Extreme and have more space, the speed of firewire, and the convenience of wireless backups.

 

[claimed4all]

Depends if you are on a desktop or laptop and in the need of a nice wireless router.

If you were on a desktop and had no need for a wireless router, I would go with the External Harddrive.

 

[Mick B]

Depends if you are on a desktop or laptop and in the need of a nice wireless router.

If you were on a desktop and had no need for a wireless router, I would go with the External Harddrive.

Yep its a desktop and my router appears to be ok up to now (tempting fate).

 

[kastenbrust]

I thought I will have a think but the Apple tech said though a bigger drive it wont be seamless connectivity as the TC would be.

Thats total BS, The Apple Tech obviously hasn't used an External Hard Drive other than a TC.

I would like to point out, if you want a wireless router and a network hard drive to attach to it, so you can back up wirelessly, there are cheaper, and simpler options than a Time Capsule. As much as i hate to say this PC World have some cheap network hard drives that plug into any router using LAN like your PC does and allow themselves to be accesed wirelessly as well as by USB or both at the same time. (im talking £50 and less).

 

[ChrisA]

Get the TC only if you prefer a wireless connection possibly because your computer is a notebook and you also need a router or if the disk needs to be shared by several computers

If you don't need a router or wireless then the wired FW800 drive is better.

Here in California, I just out a bare 1TB disk for $100. Watch the prices. Likely the Apple store is not the best place to buy an External disk drive.

 

[emt1]

TC is very sluggish. The only benefit is wireless connectivity.

 

[old-wiz]

TC is more expensive than firewire as well.

 

[Mick B]

Get the TC only if you prefer a wireless connection possibly because your computer is a notebook and you also need a router or if the disk needs to be shared by several computers

If you don't need a router or wireless then the wired FW800 drive is better.

Here in California, I just out a bare 1TB disk for $100. Watch the prices. Likely the Apple store is not the best place to buy an External disk drive.

Hi thanks for all the advice.
I have Wi Fi already and mainly need the disk for back up. With been new to the Mac way of life I wasn't sure what was my best options.By this thread it appears there are no negatives for going for the FireWire 800 drive

 

[Batt]

I use a TC at home and a Firewire 400 Seagate external at work. While both work seamlessly - the TC wirelessly and the Seagate wired - the firewire is much, much faster.

 

[sickmacdoc]

Hi thanks for all the advice.
I have Wi Fi already and mainly need the disk for back up. With been new to the Mac way of life I wasn't sure what was my best options.By this thread it appears there are no negatives for going for the FireWire 800 drive

I agree and would add that probably the only selling point for a TC in your situation would be if you intend to add additional Macs to your hardware. In that case the TC (or an Airport Extreme with an attached HD) would make backing up multiple machines a simple matter (but slow!).

If that is not the case, definitely get the FW800 drive and enjoy the huge speed difference!

 

[Mick B]

If you're interested in the wireless back up features, you can always connect the 1TB drive to an Airport Extreme and have more space, the speed of firewire, and the convenience of wireless backups.

Ok I have purchased the drive and my 380 gig of stuff backed up very quickly over firewire 800. If I add this to a airport extreme to make it a network drive isnt that connected by a usb thus making buying a firewire hardrive pointless ?

 

[Mick B]

Ok I have purchased the drive and my 380 gig of stuff backed up very quickly over firewire 800. If I add this to a airport extreme to make it a network drive isnt that connected by a usb thus making buying a firewire hardrive pointless ?

Anyone any ideas ?

 

[madog]

Whilst I was doing this I noticed a Iomega Ultra Max 1TB external firewire 800 drive already set up for Mac .

You can purchase any drive as long as it can interface with your machine whether it be through USB or FW. Most FW drives are going to be setup for Mac as very few PC's come with FW.

After that, any drive therein can be formatted through Disk Utility to work only under Win (NTFS), Mac (HFS), or both (FAT).

 

[Mick B]

I now have the drive working fine but what I was asking was about attaching it to a airport extreme. As I undrerstand if I do this it will become a network drive like a time capsule ? The only problem then is with the connection been via USB it was pointless buying a FireWire 800 drive. Very happy with the FW800 speed as it is but looking at all options.

 

[sickmacdoc]

I now have the drive working fine but what I was asking was about attaching it to a airport extreme. As I undrerstand if I do this it will become a network drive like a time capsule ? The only problem then is with the connection been via USB it was pointless buying a FireWire 800 drive. Very happy with the FW800 speed as it is but looking at all options.

OK when used that way, yes the FW will not be of any advantage over a straight USB drive. However keep in mind that it is a limitation of the wireless connection speed itself. Even if there were a FW connection on the Airport Extreme you would not experience the benefits of FW interface speed- you would be at the mercy of the wireless transfer rate.

Another simpler way to put it is that the FW speed advantage only applies to direct connected drives, not wirelessly connected ones.

 

[Mick B]

OK when used that way, yes the FW will not be of any advantage over a straight USB drive. However keep in mind that it is a limitation of the wireless connection speed itself. Even if there were a FW connection on the Airport Extreme you would not experience the benefits of FW interface speed- you would be at the mercy of the wireless transfer rate.

Another simpler way to put it is that the FW speed advantage only applies to direct connected drives, not wirelessly connected ones.

Thank you that clears everything up. I will just leave the drive as I intended with the FW 800 connection and benefit from the faster speeds.