External Drive Speed - Thunderbolt vs Firewire 800?

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Level 1

6 points

External Drive Speed - Thunderbolt vs Firewire 800?

Hi Friends,

I'm looking to upgrade my external firewire 800 enclosure/drives to speed up editing/rendering in FCP 7/X. Currently this is the config I'm using with my MBP:

- Vantech Nexstar dual 3.5" sata external hard drive enclosure ( http://www.vantecusa.com/en/product/view_detail/277 )

- 2 x 1.5TB Seagate Barracudda 3.5" Sata 7200rpm hard drives (http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-7200RPM-Internal-ST31500341AS-Bare/dp/B0 0066IJPQ)

I'm interested in upgrading to an external thunderbolt enclosure like this:

- Pegasus J4 2.5" quad sata3 external thunderbolt hard drive enclosure ( http://www2.promise.com/storage/raid_series.aspx?region=en-global&m=192&rsn1=40& rsn3=62 )

- 4 x Seagate Momentus XT 2.5" sata3 7200rpm hard drives ( http://www.seagate.com/internal-hard-drives/laptop-hard-drives/momentus-laptop/ )

I know I could get better drives, i.e. hybrid hdd/ssd, or just ssd, but that's not in the budget right now.

Can anyone tell me if the thunderbolt enclosure with 4 x 2.5" sata3 drives will read/write much faster than the firewire 800 enclosure with 2 x 3.5" drives?

Thanks in advance !

- Cindy

Posted on May 31, 2013 10:27 AM

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Answer 1

Shane Ross

Level 8

43,110 points

May 31, 2013 11:15 AM in response to Cindy O

Thunderbolt is MUCH faster than FW800. It's faster than eSATA, which is faster than Firewire 800.

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Answer 2

Cindy O Author

Level 1

6 points

May 31, 2013 12:09 PM in response to Shane Ross

Thanks Shane,

I know tbolt is definitely faster than FW, just wondered about 2.5" vs 3.5". Meantime I've found an answer, I called the manufacturer and they informed me their "J" series of tbolt enclosures are for storage only, no good for FCP. For FCP I have to look to their "R" series.

- Cindy

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Answer 3

Meg The Dog

Level 6

13,850 points

May 31, 2013 2:07 PM in response to Cindy O

The speed you get will depend how you configure the Raid. Either FW800 or Thunderbolt both far exceed the read/write speed of a single drive.

The link you provided for the Vantech Nextstar lists either eSata or USB connectivity, how does FW come into play?

MtD

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Answer 4

Cindy O Author

Level 1

6 points

May 31, 2013 2:18 PM in response to Meg The Dog

Hi Meg,

I may have given the wrong Vantech link, since the Vantech Nextstar I'm currently using has FW and USB, thanks!

Meantime I'm waiting to hear back AGAIN from the Pegasus manufacturer - ends up I've found a number of reviews stating the Pegasus J4 is plenty fast for FCP use!

- Cindy

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