USB 3.0 vs FireWire 3200
This is a guest post by Daniel Shain from LaptopLogic.com – visit them to read notebook reviews, find a laptop or get the latest laptop news.
After long way of 8 years finally news came out that “USB got its first update” and with the promised transfer speed that is ten times faster than before, race for speed has begun. Many reporters have written that this will lead to the death of the competition, but they forgot to mention that FireWire has an update of its own. FireWire 3200 recently had its specifications ratified just as USB 3.0 did, and the two will certainly be competitive. But which one is better?
USB 3.0 is capable of transferring files at an impressive 4.8Gbps (gigabits per second), which is considerably faster than FireWire’s capabilities. The USB folks have made sure that the new USB is backwards compatible with USB 2.0, and although you can’t get USB 3.0 speeds without new hardware, you will still be able to run everything just the same. The power efficiency has also been revamped so that it should be less of a draw on your laptops or other computers, and the power output has been increased from 100 milliamps to 900 milliamps to make it faster to charge devices and easier to power them through USB too.
FireWire 3200 has a maximum capability of a 3.2Gbps transfer rate, which is 1.6Gbps slower than USB 3.0. However, it should also be noted that the P2P (peer to peer) architecture can usually deliver a higher percentage of the maximum rate than the master/slave architecture of USB can. FireWire 3200 is also backwards compatible with FireWire 800, and you can even plug your new FireWire 3200 hardware into the old FireWire 800 ports and instantly get the new 3.2Gbps speed. FireWire still has an edge in power output over USB too, even after all the improvements, making it even more capable of charging items or powering them through the cables.
There’s a lot to love about both specifications. USB 3.0 certainly constitutes a huge improvement over USB 2.0, and FireWire 3200 is also a useful (if less spectacular) update over FireWire 800. Despite the extra ground made up by USB 3.0, FireWire still maintains an edge in technical categories like the power management, the compatibility with previous versions, and quite possibly even the actual transfer rate. USB has two key things going for it though – it’s cheaper and more popular – which means it’s easier to buy (for your wallet) and easier to use (for your mainstream devices). FireWire has long been supported by Apple, whereas USB has been found in most Microsoft machines, and the difference reminds me a lot of the difference between the two companies. It’s important to remember that while USB 3.0 is great, and really does work well, FireWire is pretty great and works well too. Despite Apple seeming to back off of FireWire a little bit by not including it in the new MacBook, we should expect this specification to be around for a long time still. For the right jobs and the right people, it is still the best one out there.
STUMBLED!
I always thought Firewire was the best, but this post clearly has shown that may not be the case.
Good post.
USB is much more popular, USB 3 is probably going to own Firewire’s face.
Thanks for this informative review of these two essentials.
I think I am better informed now. When deciding for a new hardware, I know what to look out for. Thanks for sharing. Cheers.
you forgot the part where no one cares about/uses firewire anyway.
FireWire is still the bomb!!! And you are right the difference between FireWire and USB is like the difference between Apple and Microsoft. FireWire is more concerned with performance. USB is more concerned about price. Why can’t we make the best for performance the standard for once and accept it and build on something great.
USB3 is not backwards compatible as there is a new interface. Just hook up 3 devices to USB and Firewire, then see whats left of the speed. The fact that Firewire is not used much has nothing to do with quality. Look at Windows and Linux, Iternet explorer and Firefox, Ferrari and Lada.
I’ve been a fan of firewire for many years. It has never let me down.
I only have on problem with USB and that is they have always claimed speeds of 480mpbs while only delivering about 65% of that. Firewire on the other hand runs at about 97% of its claims. With that said I’m guessing Firewire 3200 will blow USB 3.0 out of the water. Just my $.02
For USB 2.0 (and I think 1.1, although I’m not sure), the max current output is 500 mA, not 100 mA as stated above.
http://www.usb.org/developers/usbfaq/
USB is completely dependant on processor (and northbridge/ southbridge) speed, while firewire is less dependant on processor speed and is daisy-chain-able and allows for higher speeds (almost always) USB is simply more popular because it allows for “dumber” and thus cheeper slave devices. Also, this article seems to have a number of factual errors… THANKS STUMBLEUPON!!1111!!!
I think where Firewire failed was the $1 a device tax apple put on things (don’t know if they do it anymore though) Other then that Firewire used to be the way to go but now its very rare to find ANYTHING firewire
Firewire is still the better, albeit more expensive piece of hardware. Why? Because firewire doesn’t have the CHOPPYNESS that USB has. Firewire is slightly slower, but is WAAYYYY more consistent. If you do video or audio editing, it is the ONLY way to go. I also read comments of how it is rare to find anything firewire to which I say, false. Look at any late model professional music hardware, you will find firewire. Look at any late model pro/hd video camera, you will find firewire. Look at the top end external drive enclosures for hard drives and blue-ray/dvd drives, you will find firewire. USB’s only advantage is and always will be CHEAP. USB is useful for flash drives, still cameras, keyboards, mice, printers, and cell phones. There is a saying, “You get what you pay for.” And in this case, it’s obvious to anyone that’s really paying attention. VIVA LA FIREWIRE!!!!