External HD - Maxtor - firewire or USB

[dvd-dude]

Hi everyone... I need some advice.

I am going to buy an external Maxtor 300GB hard drive (One Touch II series). I can get the USB 2.0 only version on sale for $199 ($80 off), or I can get the USB 2.0 & firewire model for $299.

I plan on using it mostly to back stuff up and move stuff between machines... however, if I could use it as a real-time storage drive for video projects (DV video capturing and editing with Sony Vegas) and/or audio recording projects (24-bit audio recording and capturing with Cakewalk Sonar) that would be amazing. Will USB or firewire enable me to have this option or does it really not matter?

Thanks!

-DVD-Dude

[The_Doman]

USB 2.0 wil be fast enough for capturing.
I have here a few HD's connected to some cheap USB2.0 IDE interfaces.
I can capture from DV to it without problems at all.
Sometimes I even capture to it from my TV-card and DV at the same time.

[GeorgeW]

something to consider...

-buy a 5.25" drive kit that has USB 2.0 and Firewire connectivity (~35 - $45)
-buy any IDE hard drive to put into the kit (200gb internals going for about $70).

This gives you flexibility in terms of being able to swap out/in hard drives, and later putting an optical drive like a DVD Burner or something...

[budz]

i would go with FIREWIRE because USB sometimes tends to have compatibility issues. the brand BYTECC has some good external enclosures for hard drives. check to make sure the external enclosure is compatible with a big hard drive. some enclosures use the OXFORD 911 CHIPSET which has the least amout of compatiblity problems. PROLIFIC CHIPSET is ok to use also. some enclosures can only hold up to 80 gbs of hard drive space. check the specs carefully.

[Rivers]

After some advice on this site I bought a USB2/Firewire external drive. I've only used it via USB2 so far and its been great for capturing etc