use both usb and firewire on ext. HDD

[bearbo]

i have a seagate external hdd with both firewire and usb port, is it possible for me to connect both firewire and usb port to my mbp, is it gonna be faster at all? Thanks,

 

[eenu]

i have a seagate external hdd with both firewire and usb port, is it possible for me to connect both firewire and usb port to my mbp, is it gonna be faster at all? Thanks,

I believe the ports are their so you can connect it to either USB or Firewire not both.

 

[Josias]

I think you will be able to connect to the HDD via two plugs, yet I don't think it will make any difference. And no, neither will you get faster speed. I would recommend connecting via FireWire400, if the HDD supports it, go for FW800.😉

Though USB 2.0 goes up to 480mbps, and FireWire400 goes up to 400mbps, FireWire is more stable, and USB dosn't always run at 480mbps. And, you'll save a USB port.😉 FW FTW! (FireWire For The Win!😀 )

 

[MRU]

Yep FW 400 is far better than USB2

Firewire 400 is less cpu intensive surprisingly and it has sustained rate of transfer far excelling that of USB 2.0

 

[CANEHDN]

Much agreed. You won't get any speed increase. But definitely use Firewire. You will get a more constant transfer rate than with USB 2.

 

[thatguyjim]

What about E-Sata

Yeah FW 400 is the better choice of the two there, but there are faster interfaces than that as well! I have been thinking about getting the Vantech external drive enclosure with a 400 Gb drive, that has both USB2 and SATA connectors. It is my understanding that the E-Sata connection would give an even higher throughput than even FireWire 800 would. At 1.5 or 3.0GBS the SATA seemingly leaves FW 800 in the dust, but while E-SATA ports are appearing on other systems, I dunno if I'll be able to interface it with a MacBook. I think the MacBook has a SATA drive, so does anybody know if there is a way to tap into that so as to get/make an external E-SATA port?

 

[Ozamandiz]

Most of the comments about Firewire ports are correct, but the speed is directly dependent on the external device's 1394 chipset. Oxford chipsets are generally considered the best and provide nearly full speed data transfers, but lesser quality chipsets can reduce the speed to 1/2 or 1/3 of the maximum speed. OCW units (www.macsales.com) use quality chipsets that provide the highest speed. P.S. I don't work for them!

You can interface E-SATA drives to the Mac Book Pro by using a PCI Express card with an eSata interface. They are available for about $120. from firmtek. Go to http://firmtek.stores.yahoo.net. I don't believe the Mac Book has such a slot so you're out of luck unless you want to perform major surgery.

 

[slackersonly]

I got the OWC external case with Oxford chipset. FW400 connection.
I am very pleased with the transfer rate.