LaCie Hard Drive User Manual page 29

LaCie Hard Drive User's Manual Technical Information
page 28
Computer With USB 2.0 And FireWire 400 Ports
If your computer is equipped with both USB 2.0 and FireWire ports, drive performance will be relatively similar. The theoreti-
cal transfer rates are 480Mb/s for USB 2.0 and 400Mb/s for FireWire. Realistically, the two are extremely close to each
other in terms of performance and speed.
The main reason for choosing one over the other should be hinged on the existing devices you are already using. For
instance, if you are already using both of your USB 2.0 ports on your computer, you would use the FireWire port to connect
your drive, and vice versa. Avoiding hubs (for USB topology) and daisy-chains (for FireWire topology) will help improve per-
formance because your drive will be connected directly to your computer.
Computer With USB 1.1 And FireWire 400 Ports
If your computer is equipped with a USB 1.1 port and a FireWire port, you will get noticeably better performance by using
the FireWire connection. Even though your LaCie drive comes with a USB 2.0 cable and interface, by connecting through the
USB 1.1 port, the drive will be limited to USB 1.1 speeds and performance.
Computer With Only USB1.1 Ports
If your computer is only equipped with a USB 1.1 port, your decision is fairly simple: connect via the USB cable provided with
your drive. USB 2.0 is backward compatible and can be used in USB 1.1 ports. Again, you will be limited to USB 1.1 speeds
and performance.
Another alternative is to purchase a FireWire or USB 2.0 host adapter card that you would install into a PCI or PCMCIA slot
on your computer, thereby allowing your computer to take advantage of the performances that FireWire and USB 2.0 have to
offer.