What's the deal with USB 2.0?

B

bojax34

New member
I am on the verge of purchasing a new USB Audio/MIDI interface. E-Mu has a new USB 2.0 interface coming out later this month, so I am holding out for that one. Everybody keeps telling me to go with Firewire over USB. Does the same go for USB 2.0? Aren't the speeds comparable to Firewire?
 
firewire stuff goes up to 800mbps to 1.6gbps. and the good thing about firewire stuff, is that firewire allows you to connect (if applicable by the device) one device to another device without using a computer. USB though, it needs a computer as sort of like a server... USB 2.0 is only 480mbps
 
Just to clarify: Firewire 400 = 400 mbps, Firewire 800 = 800 mbps, that 1.6 gbps thing is purely hypothetical, there are no such devices
 
USB vs. Firewire

Deciding what you want to do with your interface will help you choose which protocol to use. Basically, it comes down to this:

USB 1.1 - 12Mbps - generally 2 Channel devices
USB 2.0 - 480Mbps - more than two channels
Firewire 400 - 400Mbps - multiple i/o
Firewire 800 - 800Mbps - multiple i/o

Although it seems that USB 2.0 would be faster than firewire 400, this is not the case. USB 2.0 will not increase the speed of the audio at all, it only widens the bandwidth allowing more ins and outs. The audio will still transfer at 12Mbps. Think of it like this - if you are driving a car down a one lane highway at 70 MPH, and that is the fastest your car can go, adding 5 lanes to the left and right of you is not going to make your 70 MPH car go faster. It will only allow you to have 10 more cars going 70 MPH.

Firewire will actually increase the speed of transfer, and can help greatly with latency while monitoring. I would suggest investing in a firewire device. USB 2.0 is more of a sell point than anything.
 
I'm confused. Why does tranfering data from say, one hard drive to another, over USB 2.0 take a fraction of the time it does on USB 1.0. How does this work into your analogy?
 
Data from a drive is much faster than audio information. Hard drives are actually the only thing required by the USB standard to travel at 480Mbps when the device is USB 2.0.
 
Sonic Idiot said:
I'm confused. Why does tranfering data from say, one hard drive to another, over USB 2.0 take a fraction of the time it does on USB 1.0. How does this work into your analogy?
Click to expand...

He was comparing USB 2.0 to Firewire I think, not to 1.0
 
No, I was saying that USB 1.1. and 2.0 for AUDIO will only increase the amount of i/o's you have, not the actual speed of the audio.
 
usb is half duplex (data only travels one way at a time)
firewire is full duplex (data travels both ways at the same time)
 
foreverain4 said:
usb is half duplex (data only travels one way at a time)
firewire is full duplex (data travels both ways at the same time)
Click to expand...

And Firewire has a more streamlined transfer protocol, except in a multi device environment where it can get bogged down in buss arbitration.
 
So is it as simple as getting a Firewire PCI card for my PC to get the full benfits of a Firewire interface? Or do o I need a Firewire hard drive too?
 
The USB 2.0 480Mbps is only Burst Speed it"s sustained speed is MUCH Lower Probably closer to 160Mbps depending on the system ,were Firewire has a 400Mbps Sustained speed in Both Directions which makes it a MUCH Faster interface.....

So in actual real word performance Firewire is close to twice as Fast as USB 2.0...


Cheers
 
altitude909 said:
Just to clarify: Firewire 400 = 400 mbps, Firewire 800 = 800 mbps, that 1.6 gbps thing is purely hypothetical, there are no such devices
Click to expand...

Either way, 1.6 Gbps is wrong. Pick one: real-world devices in the wild or theoretical devices in the lab. If you are limiting yourself to real-world devices in the wild, 800. If not, the FireWire spec theoretically goes up to 3200, not just 1600.

:D
 
Minion said:
The USB 2.0 480Mbps is only Burst Speed it"s sustained speed is MUCH Lower Probably closer to 160Mbps depending on the system ,were Firewire has a 400Mbps Sustained speed in Both Directions which makes it a MUCH Faster interface.....

So in actual real word performance Firewire is close to twice as Fast as USB 2.0...
Click to expand...

And FW800 eats USB 2.0 for breakfast.
 
Robert D said:
And Firewire has a more streamlined transfer protocol, except in a multi device environment where it can get bogged down in buss arbitration.
Click to expand...

I believe the bus arbitration is much improved in FW800. And in some ways, FireWire handles multiple devices better, too. USB doesn't require GUiDs for each device (and most manufacturers thus leave them out), so it can lose track of devices during a bus reset. It's always fun watching your audio interfaces swap places. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top