Hi Jason,
The system profiler on my computer shows the following: "FireWire Bus:
Speed: 400Mb/sec Speed".
Also Mac "help" says the following about firewire ports:
"Using FireWire devices with your computer:
FireWire (sometimes called IEEE 1394 or iLink) is a high-speed data
transfer system for external devices, such as the Apple iPod or a
digital video camera. You can plug a FireWire device into your computer
while your computer is on.
All Macintosh computers have one or more FireWire 400 ports that
transfer data at up to 400 megabits per second (Mbps). Some also have a
FireWire 800 port that transfers data at up to 800 megabits per second
(Mbps)."
So, it looks like I'm good to go!
Thanks for the answer,
Dale
On Jul 3, 2005, at 7:10 PM, Jason Greshes wrote:
Since I don't have USB 2.0, can I still purchase a hard drive with a
USB 2.0 Interface??
Can you? Sure. USB 2.0 is backwards compatible with USB 1, so the
drive will show up your machine without a problem.
Shoud you? That's a different quest. No, you should NOT buy a USB
2.0 external drive when you do not have a USB 2.0 interface. USB 2.0
is MUCH, MUCH faster than USB 1.0. The drive will work with your
computer, but will be so slow that it will be largely unusable. USB
2.0 is around the same speed as firewire 400. USB 1.0, on the other
hand, is around one fortieth that speed. Not one fourth--one
fortieth. A 400 MB file takes about a minute to transfer over USB
2.0. It would take over half an hour at USB 1.0/1.1 speed.
If your machine has a firewire port, get a firewire compatible
external drive. If you machine has old USB ports only and you cannot
put in a USB 2.0 or firewire card you can pretty much forget about
using an external drive.
Jason
--
The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and...
Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives |
- Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! |
Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html>
iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml>
--> AOL users, remove "mailto:";
Send list messages to: <mailto:[email protected]>
To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/>
---------------------------------------------------------------
iPod Accessories for Less
at 1-800-iPOD.COM
Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal
www.1800ipod.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
