Friday, April 04, 2008

Firewire vs. USB 2.0 frame rate testing

Machine Configuration:

- Duron 1GHz
- 768M memory
- 7200RPM 160G hard drive
- Windows XP

Frame rate test:

(Test 1) DMK 31AF03.AS, i.e. Firewire, 1024x768

=> full 30 FPS without any problem

(Test 2) DMK 21AU04.AS, i.e. USB 2.0, 640x480

=> only 24-25 FPS

I have removed all USB devices before the test, similarly for the Firewire test, the DMK is the only device attached. All test conducted with IC Capture 2.0

I guess it's because USB 2.0 requires more CPU intervention and thus the slower CPU has become the bottleneck. Therefore, if you have a relatively old machine, go for Firewire version is better.

(Test 3) DBK 21AF04.AS, i.e. Firewire, 640x480

=> 56 fps!

When compare to (Test 2), the speed for Firewire is nearly double of the USB 2.0 counterpart! Therefore, Firewire is superior than USB 2.0 in slower systems.

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