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External HDD, USB 2.0 or Firewire?
- Thread starter rtalex
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Despite USB2 having a higher theoretical transfer rate all tests always show that Firewire 400 is faster in the real world. Given the choice I'd have Firewire every time.
I wouldn't buy a pre-assembled external drive at all. I'd pick up an enclosure and drive separately. Normally cheaper and you can choose exactly what you want.
Depends what you're backing up, if it's for time machine maybe not, as the largest backup will be the first time you use it, it is then only small updates which can be easily handled by USB2.0 in most cases, it's not like you're backing up ~100Gigs of data every time.
No, time machine requires a HFS+ partition. A partition in the same format as your main drive. But as windows can't read HFS+ you won't be able to share it. Unless you do some extra work that is.
No, time machine requires a HFS+ partition. A partition in the same format as your main drive. But as windows can't read HFS+ you won't be able to share it. Unless you do some extra work that is.
So I could create a partition on the external hard drive for Time Machine and then create a partition for swapping files back and forth from my Mac and my PC? would that work on the same external hard drive?
Jupp, that would work a charm. I would recommend a FireWire one over USB. FireWire is faster and most FireWire drives also have a USB port if your windows machine doesn't have FireWire.
(although I should probably read the entire post before commenting on this. You may already have stated a reason for chosing USB.)
Agreed! USB2 is 480Mbps but only for short bursts but FW1 is 400Mbps steady, that's why it's better.
Also, Firewire carries a good deal more power than USB, which is helpful for smaller external drives that don't have an AC adapter.
I have to recommend the lacie d2 quadra 500 Gb (usb, esata, firewire 400/800). I paid ~$179US for it on newegg a little while ago.
you've got firewire...use it! tell me, what would you use it for otherwise other than importing video from a camcorder...thats what I thought.
No point in wasting money on a USB drive when you have firewire capability. As stated earlier FW is faster, FW800 is ridiculously fast, transferring a DL DVD image in minutes.
pre-built firewire ext. hdds tend to be more expensive, so you can always go buy an external enclosure and put a HD in. I've got a 120 GB in a firewire enclosure, 3 partitions (HFS, FAT, NTFS). FAT for transferring files between partitions.
No point in wasting money on a USB drive when you have firewire capability. As stated earlier FW is faster, FW800 is ridiculously fast, transferring a DL DVD image in minutes.
pre-built firewire ext. hdds tend to be more expensive, so you can always go buy an external enclosure and put a HD in. I've got a 120 GB in a firewire enclosure, 3 partitions (HFS, FAT, NTFS). FAT for transferring files between partitions.
I have a 320gb USB 2.0 My Book WD External drive and it does exactly what I want. Do I care how fast it does my Time Machine backup? Not in the least. I got it for less than $80, it goes to sleep when my iMac does, and I am content knowing I have my HD completely backed up. Would a FW 400 or 800 do anything better? I don't know how it can.
Bob
Bob
You will find really good deals on USB drives, for a hundred bucks I got an 320 Gb USB 2.0 external drive.
Yeah, Firewire 400 is still better (Firewire will have a constant rate, while USB 2.0, who is theorically 480 Mbps, can only do it in small burst, so it became slower the bigger the transfer is), however USB drive are still cheaper.
It's up to you if you want to spend extra buck on a FireWire drive. In my opinion, if you plan this only as a backup, the difference between FW400 and USB2.0 is not worth the price difference.
Also, if you plan buying an enclosure apart from the HD, buy the enclosure First and then find a HD that is compatible. The reason I say that is because I have a 100 Gb SATA HD and I wanted to buy a FireWire Enclosure for it. I got to some shop, even Apple specialized one, and they never found a FW enclosure that was SATA.
Yeah, Firewire 400 is still better (Firewire will have a constant rate, while USB 2.0, who is theorically 480 Mbps, can only do it in small burst, so it became slower the bigger the transfer is), however USB drive are still cheaper.
It's up to you if you want to spend extra buck on a FireWire drive. In my opinion, if you plan this only as a backup, the difference between FW400 and USB2.0 is not worth the price difference.
Also, if you plan buying an enclosure apart from the HD, buy the enclosure First and then find a HD that is compatible. The reason I say that is because I have a 100 Gb SATA HD and I wanted to buy a FireWire Enclosure for it. I got to some shop, even Apple specialized one, and they never found a FW enclosure that was SATA.
There are plenty of them available on Newegg. I would also say that 98% of all the enclosures out there will work with OS X, even if they don't say that they do. Finding a 2.5" SATA FW enclosure is a little trickier than finding the 3.5" ones, but definitely not impossible either.
I've always purchase Lacie drives with both USB and Firewire. They work like a charm. In fact, I just bought a 500GB LaCie d2 Quadra Hard Drive from Amazon for $187.
I have it hooked up to a PowerMac G5 using FW 800. The reason I chose this drive was flexibility for the future. It has eSATA, FireWire 800, FireWire 400 & Hi-Speed USB 2.0. If Apple ever decides to build an eSATA port on future Mac models I won't have to go out and buy a new drive. For me, the little extra now was worth it.
http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10869
I have it hooked up to a PowerMac G5 using FW 800. The reason I chose this drive was flexibility for the future. It has eSATA, FireWire 800, FireWire 400 & Hi-Speed USB 2.0. If Apple ever decides to build an eSATA port on future Mac models I won't have to go out and buy a new drive. For me, the little extra now was worth it.
http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10869
I was looking at a Maxtor One Touch 4, which the Pro model has USB and Firewire. The reviewer below came up with better speeds using USB vs Firewire on the drive. This may be the drives fault. Despite this, I think Firewire is mainly good for people who work with large files and external drives. For the typical user who just needs to backup (like Time Machine), the cost/benefit ratio is not worth it.
http://techgage.com/article/maxtor_onetouch_4_plus_500gb_external_hard_drive/4
http://techgage.com/article/maxtor_onetouch_4_plus_500gb_external_hard_drive/4
