TimeMachine HD - Firewire 800 or Thunderbolt

[ShockTroop]

I need to upgrade my TimeMachine HD and I am torn between which interface to use. I am currently looking at the following Lacie drives:

https://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?id=10628
or
https://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?id=10554

I have done a lot of reading and I am confused. I know FireWire 800 is faster than my USB 2.0, but I have seen people making comments that you won't see a huge speed increase with these types of drives using Thunderbolt. Both drives have USB 3.0, which will surly be part of my next iMac. Does the Thunderbolt option, which carries a larger price tag worth it?

Thanks!

 

[matreya]

Both drives have USB 3.0, which will surely be part of my next iMac. Does the Thunderbolt option, which carries a larger price tag worth it?

Personallly, I find the stability of Thunderbolt to be superior to USB3, and I have to date 5 thunderbolt-enabled enclosures, all of which work superbly and daisy-chained.

The other thing I don't like about USB3 is the use of the micro-USB3 connectors on some hard drives (most notably WD, Seagate and Lacie) which aren't very robust.

 

[ShockTroop]

Personallly, I find the stability of Thunderbolt to be superior to USB3, and I have to date 5 thunderbolt-enabled enclosures, all of which work superbly and daisy-chained.

The other thing I don't like about USB3 is the use of the micro-USB3 connectors on some hard drives (most notably WD, Seagate and Lacie) which aren't very robust.

Thanks!

Is Lacie still a good drive? I've used them in the past. Do you have any recommendations for an entry level Thunderbolt drive?

 

[matreya]

Is Lacie still a good drive? I've used them in the past. Do you have any recommendations for an entry level Thunderbolt drive?

Lacie is owned by Seagate, so you get a Seagate drive inside the Lacie case.

The Lacie is the only one I know of that is a single hard drive with dual thunderbolt ports (allowing for daisy chaining).

It should do the job of time machine backup admirably.

 

[Neodym]

Do you have any recommendations for an entry level Thunderbolt drive?

Take a look at WD MyBook Thunderbolt. It's admittedly a dual drive box, but it is quiet (no fan -> convection cooled), reliable(!) and offers a good price/performance ratio. Comes in sizes from 4 TB up to 12 TB (counting both drives) and a Thunderbolt cable included in the box.