Jun 29 2008
Case of USB 2.0 vs. IEEE 1394
The case:With newer hardware and better implementations, USB 2.0 challenges IEEE 1394 (aka Firewire) once again in the ultimate test of speed….who will prevail in the end?
The contender: Maxtor Diamond MAX 10 80GB SATA 150 hard disk hooked up to a Oxford Semiconductor Ltd OXUF934DSa integrated SATA II to eSATA/USB2.0/IEEE1394a bridge powered by laboratory grade power supply.
The rationale: Using a test hard drive with slower transfer rate will decrease the influence of host PC load on transfer rates.
USB 2.0 High Speed Mode (480M)
IEEE 1394 (400M)
Control: eSATA 150
The verdict: Despite the fact that high speed USB operates at 480mbps while IEEE 1394 operates at 400mbps, IEEE 1394 still emerge as the winner in terms of transfer rate and host CPU utilisation.
The Machine:
- Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @ Stock speed
- Asus P5N-T nForce 780i SLI
- Gigabyte GV-NX98X1GHI-B (Nvidia Geforce 9800GX2)
- 4×2GB DDR2-800 RAM modules from Hynix
- 3×74GB Western Digital Raptor in RAID 5 configuration
- Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition (64-bit)
- HD Tach version 3.0.4.0