should i use usb2 or firewire for my external drive

[Clocker]

i have a laptop with usb or firewire ports. I was wondering which port i should use. which port is faster. i believe transfer rates for usb 2 is 480 and firewire 400. but from real world experiences. what is faster.

thanks

 

[pkme2]

AFAIK, USB 2.0
I've used firewire to capture my video.
I've used USB to transfer data from my pocket HDD.
In my own experience, I find the USB transfer of data a little faster.
It really comes down to your choice what to use now.

 

[kami333]

Firewire, even though USB2.0 has a higher theoretical speed it also has a higher overhead.

I always get cases that have both though, can't always use firewire.

 

[LikeLinus]

USB2 has a higher burst rate, but Firewire was made for better sustained rates.

That said, I generally just use USB2 for my external drives (only because the enclosures are cheaper and I'm not sitting around timing transfers with a stopwatch).

Either one should really work about the same.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

I've had the best performance and use with Firewire on high data transfer devices...

 

[hoorah]

I use USB 2.0 enclosures because I can always drop the drive onto a machine that has ONLY usb ports (even if only 1.0/1.1) if I absolutely need to.

If you're saying that the enclosure has both and have the choice between them, I would say firewire so you keep the USB ports free for other stuff, but other than that I don't think you'll notice a difference.

 

[stu1811]

Firewire is more reliable and faster

 

[Boyo]

I would use the firewire and save the USB port for anything else you may need. I think they are roughly the same speed wise. At least what you would notice.

 

[Tegeril]

I have large external drives connected with firewire and other large external drives connected with USB2. The firewire drives transfer at more stable, consistent speeds and transfer times are minimally effected by high CPU usage at the same time - I cannot say the same for USB2. The only reason I have some on USB2 and not all on firewire is that I only have one firewire port and more than 2-3 drives daisy-chained on the firewire port does not yield amazing success.

 

[Aluvus]

Firewire will offer better real-world performance, period.

In general, I suggest getting enclosures with both USB and Firewire for the best combination of performance and compatibility.

 

[dBTelos]

USB2. But go for whatever supports both.

 

[corkyg]

I have both. If you have a choice, it's a no brainer - Firewire all the way! USB is very often flaky. And, if Firewire 800 is possible, then it is really a no brainer. On sustained transfers of large amounts of data, Firewire 400 beats USB 480 everytime.

Since you have a laptop, your Firewire port is 4 pin - unpowered, so you will have to get an external drive/case that has its own power module. Then it really is more reliable than USB.