Your solution is slower; also, you need to fsync()/fdatasync() the new file before moving, at least on some systems (http://lwn.net/Articles/322823/ http://lwn.

Your solution is slower; also, you need to fsync()/fdatasync() the new file before moving, at least on some systems (http://lwn.net/Articles/322823/ http://lwn.net/Articles/322823/ is the best reference I can find right now), and you need to fsync() the directory if you wish the rename to be durable (as opposed to just all-or-nothing.)