LaCie d2 Quadra
Quadruple Interface Hard Drive
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Helpful Information
4.2. Interface Comparisons
Deciding which interface to use, whether it be Hi-
Speed USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800 or eSATA
can be a complicated decision. Depending on the inter-
faces your computer has, your decision should be based
on the following:
Computer With Hi-Speed USB 2.0, FireWire 400 And FireWire 800 Ports
If your computer is equipped with these three interfaces, you have several options to consider. The key decision in this
equation is, again, speed. FireWire 800 effectively offers twice the bandwidth of both Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and FireWire
400. So, if you are running bandwidth-intensive applications, such as digital audio, video or graphics, FireWire 800 is your
clear choice.
Computer With Above Interfaces Plus eSATA Ports
In a single drive configuration, eSATA and FireWire 800 connections will provide similar transfer rates for your d2
Quadra. FireWire 800, however, allows for longer interface cables and offers the possibility of daisy-chaining with other
FireWire devices. The advantage eSATA has over FireWire 800 is that, when several d2 drives are connected to your
computer in a RAID0 configuration, FireWire 800 will limit the connection to 100MB/s, while eSATA 1.5Gbits/s can
theoretically transfer at up to 150 MB/s. See chapter 7.
eSATA Questions and Answers
, for more information.
Computer With Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 Ports
If your computer is equipped with a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port and a FireWire port, you will get noticeably better perfor-
mance by using the FireWire connection. Compared to Hi-Speed USB 2.0, FireWire has higher sustained data transfer
rates, a feature especially important for audio and video editors. Also, Hi-Speed USB 2.0 will not allow you to daisy-chain
multiple hard drives to your computer.
Computer With only USB 1.1 Ports
If your computer is only equipped with a USB port, your decision is fairly simple: connect via the USB cable provided
with your drive. Hi-Speed 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 400,
FireWire 800, Hi-Speed USB 2.0 or eSATA host
adapter card that you would install into a PCI, PCI-X
or PCI-Express slot on your computer, thereby allowing
your computer to take advantage of the performances
that these interfaces have to offer. Contact your LaCie
reseller or LaCie Customer Support for information
about PCI, PC, PCI-X or PCI-Express Cards, or visit
our website:
www.lacie.com
.
