Which External Hard drive? firewire? usb 2?

ashatron · 16 Oct 2009 at 17:07

Hi all,

i currently have a 250gb western digital passport portable HD, but its getting full.
So im intending to get an external 1 terabyte drive.

My laptop supports usb 2.0 and apparently has Firewire IEEE1394 -
http://www.rockdirect.com/support/prod.php?product_id=136&size=min

1)
is Firewire IEEE1394 the same thing as Firewire 400?

2)
Is Firewire 400 better than USB 2.0?
-ive read some stuff about firewire using less cpu resources and being able to read and write and the same time more efficiently than usb.

3)
Does the firewire cable also power the external hard drive?

4)
I keep all of my work on external drives. Would it be more beneficial to be working off a usb 2.0 or a firewire hard drive?
-working on video editing and photoshop.

And what drives would you geniuses recommend?
Thanks for your time

DoubleCheese · 16 Oct 2009 at 17:08

LaCie d2 Quadra or something like that...has USB, Firewire 400, 800 and eSata. Must be mains powered though.

ashatron · 17 Oct 2009 at 01:05

bump!

nightkhaos · 17 Oct 2009 at 01:14

Yes.
Yes, but only on a sustainable bandwidth level. Firewire will give you high bandwidth for longer periods.
Yes.
Of the two USB 2.0 tends to be more flexible, however if all the computers you intend to use this for have a FW400 port then you can get FW. You will note however that FW400 enclosures cost more, and you'll likely be better off with a combined USB/eSATA enclosure (for powered 3.5" drives) or a USB enclosure (for unpowered 2.5" drives).

ashatron · 17 Oct 2009 at 23:35

So if firewire is expensive, what usb 2.0 terabyte drive would u lot recommend?

iraiguana · 18 Oct 2009 at 11:10

Firewire is much better for sustained transfer ie when moving large individual files which you may have >1-4gb.

I have a firewire 800 500gig WD pro drive and its really good, if a bit on the loud side. Generally my friends have had only good things to say about the WD drives so would recommend them.

If you can get it eSATA is significantly faster than firewire/usb.

So if it was me I would go for
1)eSATA
2)firewire
3)USB

in that order.

madindehead · 18 Oct 2009 at 12:00

Going to jump on bandwagon here if you don't mind ashatron. I'm also in the market for an external hard drive soon (maybe just a caddy, and put a WD Caviar Green in it).

However, I'm not sure what to go for. I want to use mine to backup my media files, documents and save games every month. So transferring lots of files at once. What would be fastest?

However, I also want the drive to be reasonably portable, so I can take my files with me if I visit my girlfriend for example. Don't want to have to worry about power cables. What is best here?

Sorry to hijack the thread ashatron, but thought it was better than starting a new one.

ashatron · 20 Oct 2009 at 09:15

iraiguana said:
Firewire is much better for sustained transfer ie when moving large individual files which you may have >1-4gb.

I have a firewire 800 500gig WD pro drive and its really good, if a bit on the loud side. Generally my friends have had only good things to say about the WD drives so would recommend them.

If you can get it eSATA is significantly faster than firewire/usb.

So if it was me I would go for
1)eSATA
2)firewire
3)USB

in that order.

Thanks a lot mate

Ill try and get a firewire then (as my laptop does not have esata).
Thanks for the help!

madindehead said:
Going to jump on bandwagon here if you don't mind ashatron.

Feel free. Always room in my bandwagon mate! (not in a gay way)