new external hard drive - firewire 800 to 400 compatibility

Joined
Jun 6, 2010
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a new 2tb external hard drive and was wondering if anyone had and suggestions. I have an 08 model macbook with a firewire 400 port so I'd like to be able to utilise this. I'd also like the hard drive to be compatible with firewire 800 and possibily usb 3.0 as well for when I hopefully upgrade me computer in the next year.

I've looked at the new seagate goflex drives which seem to offer these upgrade options but there is no firewire 400 option. does anyone know if i buy the goflex with firewire 800 whether I can then get a firewire 800 to 400 conversion cable and plug it into my macbook?

cheers

tom
 

Raz0rEdge

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jul 17, 2009
Messages
15,745
Reaction score
2,071
Points
113
Location
MA
Your Mac's Specs
2022 Mac Studio M1 Max, 2023 M2 MBA
Yes..you can just use an adapter from FW 800 to FW 400 and it will work fine with your Macbook at FW400 speeds..

Regards
 
Joined
Jun 7, 2010
Messages
60
Reaction score
0
Points
6
yea they make cables that go from 800 to 400. but i'll tell you now that a usb will be a bit faster, cheaper, and more drive options.
 

bobtomay

,
Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
26,561
Reaction score
677
Points
113
Location
Texas, where else?
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
yea they make cables that go from 800 to 400. but i'll tell you now that a usb will be a bit faster, cheaper, and more drive options.

Sorry, but I'd have to disagree with that. All the real world tests I've seen (including my own), FW... 400 or 800... will beat USB2 at moving data between drives.
 
Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Messages
1,466
Reaction score
47
Points
48
Your Mac's Specs
2.8 GHz 15" MacBook Pro OS X 10.7.x & some old Macs
I agree with bobtomay. From what I have experienced first hand Firewire has always been faster for me. The difference between FW 400 and USB 2 isn't as great but FW 800 is definitely noticeable.
 
Joined
Jun 7, 2010
Messages
60
Reaction score
0
Points
6
well see that's weird because firewire 400 has a transfer rate of 400Mb/s and USB 2 has 480Mb/s.
 
Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Messages
1,466
Reaction score
47
Points
48
Your Mac's Specs
2.8 GHz 15" MacBook Pro OS X 10.7.x & some old Macs
Those are the theoretical maximum speeds. Usually in actual usage most people won't get those speeds. I've been told that Firewire is more efficient than USB meaning you get closer to the maximum speeds compared to USB. This would explain the results I'm getting.

In actual usage I've noticed Firewire has always been faster for me. This is why you can't always trust the advertised specifications from the manufacturers.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top