Posted by Roberto Divia on 04/10/06 07:40

NoNoBadDog! wrote:
> Actually, you have it backwards. Firewire has higher throughput in burst
> mode; in sustained reads USB is faster.

Nope. for external storage USB2 is higher in peak, FireWire is sustained.
Google a bit and you'll find several reviews giving this conclusion.

Some random-picked examples:

http://www.digit-life.com/articles/usb20vsfirewire/
> Although the USB 2.0 is speedier than the FireWire, the latter beats it when used in high-speed storage devices.

http://www.cwol.com/firewire/firewire-vs-usb.htm
> Performance Comparison - FireWire vs. USB 2.0
> Read and write tests to the same IDE hard drive connected using FireWire and then USB 2.0 show:
>
> Read Test:
>
>
> * 5000 files (300 MB total) FireWire was 33% faster than USB 2.0
> * 160 files (650MB total) FireWire was 70% faster than USB 2.0
>
> Write Test:
>
>
> * 5000 files (300 MB total) FireWire was 16% faster than USB 2.0
> * 160 files (650MB total) FireWire was 48% faster than USB 2.0

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,862703,00.asp
> Though USB 2.0 is rated at a higher throughput speed, FireWire delivered faster performance on external hard drives when connected to a desktop.

Ciao,
--
Roberto Divia` Love at first sight is one of the greatest
Dep:PH Bat:53 Mailbox:C02110 labour-saving devices the world has ever seen
Route de Meyrin 385 ---------------------------------------------
Case Postale Phone: +41-22-767-4994
CH-1211 Geneve 23 CERN Fax: +41-22-767-9585
Switzerland E-Mail: Roberto.Divia@cern.ch

[Back to original message]