Firewire?

[RedLizard]

I've got an approx. 3 year old Dell PC that doesn't appear to have Firewire. I'm looking into diving into recording and Firewire looks like a great alternative to both USB and PCI, but I don't know if it's an option with this PC.

Can I add firewire to my PC? Is it roughly the same process as adding a sound card?

[mtfingers]

It's even easier. Just get a firewire PCI card. Mine has 4 firewire ports in the back.

[RedLizard]

Cool, think I can manage that!

[jzucker]

Make sure you get one with the TI chipset

[RedLizard]

Jack, thanks for the TI tip...I would have probably just gone for the cheapest!

I see now that there are 400mps and 800mps cards, as well as some with both 400 and 800. Some of the 800 ones also say they are backwards compatible to 400 and come with a 9 pin to 6 pin adapter.

Looking toward the future, would it be smart to spend a little more and get either a 400/800 combo or backward compatible 800mps card? Or is 800 something that my 3 y.o. Dell PC wouldn't even be able to take advantage of?

[jzucker]

Originally posted by RedLizard
Jack, thanks for the TI tip...I would have probably just gone for the cheapest!

I see now that there are 400mps and 800mps cards, as well as some with both 400 and 800. Some of the 800 ones also say they are backwards compatible to 400 and come with a 9 pin to 6 pin adapter.

Looking toward the future, would it be smart to spend a little more and get either a 400/800 combo or backward compatible 800mps card? Or is 800 something that my 3 y.o. Dell PC wouldn't even be able to take advantage of?

I *WOULD* recommend an 800mbit firewire card. If you get a good one, the hardware and drivers will be more efficient even if you are running it at half speed. They are not that much more expensive. Read the article on the rme site and purchase one of the cards they recommend:

http://www.rme-audio.com/english/tec...fw800alert.htm