Looking to get an external HDD, but not quite sure to get a usb 2.0 or a firewire drive. What are some of the opinions of the forum? 
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USB or Firewire
- Thread starter xli_ne
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I'm considering an external HDD in order to clone my iMac's hard drive before installing Tiger. Based on the advice of others, I think I am going to get one that uses both USB 2.0, FireWire 400, and maybe FireWire 800.
http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10024
This way it won't become obsolete as soon.
http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10024
This way it won't become obsolete as soon.
Firewire absolutely.
I benchmarked the same drive on my Mini -- Firwire 400 was double the speed of the USB 2.0
I benchmarked the same drive on my Mini -- Firwire 400 was double the speed of the USB 2.0
It's a common misconception that USB 2 is the same speed as Firewire 400, this is absolutely not true for continuous data transfer.
USB 2 can only achieve 411kbps for short bursts. Firewire is the absolute best for sustained data transfer.
This is why it is such a shame that Apple decided to take the firewire cable out of the iPod package and only supply the USB 2 cable. They have effectively doubled the time it takes to fill your iPod if you have a Firewire 400 enabled Mac or PC.
USB 2 can only achieve 411kbps for short bursts. Firewire is the absolute best for sustained data transfer.
This is why it is such a shame that Apple decided to take the firewire cable out of the iPod package and only supply the USB 2 cable. They have effectively doubled the time it takes to fill your iPod if you have a Firewire 400 enabled Mac or PC.
James Philp said:
Agreed. I expect another part of the rationale (aside from cost) was the argument that most iPod users should only need to transfer their entire library once and probably wouldn't notice the difference when just adding a couple of albums. So the time increase would be a one-off performance hit.
What they forgot is some people like to optimize their iPod from time to time and completely erase and restore them and then put music back on, or fixing them if they break!Applespider said:
Curse you apple! All i hope is they don't change the connection on the bottom - as long as they don't I'm using the FW cables I have for any future iPod purchases.
James Philp said:
With all the 3rd party attachments depending on it, including the links with the car manufacturers etc, here's hoping that it will remain the same for a while.
All i can say is that there really isn't any advantage of USB over firewire. So, why not just go with firewire. Also, like people said, firewire has a higher sustained data rate. Also there is a variety or devices that are able to run off of a firewire connection alone, and do no need a power adapter. You will rarely if ever find a USB hard drive that can do this.
Actually, just thought of a better reason for getting the Firewire drive.
You can boot from a Firewire drive if you make a bootable backup. You can't boot from a USB drive.
You can boot from a Firewire drive if you make a bootable backup. You can't boot from a USB drive.
Apple took out the FW cables to save them a few pennies. Lets face it, by doing so, they could make people who want the cable go out and buy it for what is it, 20 dollars?