What is the maximum speed of FireWire 800 (IEEE 1394b)?

FireWire 800 (IEEE 1394b) supports a maximum data transfer rate of 0.80 Gbps.

What capabilities does FireWire 800 (IEEE 1394b) support?

FireWire 800 (IEEE 1394b) supports data transfer, video output, audio, power delivery (up to 45W).

1/10 Legacy

FireWire 800 (IEEE 1394b)

Q: How future-proof is FireWire 800 (IEEE 1394b)?

FireWire 800 (IEEE 1394b) has a future-proof score of 1/10. Obsolete. Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 fully replaced it. TB-to-FW800 adapters exist for legacy device access.

Storage Interface

Max Speed

0.80 Gbps

Max Resolution

—

Power Delivery

45W

Released

2002

Doubled FireWire speed to 800 Mbps with a new 9-pin connector. Popular on Mac Pro towers for external drives and pro audio. Backward compatible with FireWire 400 via cable adapter.

Bandwidth

800 Mbps

Power Delivery 45W

On this page

Capabilities

Data ✓

Video ✓

Audio ✓

Power ✓

Ethernet ✗

Future-Proof Analysis

Obsolete. Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 fully replaced it. TB-to-FW800 adapters exist for legacy device access.

Compatible Connectors

FireWire 800 (9-pin)

Cables

FireWire 800 Cable (9-to-9 pin)

FireWire 800 (9-pin) ↔ FireWire 800 (9-pin)

Speed Benchmarks

Scenario	File Size	Theoretical	Realistic
Transfer a 1GB file	1.00 GB	10.0s	12.0s
Transfer a 2GB photo album	2.00 GB	20.0s	24.0s
Transfer a 10GB movie	10.00 GB	100.0s	120.0s
Transfer a 25GB game install	25.00 GB	250.0s	300.0s
Transfer a 50GB backup	50.00 GB	500.0s	600.0s