USB vs. FireWire (USB 2 is faster!!)

I have seen a lot of postings about the slow USB connection. Many people think that MAC is moving backwards as FireWire is faster than USB. That was my first reaction too, and as I have ordered the new iPod Video, I was growing frustrated that my FireWire for my iPod mini would not work with my iPod Video, but I can connect only via a USB 2 port.
Until I did a little research. USB 1 IS slow. Very slow. But the new USB 2.0 is fast -- faster than FireWire!
Here are the data transfer speeds:
USB 1 -- 12 MB/s
USB 2 -- 480 MB/s
FireWire -- 400 MB/s
There is an interesting article about FireWire (MAC invented it and wants a royalty on every machine that uses it, so more PC manufacturers are going to USB 2.0, which is free) at
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1104
If you are one of those who complains of slow USB speeds, check to see if you have USB 1 or USB 2. If you upgrade to USB 2, you should notice a significant increase in speed, like up to 40 times faster!
My PC has USB 2.0, so when I get my iPod Video, I'll check the download speed and update here...
iPod mini, upgrading to iPod video Windows XP Pro

The numbers LIE??? OMG that is a bold statement. The numbers will be different from system to system. But the numbers lie...that smacks of conspiracy theory and all that. The numbers may be different for you, let's say that.
I was so curious, I ran my own little test. Using my 4GB iPod mini, I cleared off the iPod hard drive, then put on 479 songs totalling 2.79 GB. Here's my results.
Using USB 2, it took 13:30. Using FireWire, it took 35:20.
Doing no other activities during either transfer. FireWire is supposed to be faster even with the processor doing other things. On my system, FireWire is slower, period. USB 2 is 2 1/2 times faster.
New FireWire card on a PCI slot. USB is direct to the MoBo. But that minor difference should not make that big a difference in time. Especially with so many claims that FireWire is faster, no matter what. Or other claims that USB 2 and FireWire and neck and nect in the speed test. They were far apart in my test. Not that my system is identical to everyone else's. That's just the results I got.
I thought I'd prefer FireWire also. Since it's supposed to be faster. But according to my test, I prefer USB 2.
When an iPod Video was ordered, I was excited. Then after ordering, I read stats and numbers and was irritated that the new iPod does not accept FireWire, but uses USB 2 only. My first reaction was that Apple has gone crazy. Then I did some research. The numbers don't like, IMO, but they may differ from system to system.
Now I've done my own test. I am satisfied with USB 2. My new iPod will work fine without FireWire.
Unless anyone can suggest how to make either hardware device work faster, I am content that USB 2 is faster than FireWire -- based not on "internet numbers" that I can doubt, but on the real world test I myself conducted.

Similar Messages

Startup problem with Adaptec FireWire/USB drive enclosure?

I recently acquired a Core Duo 1.66GHz mini. Soon after buying it I noticed that on startup, I get to the gray screen with Apple logo, and it freezes there for about 3-4 minutes before the spinning wheel appears briefly and then OS X starts normally.
I eventually figured out that it only does this when my Adaptec 3.5" FireWire/USB drive enclosure is connected via FireWire. If the drive is not connected the mini starts up lightning fast.
It seems to be an issue specific to the mini and this model of enclosure. I put another drive in the enclosure; same issue. I tried another enclosure I had; issue doesn't happen. I tried the Adaptec enclosure with a MacBook; issue doesn't happen. I exchanged the Adaptec enclosure for another of the same model; the issue still occurs. I even exchanged the mini for another; the issue still occurs.
Any ideas as to why this is happening and what I might do to fix it? I don't restart very often so this isn't too annoying, nonetheless I'd really love to fix it if I can.

Afraid it is all downhill from here: from what I have learnt, that drive uses a Prolific Revision A chipset. This means it cannot be used as the boot drive for your mac. http://www.ultraproducts.com/ seems to be the manufacturer and on their website forums about their enclosures detail similar issues and worse - write failures over firewire.
I cannot say much about the chipsets. Some folk swear by Oxford, which has to the best of my knowledge always supported Firewire startup. Personally, my ext hd is a Prolific Rev C and I have had no problems at all.
That all said and done, I trust that only the firewire connection is made and not the FW and USB? Also, if it is connected only via USB, are the mount problems experienced?
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

USB vs Firewire on intel iMac

a friend of mine is running his iTunes library on an external Firewire drive. He is using an intel iMac - not the absolute newest one, this one may be a year or so old.
question: I was thinking of getting him a bigger drive, and of course I noticed that firewire is more expensive than USB.
I know that on older computers (like my 2004 G5 PowerMac), USB is significantly slower than firewire.
Is that also the case with the intel iMacs?
Would firewire be noticeably faster than USB when running iTunes...
I just saw a hot deal on a USB 1 TB drive - $225... but if FW is really faster than USB, I will look for a FW drive for him!
thanks!
will

thanks to all of you!
In my experience, one needs all the speed one can get with iTunes and a large library (500 GB and up) so it sounds to me like it's worth the extra dough for a firewire drive, even for a FW 800.
Speaking of which, I noticed that the speed tests were for USB 2.0 vs FW 400 - I can only assume FW 800 is faster still, although, perhaps, not exactly twice as fast.
thanks again!
w

IOGear GUH 420 Firewire/USB Hub

I purchased this IOGear GUH420 Firewire/USB hub to use on my new MacPro 2.66 Intel desktop. Ever since I installed it, my firewire devices have been acting up and I couldn't ever figure it out. I was having lockups, spinning beachballs, monkeys flying out the floppy drive slot (oh yea, no floppy drive). Suffice it to say my new macpro wasn't acting right.
I did some research today and found out that some Firewire hubs do not like the voltage that comes from the new G5's and macPro desktops.
When I did the system profile, all my Firewire showed was Firewire 800/400 or the like. No devices, no hubs!
When I disconnect the IOGear hub and reboot... viola! Firewire in system profile shows all connected devices and everything runs much faster and I have zero errors!
So far, I would have to conclude that the IOGear hub is not compatable with the macpro, or mine has just been defective all this time.
Anyone else have issues with this hub?
Thanks,
matt caswell
http://www.thesabrehood.org

UPON FURTHER REVIEW
and extensive swaptronics....
The problem is not the HUB, it's the ADS Firewire 800 external drive case. It has 2 FW800 ports on the back and 1 FW400 port. I guess I assumed too much when I thought that I could chain a 400 device off the fW800 case.
When I connect ONLY the FW800 case to the MacPro, and do not connect any FW400 devices off the case, the firewire profile in system profiler shows everything as it should be.
I CAUSED THE PROBLEM AND NOT THE IOGear hub. I have posted my stupidity in case anyone was influenced by my previously incorrect assumption about the problem.
matt caswell

External HDD-USB or Firewire

Hi, I'm quickly filling up the hdd on my iMac with video editing so I've decided to buy an external HDD. I was under the impression that Firewire was the best way to go, but after reviewing the specs on the Seagate FreeAgent Pro 500, is seems that the transfer rate on USB 2.0 480mbs) is faster than firewire 400 (400mbs). A firewire drive is more expensive that just a USB drive, and I don't mind spending the additional money if it's required, but now I'm confused. Should I buy a firewire drive, or can I get a faster transfer rate, and save money by going with a USB only drive? I have an early Intel iMac, so I don't have firewire 800 or eSATA ports on it.
Thanks for your interest...

I did some practical testing, transferring a 1GB file from the iMac to a Lacie d2 triple.
USB 2.0 - 147 Mbps
FW 400 - 294 Mbps
FW 800 - 426 M bps
Speeds transferring the same 1GB file from the Lacie to the iMac averaged about 30% faster.

USB or Firewire for a hard drive to store my photos

Hi, I am a new Mac user. I have a new iMac 20 incher, with 1Gig of Ram (soon to be 2 Gigs when the extra memory arrives), and a 128 mg video card.
The primary purpose for the Mac will be to serve as a digital darkroom. I will run PhotoShop CS3 on it, and, in the future may use LightRoom or Aperture. I think both products still need a bit of 'seasoning' before I am willing to make the jump. I will also use the iMac for itunes and to store my music.
I have a Windows XP laptop that handles all my other work such as e-mail, spreadsheets, etc. I am reserving the iMac for photography and Music.
Previously, I stored my photos on my DELL Windows XP machine and backed them up to a USB2 drive.
Because of the number of photos I take, I plan to store them on a drive that I attach to the iMac. I will probably get a 250 Gig or 500 Gig drive and use it to store the photos. I will NOT be storing photos on the iMac drive as it will become filled up in less than a year.
In terms of speed and ease of use, is there a difference between a Firewire drive and a USB 2 drive? Does either type of drive have an advantage over the othter? Any significant disadvantages of one type?

hi.
if you're just backing up then usb2 would be fine. basically in the real world on mac's usb1.1 is slowest, usb2 is faster, firewire 400 is faster still - good for audio and other media and firewire800 is even faster (good for video).
For some reason usb2 is faster on pc's than mac's. usb was a system developed for pc and by pc makers(?) and firewire developed as mac equivalent.
Firewire is faster than usb2 on mac's. if you're going to be working with your media from the external disk drive then go for firewire 400 or 800. Though fw400 will be plenty enough. Also important is the ext. drive speed. 7,200rpm is the standard and fast enough. Slower than that you'll find a 5,400rpm which are typically used in laptops and portable ext. hard drives.
If price isn't an issue go firewire and 7,200prm. Also, i understand that you won't be storing the photos on your imac drive. cool....just remember to back up your important photos onto separate media!
hope that helps
rounik

USB vs FIREWIRE vs ESata II RAID indirect FCP question

Question: I have been posed with a question from my purchaser... Why doesn't USB transfer my video files faster than Firewire (when USB is rated at 480Mbs and Firewire 400 at, well, 400Mbs) and I already know that firewire drives all "linked" spend too much time talking to each other, so the SATA drive is faster...
Anyway, can anyone tell me exactly why outputting via USB is not faster? I read something on former posts about "short bursts"...but I'm trying to keep this guy from buying cheap maxtor USB drives...and let me build the eSata that I know will work faster with my FCP files
Thanks
MW

Hi Mark,
This is common question. Check out this site, I think it explains the difference between Firewire and USB quite nicely. http://www.usb-ware.com/firewire-vs-usb.htm
Basically, Firewire flows better and is constant, USB is not. So if you're going to do any capturing to the HDD's you're going to want Firewire.

USB vs Firewire (Adaptor)

Howdy,
Does anyone know if the Firewire iPod charger charges the iPod faster than the USB charger? My instinct is no- they charge at the same rate, but I've always been lacking in the sciences.
Also, for those Firewire and USB 2 combo cables- can one plug in both the USB and Firewire cable to get an extra fast d/l to the iPod, or is it a one or the other situation?
Thanks in advance for any info.

My experience with the USB and Firewire iPod AC chargers is that they use more or less the same time to fully charge an iPod.
If you have an USB2/Firewire iPod cable, it is very important to note that you cannot plug both ends into the computer at the same time. Doing so may render your iPod unrecognizable and may have other unforseen problems as well. You can only connect one end.

External Hard Drive...USB or Firewire 400

I just purchased a new iMac (I'm coming from the P.C. world) and would like to purchase an external hard drive for backup purposes. I was wondering whether to purchase a USB, Firewire, or a drive compatible with both. Which runs faster on Macs? I was looking between the following drives:
Western Digital MyBook 250GB (Combo): http://www.compusa.com/products/productinfo.asp?productcode=338216&pfp=compare&
Western Digital MyBook 250GB (USB): http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Customer-reviews-for-Western-Digital-External-Har d-Drive-WDG1U2500N/sem/rpsm/oid/145402/rpem/ccd/productDetailReview.do#tabs
LaCie 250GB (USB or Firewire versions): http://www.compusa.com/products/productinfo.asp?productcode=310799&pfp=compare&
I also read about the different chipsets, but since these are all compatible with Mac OS X, they should have the proper chipset. Any help would be appreciated.

I recommend getting an external HDD with both firewire 400 and usb2. First off firewire is faster in real work operation than usb2. Is also good to have both if you decide to take some files and hook the drive up to a PC. Alot of PCs still don't have firewire.
I like this drive from OWC. It uses the latest Seagate drive and very good chipset.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MAU4F7320G16/
lenn

Testing speed of usb and firewire cables?

I have a bunch of usb and firewire cables that I would like to test somehow to determine if they are usb 1 or 2 and firewire 1 or 2. Some cables are labeled as high speed usb, some are not and some have no labels at all.
1. Is there a way to do this in Tiger?
2. For transfering data to an external drive, is Firewire 400 or usb 2 faster?
Thanks!

Hello kat.hayes,
Let's take your three questions in the same order:
Question #1: Technically, No, USB cables have the same termination ends. However, not all cables are made to the same standards and quality (shielding has a lot to do with how well they work/last). Quality cables are at a minimum double shielded but that does not stop mfg's from making claims about "high-speed". If there is a problem with the cable, you will know it in that the device connected will not work. Period.
The 2nd part of your question #1 regarding "bottleneck" is that if the USB2 port receives the slower USB protocol from a connected device, it will negotiate to the lower speed. Not a "bottleneck" exactly, as the external device you have connected will determine the speed. Not the USB cable.
I don't know why you are trying to figure out the speed of the USB cables.
It really comes down to what you want to do with your computer and what type of external device you need to connect. If you have a choice of which type of device to use, choose FW(See below #2 for a brief explaination).
Question #2: The issues and technical debate about which protocol is better(faster) really are meaningless as the final speed determinate is controlled by the chip/interperter that the manufacturer of your external device choose to use. If the device uses inferior chipset design, then no amount of "maximum rated transfer speed" for either FW or the USB-2 is going to make a bit of difference.
FW is usually faster. It comes down to the protocol used by the two designs. The one major diffence that benefits Firewire users is that it is isosynchronus. That means that if you have for example 3 devices, that all 3 would get 400mbps bandwidth to use, while USB2 is shared between devices. This is the ugly side of using USB2. If you a want an in depth technical explaination let me know.
Regarding your question #3:
Your Power Mac G5 has one FireWire 400 port on the front (rectangular shape with one pointed end), one FireWire 400 port on the back, a FireWire 800 port on the back(square,blocky shape), and four USB 2.0 ports—one on the front and three on the back. There are also two USB 1.1 ports on the keyboard. See this link:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/PowerMacG5Late2005_TechBrief.pdf
If thats not clear, here is a card showing two FW800 ports (square) and one FW 400 port (rectangular w/pointed one end).
http://www.1394store.com/eshop/product.asp?dept%5Fid=42&pf%5Fid=1225
Technically, FW400 is refered to as 1394a and FW800 as 1394b.
So, plug any USB2 into the computer only. USB1 devices can be plugged into either the computer or the keyboard.
And FW400 & FW 800 into the correct, differently shaped recepticals.
If you let us know what you intend to do with your external devices and I'm sure there will be a number of excellent suggestions, hopefully based on personal experience, on which protocol would best fit your situation.
Hope this helps.
Respectfully,
Bill Gallagher

External HDs: Firewire + USB

I'm the owner of a 1GHz eMac with only FW + USB1 ports and have successfully daisy-chained 2 FW drives to it, occupying only 1 FW port with decent transfer rates. Recently someone gave me a USB2 drive and I've noticed it is the slowest thing on earth, plugging into a USB1 port of course. But I've also noticed a USB2 port on the back of one of my FW drives. Could I chain the USB2 drive to my FW drive instead of the USB1 port on the eMac? Would I get better transfer rates this way?

moyboy,
Welcome to the Apple Discussions!
Were you to attach the USB 2.0 drive to the Firewire/USB drive, the USB 2.0 drive will remain invisible to the computer. The USB port on the back of the external drive with both USB and Firewire is for connecting the drive to a USB port on a computer (not at the same time the drive is connected via Firewire!). The Firewire and USB ports don't communicate with each other. If you daisy-chained the USB drive to the external drive's USB port with the second drive being attached to the Mac via Firewire, there'd be no communication between the first drive and the computer.
If it were possible to daisy-chain a USB 2.0 device to the USB port on a multiple-interface external drive, every owner of a USB 1.1 Mac who wanted to be able to use a 5th Generation iPod or iPod Nano would be snapping up those external drives. Put it this way, if you can attach the USB 2.0 drive to the dual interface drive and actually have it work at USB 2.0 speeds, let me know what model drive you have and I'll rush out and grab one myself!
USB 2.0 nominally allows transfers up to 480 kbps while USB 1.1 is only rated at 12 kbps, which accounts for the abysamal performance hit. Firewire 400 is rated at 400 kbps but is in practice faster than USB 2.0 since USB transfers are done entirely under control of the computer's CPU while control of Firewire transfers is off-loaded onto Firewire hardware.

FireWire/USB hubs compatible with a Dual 2.0 GHZ G5

Hello,
I have a IOGEAR 7 port Firewire - usb hub connected to my dual 2.0ghz G5. Often when I start my G5 there won't be any working firewire and/or usb port. Sometimes they work, but overall is a pain./ Sometimes repairing permissions or reseting the nvram or all helps solve the problem.
Anyway, I would assume that the Hub is having some issues with the Firewire power coming from the G5
I am trying to find a list of Firewire/USB Hubs which Apple officially have said are compatible with the G5.
Do you guys know any of those?
Thank you

Q: Why start 2nd thread, even if one reply didn't fit or provide the options you wanted to hear?
Same question asked once already -
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=10322869
I still think save and consider the next revision to the iMac line rather than throw more at your G5.
SATA drives that you can use now and in the future are likely to be safe investments.
People have used 3 x 10K VelociRaptors, along with cheaper but still fast WD Caviar 640GB as a great way to improve performance. SSDs are fast but probably for 1st gen G5 would require a PCI-X controller.
Check the Drive Upgrade DB:
http://forums.xlr8yourmac.com/drivedb/search.drivedb.lasso

20" Cinema display with USB and firewire ports not working

I have a new 20" display and was wondering why my USB and fire wire ports at the back are not working. I have an external drive that is powered hooked up to the fire wire port and a no powered piano keyboard to a usb port.
Any help please

Verify that the display’s USB and FireWire cables are firmly plugged in to the
computer. Do they show in your profiler?
Try different ports in the computer.
Verify that your computer ports are working with other known problem free device.

Booting Windows on Intel Mac from an external Firewire/USB hard disk?

Is it possible to boot an Intel iMac from an external hard disk - in target disk mode etc., without having to install Boot Camp?
I have a spare drive with installed XP on it and I need to find out what is on the drive before re-formatting. However, I only have my mac in which to do so. The extra disk will be used in an external firewire/USB 2.0 caddy. I have researched some methods, but they are all very long winded and require a PC or the creation of a Windows partition on my start-up disk using Boot Camp.

"Is it possible to boot an Intel iMac from an external hard disk - in target disk mode etc., without having to install Boot Camp?"
No.

What is wrong with my 30" Cinema Display? The USB and FireWire ports still work, but the screen is pitch black. When you plug it into the computer, it detects that it's a Cinema Display.

When you plug it into the computer, it detects that it's a Cinema HD but the screen is pitch black.
For some reason, the USB and FireWire ports still work.

If you shine a really bright light directly into the screen can you then see a faint image on the screen? If so, that would indicate the backlight has died (hardware failure) and the unit needs repairing.

USB vs. FireWire (USB 2 is faster!!)

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