RME Fireface 800 & PC (Firewire Card?)

kingofswing · 19th October 2006

Hi,

I already own and sucessfully use my Fireface 800 on my trusty G4 Mac with Logic.

I am now also planning on using the Fireface with a new PC based around an Intel Dual Core 3.4 GHZ (has 2 free PCI slots as well as 1 free PCI E) and Nuendo 3 for mixing / mastering demos.

Which PCI / PCI E Firewire card would you recommend I install on my PC to use with the RME Fireface 800 without problems.

Im using the Fireface 800s FW400 port for my mac, so im now left with 2 800 ports for the PC.

In the UK i have seen Belkin branded Firewire PCI cards. Any good?

Thank you in advance.

rokuez · 19th October 2006

i just bought a whatever brand name firewire pci card that supported the 400 not 800 data rate.

on rme's site they list some PCI firewire cards that don't work so well.

majortom · 19th October 2006

I bought this one. Mostly because it was the only PCIe card out at the time. When I bought it the price was $80, it's gone up significantly for some reason. If I recall, it comes with the Orange Micro drivers which bypass the XP SP2 Firewire 800 problems, but it's been to long for me to be sure. It's worked well with no problems in my system, but it's not on the RME list... not many cards are and no PCIe cards last time I looked... so take my advice at your own peril :-)

http://www.startech.com/Product/Item...EXFW800_3&c=US

RME Short List:

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

cebec · 19th October 2006

My understanding is that practically any card will handled 1394a (400 mbps) but that only a few, and especially those with TI chipsets, will handle 1394b (800 mpbs). The LaCie Firewire 800 PCI card is often recommended for the latter. However, I've also heard that Firewire 800 (1394b) is only absolutely necessary when you are using more than one Fireface simultaneously since 1394a has the bandwidth to handle simultaneous I/O of a single Fireface 800.

chrysb93065 · 21st October 2006

Get the LaCie FW800 card. The FF80 works well with almost any 1394a card, or onboard chipset. However, the LaCie card is a good match to RME. I can track 24+ simultaneous tracks, and it doesn't even breathe hard.

19th October 2006	#1
kingofswing Lives for gear Joined: Jan 2006 Location: UK Posts: 1,145 Thread Starter 2 Reviews written	RME Fireface 800 & PC (Firewire Card?) Hi, I already own and sucessfully use my Fireface 800 on my trusty G4 Mac with Logic. I am now also planning on using the Fireface with a new PC based around an Intel Dual Core 3.4 GHZ (has 2 free PCI slots as well as 1 free PCI E) and Nuendo 3 for mixing / mastering demos. Which PCI / PCI E Firewire card would you recommend I install on my PC to use with the RME Fireface 800 without problems. Im using the Fireface 800s FW400 port for my mac, so im now left with 2 800 ports for the PC. In the UK i have seen Belkin branded Firewire PCI cards. Any good? Thank you in advance.

21st October 2006	#5
chrysb93065 Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2006 Location: Simi Valley, CA Posts: 523 1 Review written	LaCie Get the LaCie FW800 card. The FF80 works well with almost any 1394a card, or onboard chipset. However, the LaCie card is a good match to RME. I can track 24+ simultaneous tracks, and it doesn't even breathe hard.

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19th October 2006	#2
rokuez Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2006 Location: West Los Angeles Posts: 783	i just bought a whatever brand name firewire pci card that supported the 400 not 800 data rate. on rme's site they list some PCI firewire cards that don't work so well.

19th October 2006	#3
majortom Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2006 Location: NYC Posts: 530	I bought this one. Mostly because it was the only PCIe card out at the time. When I bought it the price was $80, it's gone up significantly for some reason. If I recall, it comes with the Orange Micro drivers which bypass the XP SP2 Firewire 800 problems, but it's been to long for me to be sure. It's worked well with no problems in my system, but it's not on the RME list... not many cards are and no PCIe cards last time I looked... so take my advice at your own peril :-) http://www.startech.com/Product/Item...EXFW800_3&c=US RME Short List: http://www.rme-audio.com/english/tec...fw800alert.htm

19th October 2006	#4
cebec Gear nut Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 93	My understanding is that practically any card will handled 1394a (400 mbps) but that only a few, and especially those with TI chipsets, will handle 1394b (800 mpbs). The LaCie Firewire 800 PCI card is often recommended for the latter. However, I've also heard that Firewire 800 (1394b) is only absolutely necessary when you are using more than one Fireface simultaneously since 1394a has the bandwidth to handle simultaneous I/O of a single Fireface 800.