Hey guys,

Just wondering what the go with firewire is, compared to a CAT5 network cable running between two computers is the speed faster or ? whats the real differences ?

Cheers Shane

Ok firstly i will compare firewire to usb....i guess thats its first competitor.
Firewire is rated at 400Mbps, USB 2 at 480Mbps. However the way firewire sends data (the architecture) means it can sustain a higher throughput. Meaning over a sustained amount of time can transfer more data then USB 2.

Now for Firewire Vs CAT5e
Firstly, there are two types of Firewire, Firewire 400 and Firewire 800 (400 = 400Mbps, 800 = 800Mbps)
The fastest ethernet standard is gigabit and runs at 1000Mbps. (only achievable over cat5e or cat6 cable)

Now cat5e uses TCP/IP to transfer files. The only protocol i know of for firewire is Appletalk. There is evidence to say that TCP/IP is more efficient then Appletalk. However this is going off a network with multiple computers. For a direct connection i dont believe youd see all these overheads and the difference would be minimal.

Personally cat5 is a more common connection and is found on all laptops. Firewire is somethiing that is optional and not all equipment supports it. This is just another reason why i think gigabit ethernet is the way to go!!

Hope this gave you some info, it certainly sounded good in my head, had trouble getting it down
if anyone can continue it on then please feel free.

the way i always looked at it was that firewire was able to sustain a data rate with constant flow. Where as USB scales up and down depending on the device. Hmm not sure if thats much help!