PCIe or Firewire

[stosostu]

I am looking at getting a Motu 24 I/O which comes with a Firewire cable, but I can get an additional PCIe card for it. I'm mainly an analogue/tape person, so can someone please confirm for me that the PCIe option is best, preferable with an explanation as to why?

[lonearranger]

Bob,

What sort of computer are you using? If the internal FireWire port is a supported chipset then it should be ok. If you are using external disks for direct audio recording then a separate pcie card may help to balance the load and track count.

You can always add the FireWire card later if there are particular issues, though googling for your computer model or motherboard and the motu model you are looking at may provide you with more real world experiences.

Has this been suggested by your retailer, if so I would be asking them for more details .

Cheers

[Drumstruck]

It depends on what you intend to connect to this port - a lot of manufactures specify certain supported f/w chips - mostly TI or VIA from what I've seen. I've had a few problems with onboard f/w ports that were quickly resolved with a $20 TI f/w PCI card. (or PCIe if you need that bus)

[Ender]

On paper, PCIe should offer lower latency, and has higher bandwidth over Firewire. It should move more data faster (if needed). Depending on your machine and/or audio device(s), PCIe could be more reliable, partly due to avoiding any complications with Firewire chipsets, or just badly written FW drivers etc. but also just due to the fact it has more bandwidth for transferring your data.

It's nice to still have the option of using Firewire though if you need to go mobile.. but you might get a separate device for that if needed.

If you already have a PC/Mac that has a spare PCIe slot, and the PCIe card isn't cost prohibitive, it could be the better option. Firewire is a a good alternative if no PCIe is available, such as laptops, iMacs, etc. My 3c only.

[stosostu]

Thanks for the replies.

Just to clarify, I would be buying a used Motu 24 I/O which has a Firewire cable with it, but no PCIe card. I was wondering if I should get the optional PCIe card, they go for $2-300 used or $499 new?

The computer is an Intel Celeron PC running Windows 7, it doesn't have a Firewire port, but they are cheap. It does have free PCIe slots.

I had read that the advantage of the Motu PCIe card is that it does processing on the card to reduce latency?

I would be using the 24 I/O with a 24 channel desk, that is usually connected to my 24 track tape machine, I envisage building a switching unit so that the I/Ps and O/Ps from the desk can go to either the tape or the computer.

[Kurt]

You have to get the 324 or 424 card. MOTU units like the 24i/o, 2408 etc all connect to these cards using a firewire cable but they do not use the firewire protocol. If you plug them in to a standard firewire port you may damage them.

[Sammas]

Yup. Kurt is correct. While they use a firewire cable, the protocol is MOTU's own "audiowire" or something like that. It will only work with the appropriate MOTU PCI(e) card.

[stosostu]

Excellent, thanks guys, I'll get the Motu PCIe card to go with it then.

[chribble]

sure. if youre not using mac, its best to use pcie.
too many issues with 1394 on pc i think.

[lonearranger]

sure. if youre not using mac, its best to use pcie.
too many issues with 1394 on pc i think.

Think this depends somewhat on the combination of the firewire chipset and the particular interface. I have been using internal firewire port on and ASUS mobo(Agere FW chipset) with yamaha n12 for the last 2 years and it has been extremely stable and reliable.

The only reason you would go to PCIE firewire card is if the internal chipset is not supported by your interface, and then you need to make sure you get the right card (TI chipsets seem to be the most supported).

This is kind of moot point in Bob's case because he has no internal firewire, and the motu 24/io does not uses audiowire not firewire.

Cheers