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Storage: Read and write speed -ethernet vs usb vs firewire
Read and write speed -ethernet vs usb vs firewire
by wiredhurdler - 2/19/09 9:37 AMI am trying to decide if I should connect to an external hard drive via Ethernet cable or USB or Firewire. Of the three, which is the fastest way to transfer files to an external hard drive?
Don't know much about ethernet, but..
by ahtoi - 2/19/09 9:44 AM In reply to: Read and write speed -ethernet vs usb vs firewire by wiredhurdlerfirewire would be faster than USB.
Here
by R. Proffitt
- 2/19/09 10:22 AM
In reply to: Read and write speed -ethernet vs usb vs firewire by wiredhurdler
It was just a drag race with USB and firewire swapping positions as we swapped between Windows, Apple and Linux.
Today, with USB 2.0, Firewire 400 you may want to use what works best for your setup.
Forget Ethernet unless you can go to 1Gg (1000Mb) or better.
Bob
(NT) Thanks for the help
by wiredhurdler - 2/20/09 10:46 AM In reply to: Here by R. Proffitt
speed on just USB or Firewire
by Joliet Eddie - 2/20/09 8:22 AM In reply to: Read and write speed -ethernet vs usb vs firewire by wiredhurdlerRemember that your transfer speeds will also depend on the specs on the external hard drive. Firewire and USB 2.0 are pretty close. If you have a Firewire port on your laptop/desktop go for it. USB ports can be finicky and there are reports of some laptops and desktops having USB port failure for no apparent reason. That happened to my wife's laptop last year. We got her a new machine, but luckily the old one HAD a Firewire port, too, so we were able to get her files off the old machine and onto an external drive that way.
More choice with USB
by Zouch - 2/20/09 7:57 PM In reply to: Read and write speed -ethernet vs usb vs firewire by wiredhurdlerUSB 2.0 and Firewire 400 are much the same, I doubt you'd notice the difference. But certainly here in the UK, USB external drives are far more plentiful than firewire and the competition keeps the prices a tad lower.
The specifications for Firewire 800 and USB 3 are in the final throes of standardization but as far as I am aware, nobody has yet committed to make external drives for them when available.
Currently, Gigabit Ethernet would be faster (as stated earlier, don't even think about anything less than gigabit) BUT you'd be looking at attaching an iSCSI box as your external drive and these are definitely priced for business and not for consumers.
One other possibility is an eSATA drive. SATA PC cards with an external aSATA port are becoming readily available but again, they aren't as cheap as USB.
eSATA is what I use...
by rae2_2 - 2/21/09 5:23 AM In reply to: More choice with USB by ZouchMy internal and external drives are all SATA II and all seem to work as fast as I need. To be truthful, when I compare my old system (two IDE drives) with my new one (two SATA II) drives, this human cannot really tell the difference in performance. Both seemed to do the trick for my needs (surfing, photography incl Photoshop, etc.).
I got a Seagate 1TB eSATA external not long ago. Works just fine. I've never used a USB or Firewire external so I can't compare for you.
BTW, would someone please explain to me WHY we need BOTH Firewire AND USB? I'm getting more than a little pi**ed off at manufacturers who decide to reinvent the wheel unnecessarily. Once some technology has evolved to a satisfactory state LEAVE THE DAMN THING ALONE! I'll murder the next jerk that comes up with yet another SCREWHEAD design, for example, or even another ME TOO/LOOKALIKE automobile. What BS!
Take it easy. It's only computing, hehe.
by ahtoi - 2/21/09 10:28 AM In reply to: eSATA is what I use... by rae2_2When people stop buying then they'll stop making them.
Too bad "people" most often have NO IDEA WHAT THEY'RE BUYING
by rae2_2 - 2/21/09 1:40 PM In reply to: Take it easy. It's only computing, hehe. by ahtoi... but you're probably correct, ahtoi, but please note that, IMHO, "people" are noted for buying (and doing) what makes no sense at all.
This world needs Firewire about as much as a teenager needs pimples. But... a fancy title has sold an awful pile of garbage (books, music groups, vaporware, software... you name it.) Most people have not been taught the skills necessary to critically analyze what they see, hear or read. Which is likely the MAIN reason for the global ECONOMIC catastrophe we all face today.
More FIREWIRE!!!!!
USB/FIREWIRE
by davidj2i - 2/23/09 7:53 AM In reply to: eSATA is what I use... by rae2_2Then USB 3.0 comes out 10x faster than 2.0, then maybe we try firewire over UTP... Why do we need both? Why do we need OSX and VISTA? Competition-good. If there were only one standard, we would have to wait until all the bugs are fixed before we could get any new releases 
I agree with you on OSX..especially when I can't afford one,
by ahtoi - 2/23/09 11:09 AM In reply to: USB/FIREWIRE by davidj2iHAHAHA...but I am eagerly waiting for USB3 though.
Yeah..I know the spec. is about the same (usb2 & firewire),
by ahtoi - 2/21/09 10:21 AM In reply to: More choice with USB by Zouchbut My experience says firewire is faster or all my computers (3) has lousy usb2. Personally I think eSATA is the way to go but I don't think the poster has that.
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