Firewire. Please educate/ help.

Ok, here goes. I was reading up on firewire and found out that is was invented (maybe the wrong choice of words) by Apple. That got me thinking, is it only compatible with Macs? How much faster is it than USB 2.0? If I was to build/buy a new PC, would it be a good idea to get some firewire ports built in? Is that even how it works?

As you can see, I have very limited knowledge of what firewire really is. All I know is that it was brough on the scene by Apple is a means of tranfering data like USB is. Please help me out guys. If you need clarification on some of the questions just ask me to do so. Thanks again!

Well heres some info Ive found/know....

USB 2.0

1. 1.5 Mbit/s 12Mbit/s 480Mbit/s supported.
2. USB controller is required to control the bus and data transfer.
3. Cable up to 5 m.
4. Up to 127 devices supported.
5. Power supply to external devices is 500 mA/5V (max).
6. Full compatibility with USB 1.1 devices.

FireWire (IEEE1394)

1. 100 Mbit/s 200Mbit/s 400Mbit/s supported.
2. Works without control, devices communicate peer-to-peer.
3. Cable up to 4.5 m.
4. Up to 63 devices supported.
5. Power supply to external devices is 1.25A/12V (max.).
6. The only computer bus used in digital video cameras.

For more infomation do a seach on google
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=firewire+vs+usb+2.0&btnG=Google+Search

That got me thinking, is it only compatible with Macs? How much faster is it than USB 2.0? If I was to build/buy a new PC, would it be a good idea to get some firewire ports built in?

• that should answer your question. If you can buy a firewire port card for your pc, it should darn well be usable for a PC. I think the gear you hook up to it should decide whether it is needed or not. Also you can always buy a pci slot firewire card later should you decide you need it.

i got a firewire port(right term?) with my motherboard, it works :p

Most newer PC's come with a firewire port and all Macs do. I prefer to use my firewire over my usb 2 for my backup external hard drive. Mainly because it is a bit faster. But both usb 2 and firewire are very fast. I don't think you would notice a "huge" difference between the two. Mainly because they are both very fast.

Most of the newer mobos have both Firewire and USB2.0 built in. I wouldn't let one over the other make me decide whether or not to buy a certain peripheral device. It's just nice to be able to use either with a puter.

Yeah my dell notebook has both... but i never really use it :P

I had to stick in a firewire PCI port for my iPod, it was cheaper then getting the cable to go to USB 2.0. I like it a lot, it also helps when I do stuff with DigiVid.

I built a custom PC by buying parts off ebay and I got a good deal on a firewire card. I use it, because firewire seems to be the best for uploading video from your camcorder to your PC, since most camcorders only support USB 1.0.

Yeah, I definately agree, Afog; given a choice between USB1.0 and firewire--go for the burn!!!