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Firewire 800
- Thread starter Sannekita
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Generally speaking...the same things that use Firewire 400. In other words...external hard drives. I think some professional video cameras use firewire, too. I have a Firewire 800 cable connected to my Mybook HD so it transfer data a little faster. You don't see 800 as much because most PC manufacturers don't include it.
My 500 GB LaCie D2 Quadra (external HDD; mine contains a Samsung HD501J). The availability of FW800 on it was a significant factor in that purchase. And fwiw, the transfer rate is fine.
I wish more HDD manufacturers included FW800 as an interface but it seems to add a premium to the cost.
I wish more HDD manufacturers included FW800 as an interface but it seems to add a premium to the cost.
Lots of things use it, but a lot of the time it does cost extra, ie the entry level models don't. External hard drives and so on.
The reason for FW to be rarer is that FW connectors are relatively expensive to produce compared to USB. This is because on USB the data transfer is handled by the processor. This is cheap and all but that means that as soon as you start doing other tasks the data transfer rate drops. However FW stays virtually constant (often will drop as processor intensive tasks and hard drive speed tend to go hand in hand, ie the hard drive will have to speed up and then the FW won't be able to read/write so quickly). This means that although FW 400 has a lower peak transfer than USB2(400Mb/s vs 480Mb/s) in the real world it is quicker. And obviously FW800 is quicker still. NB Mb/s NOT MB/s-Mb=Megabit rather than Megabyte-and a megabit is usually 1 8th of a megabyte.
Sorry, not sure that was all relevant but it helps clear things up and justifies the use of FW800
The reason for FW to be rarer is that FW connectors are relatively expensive to produce compared to USB. This is because on USB the data transfer is handled by the processor. This is cheap and all but that means that as soon as you start doing other tasks the data transfer rate drops. However FW stays virtually constant (often will drop as processor intensive tasks and hard drive speed tend to go hand in hand, ie the hard drive will have to speed up and then the FW won't be able to read/write so quickly). This means that although FW 400 has a lower peak transfer than USB2(400Mb/s vs 480Mb/s) in the real world it is quicker. And obviously FW800 is quicker still. NB Mb/s NOT MB/s-Mb=Megabit rather than Megabyte-and a megabit is usually 1 8th of a megabyte.
Sorry, not sure that was all relevant but it helps clear things up and justifies the use of FW800
800 is good for anything from external HDDs to networking. Yes I said networking, but you don't normally use it 'cause it requires expensive infrastructure.
Lot's of higher-end external drives include 800 now because of the better sustained speeds and overall reliability.
Lot's of higher-end external drives include 800 now because of the better sustained speeds and overall reliability.
+1
I miss firewire iPods, I still have all the peripherals for those iPods, including the wall chargers that only fit FW ends. Also, to digress a bit, those iPods came (when purchasing the top-of-the-line) with complimentary docks and in-line remotes...wish they still did. I am guessing they had the foresight to convert all the iPods to USB2 because they knew the non-FW MBA was on the way. Anyways....I use a Lacie with FW800 and it is FAST.
Yeah it would be nice, but I do recall paying $600 for a 40GB photo and when they released the newer 30GB color, it was like $300 and didn't include the stuff.
And it's thinner and it does video
sometimes sacrifices are worth it although I do feel that taking all that stuff off and everything has reduced the prestigious appeal the iPod had-now they're everywhere
but if it's good for Apple in the long run then I guess it's a good thing....
I agree, I am pro thinner and pro video- I am not advocating trying to resurrect my 2G iPod :/....All I was saying is that it was nice to have FW iPods because I don't like USB, and that i REALLY miss my inline remote that was compatible from 3G all the way to the video iPod. I could just throw my iPod in my backpack and use the remote to change songs.
I use mine for professional audio recording. You have to have some serious speed to track hi-def audio to an external drive.
The next step for me is to move up to E-Sata. That'll be much nicer.
The next step for me is to move up to E-Sata. That'll be much nicer.
I have been disappointed at how few of the current external hard drives support Firewire-800. About a year ago I bought a Maxtor One-Touch 3 drive for Time Machine backups. It had two FW-800 connectors, one FW-400 and one USB. However, the newer One-Touch 4 drives have dropped FW-800 support and I can't seem to find it on any other mainstream drives.
It seems like eSATA is the way to go now for a fast drive interface. I already have an eSATA express card for my MBP and will be buying a pair of eSATA 500GB drives soon. Given this situation, I wish Apple would swap an eSATA connector into the FW-800 real estate.
It seems like eSATA is the way to go now for a fast drive interface. I already have an eSATA express card for my MBP and will be buying a pair of eSATA 500GB drives soon. Given this situation, I wish Apple would swap an eSATA connector into the FW-800 real estate.