Hardware issue

[amd64skater]

i have a new firewire xternal drive which is 40 gigs can i use it say for my page file usage or temp internet files to make my computer faster or what should i use it for and how do i do it

 

[disarmedmeteor]

you should use it for static storage backup......critical files that you don't want to loose, music, save game file, etc. but using it for a page file would be horridly slow, you would be bottlenecked by the firewire bandwidth, plus your computer would not boot up if you didn't have your hard drive plugged in, or it might, but your computer might complain

 

[amd64skater]

i already use it for my main downloading drive and bit torrents and stuff but can i make more useful than what i use it for

 

[disarmedmeteor]

only backups, that's all you can use external storage devices for....well you could try to put linux on it

 

[amd64skater]

nah i dont know linux at all so i should just use it the way i using it for then huh

 

[randomperson21]

only backups, that's all you can use external storage devices for....well you could try to put linux on it

not necessarily. lots of os's can boot external, from xp to osx to linux. also, you can use it to run apps, store music libraries, movie libraries, etc, in active use on your system with apps like itunes, etc. to the computer, its just like an internal drive. one catch is that if you use it to run apps off of, etc, the computer WILL still boot up just fine, you just won't be able to use those apps and the shortcuts will point to nowhere. which doesn't do anyone much good.

There are, however, several things you need to keep into consideration when using your external drive.

1. interface: usb, firewire, or esata? Usb 2.0, unfortunately, is pretty slow for external hdd's. usually, you can get a maximum of 30MB/s out of a USB 2.0 connection if you have a good enclosure. Now, if your drive is slow already, that really won't matter too much. Firewire is better, about the same transfer rates as USB on Firewire 400. Firewire 800 is better, giving you around 60MB/s transfer. eSATA is best, its essentially transparent to the SATA bus, giving you pretty much no bottlenecks.
sorry, didn't realize it was already fw.

2. Stability of the drive: You mentioned that this drive is old. Make sure it can hold your data without crapping out in a few months.

 

[ktr]

i would just run some HDtach benches and see what the speeds are you your firewire, i have done it with my external hdd via firewire, it aint any better than usb. eSata might be faster because its no different that the sata inside your machine.

 

[disarmedmeteor]

i would just run some HDtach benches and see what the speeds are you your firewire, i have done it with my external hdd via firewire, it aint any better than usb. eSata might be faster because its no different that the sata inside your machine.

yes, that's because there are 2 IEEE standards, one is commonly known as firewire A, and the other as firewire B, now the 1394A (or A) runs at the same speed as usb 2.0, as mentioned by randomperson, now 1394B (or B) runs at twice the bandwidth, now you ask why it has not been commercialized more? because firewire B is not cheap to manufacture, and it is obsolete since making multiple different devices work through the specification is impractical, that's why the universal serial bus is more prevalent

p.s. a beginner's description

 

[Wile E]

yes, that's because there are 2 IEEE standards, one is commonly known as firewire A, and the other as firewire B, now the 1394A (or A) runs at the same speed as usb 2.0, as mentioned by randomperson, now 1394B (or B) runs at twice the bandwidth, now you ask why it has not been commercialized more? because firewire B is not cheap to manufacture, and it is obsolete since making multiple different devices work through the specification is impractical, that's why the universal serial bus is more prevalent

p.s. a beginner's description

I have a FW800 enclosure, and it's great. It's also reverse compatible with FW400 with an adapter. But as you stated, it's more expensive. I believe eSATA's price/performance ratio has pretty much put the "final nail in the coffin" of FW800, so to speak. It's still the best path for those that already have it integrated on their computers, with no ability to use eSATA, tho(think iMacs). That's admittedly a niche market, however.

 

[randomperson21]

yep yep yep. esata ftw.

although i have to admit, fw800 is pretty nice if you have a mac and nothing else. gets the job done.

 

[Scavar]

I have to ask, how does this esata work?

 

[Wile E]

I have to ask, how does this esata work?

It's just external SATA. If you have on-board SATA, you can actually buy a pci bracket that converts one of your internal porrts to a eSATA port.

 

[Flamingsupernova]

you should use it for static storage backup......critical files that you don't want to loose, music, save game file, etc. but using it for a page file would be horridly slow, you would be bottlenecked by the firewire bandwidth, plus your computer would not boot up if you didn't have your hard drive plugged in, or it might, but your computer might complain

The bottleneck in this guys computer wouldn't be an external HDD, it would be his AMD processor (they suck bigtime)

 

[randomperson21]

The bottleneck in this guys computer wouldn't be an external HDD, it would be his AMD processor (they suck bigtime)

.........................................................


intel fanboy, eh?

to clarify your confusion, firewire is slow no matter what computer you're on. period.

and sarcasm doesn't translate very well into cyberspace, if thats the effect you were going for.

 

[Grings]

its irony actually, hes got a p4

 

[randomperson21]

sorry, tired. totally went over my head.