PCI Firewire Card

[madden64freak]

I searched through the forums, and the recommendations for PCI firewire cards all seem to have dead links or links to discontinued products.

I'm wondering if someone could just point me in the right direction as far as finding a PCI firewire card to use with a Behringer FCA610 Firewire Audio Interface as the Firewire built into my motherboard is leaving me with audio distortion issues. I don't know if it's the Firewire on the motherboard or the Firewire on the audio interface itself, but I'd like to drop in a PCI Firewire card and do a comparison.

If someone could fill me in on what chipset/s work the best I'll go and find the card myself.

I'd be looking for something Mountain Lion and Mavericks compatible. I cannot do the PCI-E solution, as all my PCI-E slots are populated. Otherwise I would just get the PCI-E card that's recommended on the forums.

I hate to re-hash what is probably a very old issue in these forums, but I just did not find anything with links that were still relevant, and I couldn't find any product information on the threads that pointed to cards that were still in production.

 

[nobodynose]

I searched through the forums, and the recommendations for PCI firewire cards all seem to have dead links or links to discontinued products.

I'm wondering if someone could just point me in the right direction as far as finding a PCI firewire card to use with a Behringer FCA610 Firewire Audio Interface as the Firewire built into my motherboard is leaving me with audio distortion issues. I don't know if it's the Firewire on the motherboard or the Firewire on the audio interface itself, but I'd like to drop in a PCI Firewire card and do a comparison.

If someone could fill me in on what chipset/s work the best I'll go and find the card myself.

I'd be looking for something Mountain Lion and Mavericks compatible. I cannot do the PCI-E solution, as all my PCI-E slots are populated. Otherwise I would just get the PCI-E card that's recommended on the forums.

I hate to re-hash what is probably a very old issue in these forums, but I just did not find anything with links that were still relevant, and I couldn't find any product information on the threads that pointed to cards that were still in production.

It looks like you only need Firewire 400 for that device, not Firewire 800. Here's a list of several that are still available and most should work with Mac OS X. I've listed the chipset manufacturer and model after each one, you'll have to do your own research on which chipset is best supported.

http://www.amazon.com/TECHNOLOGIES-FWUSB2A-Firewire-400MBPS-480MBPS/dp/B0007WZMWM (unknown)
http://industrialcomponent.com/firewirestuff/fw4agere.html (Agere / Lucent)
http://www.welovemacs.com/1394t1000.html (TI chipset)
http://www.amazon.com/Syba-Firewire-1394a-ports-controller/dp/B000K1KSPQ (NEC uDP72874)
http://www.amazon.com/Syba-SD-VIA-3F-FireWire-Card-VT6307/dp/B000ZKG00Y (VIA VT6307)
http://www.amazon.com/Syba-Connectivity-SD-FWB-64B-Chipset-800Mbps/dp/B000Z80JZI (TI chipset)
http://www.amazon.com/FireWire-1-port-Controller-Cable-SD-PCI-4F-G/dp/B000ZKHPL2 (VIA VT6306)

Here's an eBay auction where you can get a grab-bag of 6 used PCI Firewire cards - there's bound to be one in the bunch that works!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-6-Fi...6-L-FW323-06-AFW-4300B-EUR-0811-/370620045166

 

[madden64freak]

Damn,

Your thoroughness and helpfulness is appreciated. I would definitely say you went above and beyond. Thank you. If anyone else can chime in on chipset compatibility, I'm all ears. I'm still researching the chipsets as best I can, but if anyone can put me on the fast track, I'll take it.

 

[madden64freak]

I ended up going with a PCI card made by SIIG, which I got here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16800998056

It is running the Texas Instruments TSB43AB23 chipset. In my situation this card and chipset solved my problem with my audio interface. The sound is now crystal clear with no anomalies or artifacts.

The chipset that was built into my motherboard was a VIA VT6308 chipset. This chipset did not work well with my audio interface. If you're in a similar situation to me, the card above may be your solution if your motherboard has an available PCI slot.