External drives - USB2 or Firewire?

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  • Simon Preston
    Gold Gabber
    • Jun 2004
    • 845
    #1

    External drives - USB2 or Firewire?

    I'm down to 6gigs left on my 320GB harddisc (whoops!) - I do actually have a spare 160gig just lying around but I want to get myself an external 300-400GB one to stick all my ableton stuff and mixes on. Is there actually any difference in getting a USB2 one or a Firewire one? Which would use less CPU time? I've never used Firewire before.
    http://soundcloud.com/simonpreston/simon-preston-summer-2011
    Tags: None
    • Kamal
      Administrator
      • May 2002
      • 28835
      #2
      Re: External drives - USB2 or Firewire?

      USB - Firewire never really caught on as quick, plus speeds are nearly identical
      www.mjwebhosting.com

      Jib says:
      he isnt worth the water that splashes up into your asshole while you're shitting
      Originally posted by ace_dl
      Guys and Gals, I have to hurry/leaving for short-term vacations.
      I won't be back until next Tuesday, so if Get Carter is the correct answer, I would appreciate of someone else posts a new cap for me

        Comment

        • Simon Preston
          Gold Gabber
          • Jun 2004
          • 845
          #3
          Re: External drives - USB2 or Firewire?

          Kewl. That's all I needed to know. I was wondering why some drives were more expensive as they had Firewire ports. I'll just go with the USB2. My PC has enough ports to take it on.

          Hope you had a good xmas as well mate.
          http://soundcloud.com/simonpreston/simon-preston-summer-2011

            Comment

            • FM
              Wooooooo!
              • Jun 2004
              • 5361
              #4
              Re: External drives - USB2 or Firewire?

              Only major difference is that USB2 is shared across all ports (i.e. if you're using more then one device at once)..beyond that Firewire's slightly slower then USB2.
              FM

              "Nowadays everyone is a fucking DJ." - Jack Dangers

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                • asdf_admin
                  i use to be important
                  • Jun 2004
                  • 12798
                  #5
                  Re: External drives - USB2 or Firewire?

                  K, FYI:

                  Read Test:
                  • 5000 files (300 MB total) FireWire was 33% faster than USB 2.0
                  • 160 files (650MB total) FireWire was 70% faster than USB 2.0
                  Write Test:
                  • 5000 files (300 MB total) FireWire was 16% faster than USB 2.0
                  • 160 files (650MB total) FireWire was 48% faster than USB 2.0
                  Firewire is a lot better. It is also more expensive. If you are working with large media files go firewire. USB is sluggish and also very poorly written. You can also daisy chain with firewire and can not with USB without loss. I switched early this year, and never ever will go back. USB is great for a mouse and keyboard. Most cameras, video, etc use a firewire port. Firewire was designed by apple and still is the choice for all intensive large media. You will love it.

                  If you are using just for backup go USB. If you plan on moving files with a sustained level of high performace go Firewire.
                  dead, yet alive.

                    Comment

                    • beanzncheez
                      Banned
                      • Jun 2004
                      • 4442
                      #6
                      Re: External drives - USB2 or Firewire?

                      Originally posted by Kamal
                      USB - Firewire never really caught on as quick, plus speeds are nearly identical
                      That's completely false. FireWire doesn't use your PCI bandwidth structure, therefore it won't get bottlenecked much like the problems that USB have. I've done some comparison testing, read the reviews and hands down FireWire has a much faster throughput compared to USB. I only use FireWire 400 since I haven't upgraded to 800 and it's been more cost effective for me. And the great thing is that it's not expensive to upgrade at all. I've got all of my hard drives, on the file server, converted to FireWire 400 and the transfer speeds throughtout are amazing. There are some charts online that show exact numbers and benefits so don't just take my word for it. Google around.

                        Comment

                        • Kamal
                          Administrator
                          • May 2002
                          • 28835
                          #7
                          Re: External drives - USB2 or Firewire?

                          I might have to recheck those stats, I'm pretty certain USB 2.0 came very close to firewire, plus my main point was how many products have inherited the use of Firewire. Thats why all PCs come with 1 firewire port and 4 USB ones
                          www.mjwebhosting.com

                          Jib says:
                          he isnt worth the water that splashes up into your asshole while you're shitting
                          Originally posted by ace_dl
                          Guys and Gals, I have to hurry/leaving for short-term vacations.
                          I won't be back until next Tuesday, so if Get Carter is the correct answer, I would appreciate of someone else posts a new cap for me

                            Comment

                            • feather
                              Shanghai ooompa loompa
                              • Jul 2004
                              • 20898
                              #8
                              Re: External drives - USB2 or Firewire?

                              IIRC, Firewire has better sustained speeds than USB2.0, while USB has equilavent if not marginally faster burst speeds. Also, IIRC, Firewire is less load on the CPU because its own controller handles the I/O (or was that SCSI ).

                              i_want_to_have_sex_with_electronic_music

                              Originally posted by Hoff
                              a powerful and insane mothership that occasionally comes commanded by the real ones .. then suck us and makes us appear in the most magical of all lands
                              Originally posted by m1sT3rL
                              Oh. My. God. James absolutely obliterated the island tonight. The last time there was so much destruction, Obi Wan Kenobi had to take a seat on the Falcon after the Death Star said "hi and bye" to Leia's homeworld.

                              I got pics and video. But I will upload them in the morning. I need to smoke this nice phat joint and just close my eyes and replay the amazingness in my head.

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                                • beanzncheez
                                  Banned
                                  • Jun 2004
                                  • 4442
                                  #9
                                  Re: External drives - USB2 or Firewire?

                                  Originally posted by Kamal
                                  I might have to recheck those stats, I'm pretty certain USB 2.0 came very close to firewire, plus my main point was how many products have inherited the use of Firewire. Thats why all PCs come with 1 firewire port and 4 USB ones
                                  Because you can daisy chain FireWire and have less complications compared to USB.
                                  And... FireWire is much faster. You'll find those stats.

                                    Comment

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