FireWire Hard Drive – Fastest External Hardrive!
If you want speed and the quickest data transfers of all your files then take a look at a Firewire Hard Drive, as this will satisfy your need to get your data moving. If you are suffering slow data transfer rates with your current external hard drive or you want the fastest transfer rates available then the next time you need more storage you should pick an external hardrive with the firewire option built in!
So What Is Firewire?
FireWire is simply a fast method of transferring digital information over a cable between different digital devices and it was originally designed with audio and video equipment in mind. However it hase now been included for use with external hard drives to give them the boost in data transfer rates that make file moving quicker than a USB connection.
When it comes to speed, FireWire is without doubt very fast and the latest version can achieve transfer speeds of up to 800 megabits per second. And at some time soon in the not too distant future this specification is expected to increase dramatically to an unimaginable 3.2 gigabits per second, but this will only happen when the relevant manufacturers can redesign the current FireWire cables used for devide to device connections.
In addition FireWire is also “plug and play” and this means that whenever you connect a new FireWire device or hard drive to your personal computer your pc operating system will automatically detect the device you have just connected. You should also note that all FireWire devices including an external hard drive are “hot pluggable” and this means that they can be both connected or disconnected at any time you want including when the power is turned on. Both these factors are a great advantage for users.
Firewire vs USB
A firewire connection is always going to be significatly faster than a USB connection for moving your data to or retrieving it from an external hard drive. So for the ultimate in high data transfer speeds make sure you only look for an external hard drive with the Firewire option built in. So whn shopping for your new Firewire external harddrive make sure that it is the latest Firewire 800 to ensure you get the fastest speed possible.
You will also find some Firewire external drives that come with automatic backup software so that anything you create is actually backed up immediately you save it. This is a great advantage as you always know that all your stuff is safe in case anything goes wrong!
Note that USB 2.0 features transfer speeds of up to 480 megabytes per second, which is much slower than the latest Firewire 800 standard at 800 mbps!
Computer Port Restrictions?
Today most of us will connect our external hard drives connect to our personal computers using a USB 2.0 connection, but more and more of us are now truning to Firewaire because of the speed advanateg it offers. However your choice may actually be limited to USB 2.0 by the types of ports that you have available on your computer and the operation system (Mac OS or PC Windows) that you are running on it. If you don’t have a Firewire port on your computer than you cannot connect an external drive to your computer using Firewire!
But if your do have a firewire port then you are good to go and you should only buy a Firewire external harddrive becasue of the speed benfits it offers.
eSATA is even Faster – the New Speed Standard!
There is a new connection standard that is even faster then Firewire and this is callled eSATA and it can transfer data at up to 3 gigabits, that’s 3000 megabits, per second.
This is an awesome spped but to use it youor pc will need a special adapter card installed before you can even think of hooking this up. There are now many external hard drives that have this new connection type available, so look out for it when you are seaerching if you know how to set it up on your computer as this now must be the ultiamte in speed for external hard drives.
The drives are future proofed as they also all have USB 2.O ports too, so you can buy one now and use it with USB and when you buy a new computer, which will undoubtedly come with the a new e-sata port then you will be all ready to use the external drive at it’s fastest with the e-sata connection.
Firewire popularity is begining to fade and e-Sata is all set to take it’s crown as the external hard drive speed king connection!