Intel motherboards with onboard 1394b (Firewire 800)?

[deanx0r]

I've been looking to build a new rig with an onboard Firewire 800 connection to hook up my Drobo, but it seems that no motherboard features it, even on high end models, which is baffling given that even a mac mini boasts that kind of connection.

Is there a reason why 1394b is as popular as 1394a?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Originally posted by: deanx0r
I've been looking to build a new rig with an onboard Firewire 800 connection to hook up my Drobo, but it seems that no motherboard features it, even on high end models, which is baffling given that even a mac mini boasts that kind of connection.

Is there a reason why 1394b is as popular as 1394a?

I thought Firewire B 800 would eventually pick up but it never did. I did end up getting a 1394b add-on card - it was an Orange Micro. They eventually went out of business and no drivers are made beyond XP ... or was it Windows 2k...

I'm not so sure 'b' is as popular as 'a' is. What do you mean? And can you find an add-on 'b' card or does it need to be on the mobo? You may not have any luck finding one. Best thing to do is google it.. Pricewatch.com use to be good and i think that's how i found mine but google would be your best option.

 

[Absolution75]

It probably has to due with the royalties they have to pay to put firewire on their MB's. Hardly any devices use firewire other than DV recorders. ESATA is perferable IMO for external HD's.

I'm also guessing that its just going to get phased out when USB 3.0 comes around. Generally, I just don't think firewire is all that popular. I keep on getting boards with it "just in case" . . . but I never use it.

 

[deanx0r]

Good point regarding those royalties. I have only used 1394a so far, and it's been noticeably faster than USB2. eSATA is the fastest, but I was never been able to make it plug'n'play with my motherboard, which is a major drawback. I would always need to reboot the computer in order to detect an external hdd I just turned on.

 

[Absolution75]

Originally posted by: deanx0r
Good regarding those royalties. I have only used 1394a so far, and it's been noticeably faster than USB2. eSATA is the fastest, but I was never been able to make it plug'n'play with my motherboard, which is a major drawback. I would always need to reboot the computer in order to detect an external hdd I just turned on.

Have you tried going to device manager and scanning for new hardware? That worked for me on Vista. Vista never detected my ESATA hd's when I plugged it it, had to do the scan (though it was probably because my vista install was from a different motherboard, went from 680i to p45 with no format). Also, if you have an intel chipset, install the latest storage matrix driver.

W7 detects all my sata (yup, even regular sata) stuff no matter what. Hell, I unplugged my DVD drive, plugged in a drive, used the SATA cord (was running short on cords), got some data from the HD, unplugged the HD, plugged back in the DVD Drive. Everything worked perfectly.