Firewire transfer rate question

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fuzz_ballfuzz_ball
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
I have been tranferring some files via Firewire (FW 400 that is) and it *seems* slower than I expected. Maybe I've just gotten used to how fast things are (kinda like thinking a Microwave is slow these days )



Anyway, I just did a quick-n-dirty test. I transferred a 6.86 GB file from my Firewire drive to my PB, and it took 8 minutes (+or- 5 seconds).



Does that sound about right? Am I just that impatient, or is it slower than it should be?



Thanks!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    dmband0026dmband0026 Posts: 2,345member
    6.68 GB @ 400Mbps...



    400Mbps = (approximately) 50MBps



    6.68 GB = (approximately) 6680 MB



    6680 MB @ 50MBps = 133.6 seconds



    133.6 seconds = 2.23 Minutes theoretical transfer time





    It's simple math really

    You transfered to a PB, that means you are running a 5400 RPM or slower HD that is an Ultra ATA/100 (100MBps). Your actual transfer time will always be much slower than the above stated theoretical transfer time. No worries, there are hundreds of different factors that can affect transfer speeds.
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  • Reply 2 of 4
    jxfreakjxfreak Posts: 138member
    Is your hard drive self powered? I'm looking to build a firewire hard drive but all seem to need a power plug. I thought firewire was self powered?
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  • Reply 3 of 4
    jeremiah richjeremiah rich Posts: 853member
    It depends.... Some laptop firewire harddrives do use the firewire for power. The larger ones do not I believe because they have larger power requirements, and maybe the simple fact that companies probably assume no one will lug around a huge hd. (Once again, not sure if it would be possible to power an entire drive just with the port). Anyways, ya.
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  • Reply 4 of 4
    formerlurkerformerlurker Posts: 2,686member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by DMBand0026

    6.68 GB @ 400Mbps...



    400Mbps = (approximately) 50MBps



    6.68 GB = (approximately) 6680 MB



    6680 MB @ 50MBps = 133.6 seconds



    133.6 seconds = 2.23 Minutes theoretical transfer time





    It's simple math really

    You transfered to a PB, that means you are running a 5400 RPM or slower HD that is an Ultra ATA/100 (100MBps). Your actual transfer time will always be much slower than the above stated theoretical transfer time. No worries, there are hundreds of different factors that can affect transfer speeds. [/B]



    1024 MB to a GB.

    You're off by just a few seconds, since 6.68 GB * 1024 MB/GB = 6840 MB, not 6680.



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