Technology and Innovation

I Need More Space-Quick!
The most common interfaces that data moves through on its way to or from storage media (on the type of computer system most of us use) are ATA, SATA, eSATA, USB 2.0 and FireWire. ATA and SATA are internal interfaces. eSATA is the external version of SATA—the primary difference is the use of a different connector that is more tolerant of abuse. All of the speed that SATA offers is duplicated with eSATA.
FireWire and USB 2.0 are popular for their ease of use and portability, though neither has the raw performance of ATA, SATA or eSATA. While FireWire and USB 2.0 are both fast enough to handle DV streams, the performance hit will rear its ugly head when you’re rendering effects or your final project. That said, if you find yourself needing more hard drive space right now and there’s no eSATA port and you don’t have room for another internal drive, it’s hard to go wrong with a FireWire or USB 2.0 drive.