PC has no firewire - and now?

Jan [MTW]

Jan [MTW]

Member
Aug 26, 2010
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Germany
Hey Guys,
I wanted to buy the Saffire Pro 24 DSP, but then I looked for a firewire-input
in my Pc and i couldn't find one. :(
Now i'm wondering if it's worth it to upgrade my Pc with a Firewire-card (don't know how to do that or if it's even possible?!) or
should I go for the Saffire Pro 6, which you connect to the pc with
usb.
Whats the difference between Firewire and Usb?
Are the Saffire Pro 6 Preamps the same as the 24's ones?
-- I only need an input for my guitar/bass and for a mic. If the preamps
are the same, the Pro 6 would be a better choice for me.

:cry:

Edit: Found this : http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/pid/evendi/info/p498751_Delock-FireWire-PCI.html
It gives me some hope, because its fkn cheap... But 10€?!?! Is such a low price even possible? :D
 
You can buy a Firewire PCI card for pretty cheap. I had to do that with my PC and it works fine. The only hiccup it had was the wireless card in my desktop would interfere with it on the PCI bus and I have to disable the wireless when I use my RME.
 
Yeah that makes me happy! :hotjump:
But i'm a noob when it comes to pc-hardware. Where will the inputs
"come out" of my pc. I don't see a place where they could be
after I put the card into my Pc.

Another question : There're VERY cheap firewire cards (like 10€), but also
expensive ones (like 100€). Can I buy a cheap one without any probs
or should I pay attention to something?

Edit: Ah I found something... down on the back of my pc there're like 5 fans.
One of them is already used for my graphic card. (could this be?)
 
Do NOT just get any FW card, make sure it has a Texas Instruments chipset, else you will be having to buy another one. Get one of the normal-priced ones. 100 euro for a FW card should come with a blowjob from the (female) shop assistant at least.

You may as well tell us what motherboard you have (if you don't know, get this: http://www.piriform.com/speccy) and we will tell you if it comes with onboard FW or not. Either way, it is recommended to get pci or pci-E FW card with a TI chipset.
 
I only need one input (guitars/bass/vocals). But I want to get HIGH
quality DI's.
At the moment I have the Line6 Pod Gx...
 
When you go to install the card, if you look on the back of the PC where all the connections are there are pieces of metal that will come out (from the inside) and will open up a slot corresponding with a PCI slot on the motherboard. You take the piece of metal out, usually just bending it back and forth it snaps off kind of, and put the PCI card in so the connections go into the slot you opened. Put a screw in where the PCI card's metal end meets the case on the inside to secure it, put the case back together, etc. Pretty simple and easy.
 
you WILL notice an improvement in the quality of your DIs with a Saffire compared to a Line 6, the DI input of the Saffire is great, and so are the converters compared to Line 6 converters. I don't think you'd notice with a Saffire Usb to a Firewire Saffire though, the main advantage there is the lower latency of firewire I think (correct me if I'm wrong?)
 
This may be stupid question. but im a tech noob..can you do the same for laptop?? Buy a firewire card and install it if you dont have it?

sorry for thread hijack..
 
If you are only going to record one track at the time and have a decent computer, I really think that you can use USB version instead.
It is said (and most likely true) that USB interfaces are more demanding for your computer, but latency wise I got the same result from my old Presonus Audiobox which is USB and my new TC Konnekt 6. So if preamps and stuff are the same on the Saffire USB and Firewire versions, you are probably just as fine with USB
 
Listen to me my friend. I own a Saffire Pro 24 and was dealing with different FW cards. The ones with chip VIA VT6306, VT6307, VT6308, VT6315N work well but not as low latency as the Texas Instruments (TI) TSB43AB22 or TSB43AB23.
I'm now using a TI TSB43AB22 pci card; it is the best one that I tested and I get 3 times lower latency than the VIAs.
And about the Saffire Pro 24, I don't own pro hardware and I'm not a pro too, but I read and learn a lot before I buy it. Lot of people agreed that it is great; I can say it is really great and good sounding.
 
On the USB vs Firewire question, USB and Firewire are now both 'legacy' protocols, which means they are no longer 'current tech'. USB 3.0 and eSATA seem to be the options for newer hardware. BUT, most interfaces are still using Firewire or USB 2.0. Most of the USB protocols are backwards compatible, which means you can use your USB1 or USB2 devices with the new USB3.

Also, just to get it out of the way, Firewire is a term given to the 802.11b standard protocol by Apple. The real name is 802.11b, but 'Firewire" was created by Apple because it sounds cooler and can sell more overpriced hardware. Just remember that 802.11b and Firewire are the same thing.

Firewire and USB 2.0 have data transfer speeds that are very close except Firewire has a better continuous transfer rate while USB 2.0 transfers better in 'bursts'. I feel that Firewire would be more solid for audio since audio would be more like a constant data stream. Do a google search on USB 2.0 vs Firewire and form your own opinion.

Again, I would choose Firewire even if you have to get a card. Definitely stick with Texas Instruments (TI) firewire chipsets.
 
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