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    Firewire 1394 vs. USB 2.0 question

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by joystik, Apr 3, 2008.

  1. joystik

    joystik Notebook Evangelist

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    I was thinking about picking up an external HD for my notebook. This was the one i was looking at:

    Case = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817198012
    cable = http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16812189110

    From what i understand firewires transfer files faster than usb 2.0. I have an m6300 with the 1394 slot, but i do not have a 1394a(bigger).. so to fix that issue i was looking at that cable.

    Would there still be an increase in speed over usb 2.0, using that cable?
     
    joystik, Apr 3, 2008
    #1
  2. NAS Ghost

    NAS Ghost Notebook Deity

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    From what i recall, the burst speed of Usb 2.0 is faster however, the average speed is significantly slower than Firewire.
     
    NAS Ghost, Apr 3, 2008
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  3. joystik

    joystik Notebook Evangelist

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    I've been reading a bit about firewires and there seems to be three versions.
    1394(which comes with my dell, 1394a(on the case i posted), and 1394b(newest).

    the 1394 that i have is the smallest plug of them all, so the speed is still a bit quicker than usb 2.0 eh? The reason i want to know this is beacause i can pick up a model without the firewire port for 15-20 bucks cheaper..
     
    joystik, Apr 3, 2008
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  4. Budding

    Budding Notebook Virtuoso

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    The 6-pin Firewire 1394 port (also known as 1394a) is a Firewire 400 port. It is faster than USB due to its more efficient interface, supporting with transfer speeds of up to 400Mbps. The 4-pin 1394 port (the one you probably have on your laptop) is basically a 6-pin port without power. The speed is the same as the 6-pin version, but you won't be able to, for example, charge your iPod.

    However, seeing as the enclosure you have listed has an external PSU (or it should), you should be fine with the conversion cable.
     
    Budding, Apr 3, 2008
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  5. joystik

    joystik Notebook Evangelist

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    sweet deal, thanks for the reply.
     
    joystik, Apr 3, 2008
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  6. hydra

    hydra Breaks Laptops

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    I have an old post somewhere where i benched my eSATA, vs FW400 and USB. My 4 year old 5400RPM ACOM (FW400) drive nailed all of my USB drives and my external Sata on writes with 8Gig test file. The eSata came up in the lead on reads.
     
    hydra, Apr 4, 2008
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  7. R4000

    R4000 Notebook Virtuoso

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    I have both USB 2.0 and FW400 Apricorn external drives and the firewire hd is faster with data transfers (both are 5400rpm IDE).
     
    R4000, Apr 4, 2008
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