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    Converting USB 2.0 Hardware to Firewire

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Super Mario, Sep 3, 2007.

  1. Super Mario

    Super Mario Newbie

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    I read a post somewhere on the Internet saying that it's possible to convert USB 2.0 devices to Firewire. The solution for this is to buy a Firewire hub and connect USB devices to it and have the hub connect to the laptop via the Firewire port. Is this possible?

    Is it possible to connect USB 2.0 devices to Firewire port? Is so, how would I go about doing this?
     
    Super Mario, Sep 3, 2007
    #1
  2. Lithus

    Lithus NBR Janitor

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    I found some adapter cables here. But may I ask why you need to convert USB to Firewire when their speeds are so similar?
     
    Lithus, Sep 3, 2007
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  3. S_G

    S_G Notebook Enthusiast

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    His computer may not have a USB 2.0 port, possibly only USB 1.1; he might already be using up his USB 2.0 ports; etc.

    Additionally, FireWire is available in 400Mbps and 800Mbps, whereas USB 2.0 is only 480Mbps (if he only has USB 1.1 available, that's just 12Mbps). Either way, even FireWire 400 is generally faster than USB 2.0, due to the way they were designed -- USB will never get close to 480Mbps. Sustained throughput of FireWire is much, much faster than USB 2.0.
     
    S_G, Sep 3, 2007
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  4. Super Mario

    Super Mario Newbie

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    Super Mario, Sep 3, 2007
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  5. Super Mario

    Super Mario Newbie

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    Since I only have 1 Firewire port, I thought I would be able to connect my USB 2.0 devices such as an external hard disk drive and other devices to this port.

    Has anyone used the following USB/Firewire hubs? What is your opinion regarding these hubs?

    http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=990788&CatId=403
    http://www.expansys.ca/p.aspx?i=137595
    http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10854

    I assume it's possible to convert a 6 pins Firewire connector to a 4 pins Firewire connector. Is this assumption correct? I need to do this because many external devices are built using a 6 pins Firewire connector. Because I want to connect these devices to the Firewire port on my laptop which has 4 pins, I need to convert this 6 pins firewire plug to a 6 pins firewire plug.
     
    Super Mario, Sep 3, 2007
    #5