Are all PCI Firewire cards the same?

[caliyogi]

Hi, I need to get a firewire card for my PC, are they all pretty much the same or is one better than the other? Where's the best deal to get one?

Thanks.

 

[PIMPBOT5000]

I think for the most part they are all the same. I guess it depends on how fast (400Mbps or 800Mbps) and how many ports you want.

Check these out...
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?DEPA=&submit=Go&description=firewire

 

[caliyogi]

hey, thanks for the info. i didn;t see any 800mbps anywhere - are they out yet?

 

[jamesbond007]

The 800Mbps is a new standard set by Apple. I'm not sure when we'll be seeing them on the PC, but I'm sure it won't be long.

Right now, as far as I know, it's only available on Apple's newest lineup.

 

[merlocka]

I needed one for my new iPod, and browsed the selection at newegg. I think the only differences between the are number of ports, whether there's an "internal" port, whether there is an external power connector, and of course which chipset it uses.

I shy'd away from the VIA models (because I'm biased against VIA, YMMV) and bought the cheap-o model from newegg with the NEC chipset. No drivers needed in WinXP and it has worked great so far.

I love being able to transfer mp3's at 4MB/s.