西部数据硬盘资料

Which external drive interface is the right choice:

USB, FireWire, eSATA, or Gigabit Ethernet?

Each interface has its strengths, which are explained in detail

below. The right choice depends on compatibility with your

computer and how you want to use your device. First, look at the

connections on your computer.

USB

USB2.0 is the industry standard peripheral connection for most

Windows-based computers. USB connector types include 6-pin

(desktops) and 4-pin or mini (laptops and camcorders, etc.).

Cables and adapters are available to connect mini or standard

host USB ports to 4-pin or 6-pin connectors.

USB transfers data at a maximum rate of 480Mb/s. Sustained

data transfer rates, usually from 10 to 30MB/s, vary depending

on many factors including the type of device, data being

transferred, and computer system speed. If your USB port is an

earlier version, USB1.0 or1.1, you can use a USB2.0 hard drive,

but transfer rates default to the slowest version. If you don’t know

the version of your computer’s USB ports, refer to your computer

documentation or contact the manufacturer.

FireWire

FireWire, also called IEEE1394, is a high-performance

connection standard for personal computers and consumer

electronics. This interface uses a daisychained interconnect

architecture to allow multiple storage devices to share a single

host system FireWire port. The interface functions as peer to

peer – allowing devices to communicate and transfer data with

greatly-reduced host system overhead and higher efficiency

compared to alternative interfaces like USB. FireWire has two

configurations:

FireWire 400, also called IEEE1394a, transfers large

amounts of data between computers and peripheral devices at

rates up to 400Mb/s. It is the most common FireWire

interface, present in 6-pin (desktops) and 4-pin (laptops and

camcorders, etc.) variants. Cables and adapters are available

to connect mini or standard host FireWire 400 ports to 4-pin

or 6-pin connectors.The host provides power through the

6-pin interface to downstream connected devices where

required. Most desktop external storage units are

self-powered (wall power supply) and do not require power

from the host interface. Firewire 400 is commonly used to

connect digital cameras, camcorders and popular external

storage, and has the bandwidth to perform common DV

resolution video editing in most cases.

FireWire 800, also called IEEE1394b, provides the

high-speed connection and bandwidth required for

multiple-stream, uncompressed digital video and noise-free,

high-resolution digital audio. FireWire 800 is typically twice as

fast as FireWire 400 and is necessary for HD video editing

and other applications where the fastest data transfers and

expandability by daisychaining are needed. Cables and

adapters are available to connect FireWire 800 or 400 host ports to FireWire 800 or 400 connectors.

2