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TableSyrup

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 29, 2012
312
1
Wondering if anyone can recommend a known working Firewire 400 PCIe Card for the MP 5,1 ??

Thanx ;)
 

flatfoot

macrumors 65816
Aug 11, 2009
1,010
3
For best compatibility, look for a TI chipset.

That. Any FireWire PCIe card with a Texas Instruments chipset will work.
A FW800 to FW400 cable, however, should do the trick, too. That's not an adaptor. It's just that FW400 uses fewer lanes than FW800.
 

TableSyrup

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 29, 2012
312
1
Yeah, there's only two 800 ports on the rear, and I don't want cables hanging off the front of my machine (In a recording studio)

I opted to grab an adapter for ONE peripheral I still need around, and the rest I am upgrading out of and going different routes.

Thanx for the input tho ;)
 

SteelBlueTJ

macrumors 6502
Apr 2, 2012
442
60
USA
I just put this FW400 PCIe card in my 5,1. http://www.sonnettech.com/product/allegrofw400pcie.html

So far it works good and picked up my old FW400 drive right away. I knew I could buy an adapter or new cable, but I figured since the open PCIe bay is there I might as well use it and gain 3 FW400 ports. I still need to try out my old MIniDV camera.

On a side note, I think Apple should have still included at least one FW400 port on the Mac Pro, or at least included an adapter with the computer like they do with the keyboard extension cable. Many people still use FW400. I think they went a bit overkill on having four FW800 ports.
 

flatfoot

macrumors 65816
Aug 11, 2009
1,010
3
Why oh why do people still pay the Apple premium on accessories and peripherals when there's tons of information on affordable compatible hardware?

And stated above, just use a 9-pin to 6-pin FireWire cable to connect FW400 devices to FW800 ports.
 

JesterJJZ

macrumors 68020
Jul 21, 2004
2,443
808
I have a sonnet card with three USB 2.0 ports and two FW400 ports. Had it running my MBox 2 Pro. Just pulled it from my system and don't need it. PM if interested.
 

CaptainChunk

macrumors 68020
Apr 16, 2008
2,142
6
Phoenix, AZ
Why oh why do people still pay the Apple premium on accessories and peripherals when there's tons of information on affordable compatible hardware?

And stated above, just use a 9-pin to 6-pin FireWire cable to connect FW400 devices to FW800 ports.

The OP mentioned he needed dedicated bandwidth for one of his devices, hence an expansion card. A lot of pro audio gear is like that, actually. Also, I've dealt with older Canon video cameras that for whatever reason (I cannot explain) refuse to work on FW800 ports with adapters.
 

flatfoot

macrumors 65816
Aug 11, 2009
1,010
3
The OP mentioned he needed dedicated bandwidth for one of his devices, hence an expansion card. A lot of pro audio gear is like that, actually. Also, I've dealt with older Canon video cameras that for whatever reason (I cannot explain) refuse to work on FW800 ports with adapters.

My reply was directed at the post I replied to, not at the OP.
 
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