FireWire 800 vs USB 3?

I read through that article again - interesting how much faster USB 3 is vs. FW 800 - I knew it was quite a bit faster, but didn't expect that much difference! This article is a really good resource. Also interesting to note the differences of the various methods on a regular HD vs. an SSD - obviously, the SSD is faster, but why would there be such a difference when comparing the same connection?

The 2 GB video might be faster via USB 3 (than Thunderbolt), but I'm wondering what the speed would be (and how reliable it would be) with a "realistic" 50 - 100 GB video - when I'm in the middle of a project, I regularly amass 150+ GB of files which may stress out the USB connection?

There is a way to make any cheap USB2 or USB3 drive work fast with a Thunderbolt "adapter" from Seagate.

I did it for myself. See how http://youtu.be/1Aa3BXmQVpc

THe Seagate "adapter" is not really cheap but with it any Hard disc can be on TB with only a little work.

Thanks. I am happy with it and I have already "worked" 5 Hard Drives.

I am carefull on connecting them. In my opinion the life expectation of their Sata connectors could be not very long. The were designed for a stable installation more than for swapping. But Seagate sells a system with their disc which are the same as mine.

Which is your opinion ?

If you have the capability to use Firewire 400 then it will increase your performance at least 2 to 3 times faster than USB-3. Firewire 800 will increase that 6 to 8 times faster than USB-3. So if you are doing Video Editing and have Firewire 800 it will be more than enough for anything you want to do.

Cheers

Don

You're correct - USB 3 is faster than any Firewire. But I do not know if it is recommended for video - haven't looked into that since my iMac does not have USB 3 (and that is the machine I do my video work on).

I've always used FireWire for video also. I had to read the Macworld article twice to make sure I understood what it was saying. My understanding has always been that USB speeds were rated in short bursts but that FireWire was sustained speed. The Macworld article specifically tested with a 2gb video file and said USB 3 was faster.

In my experience Firewire 800 is better allround both for video editing though Premier Pro CC 2014 to a 4TB G-Drive and copying, the speed difference is quite significant on the Mac I am using:

Mac Pro (Early 2009)

2.93 GHz Quad Core Intel Xeon
16GB 1066 MHz DDR3

NIVIDEA GeForce GT 120 512MB

Whether this relates the same with a newer model I couldn't say.

I have to admit this surprises me as I was always led to believe that USB 3.0 was faster in copying, but that's not the case for me.

http://store.apple.com/us/question/answers/product/MD464ZM/A/what-transfer-speed s-would-i-expect-using-this-adapter/QTCFUTTKTCY9FF9UT

Watch this this on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4jiEY1JgOI

Allan

Allan,

I have a question, I thought the Thunderbolt to FW connector limits the speed to FW 400 speeds, am I wrong?

It is my understanding that it limits to FW800 as long as everything on the FireWire side is FW800.

If anything on the FireWire side is FW400 then everything slows down to FW400.

Allan

Firewire 800 is best for connecting your scratch disk in video editing.

Thunderbolt would be best, but if your drives or enclodure doesnt have it then go with FW800