help buying an ipod?

[neon]

afternoon all

i am days away from ordering my first ipod (god bless student loans) but i am a bit confused, please excuse me if i sound like an idiot within this post

other than the ipod itself, what else do i need to order? i have seen posts here and there where people say they are waiting for cables, isnt it supplied with any?

also i dont think i even have usb 2.0 (yeah i know...)
i only actually have one working usb port, with a hub attached giving me four, BUT if i use all four it seems my pc cant quite handle that and they all disconnect, so as a rule i just have my modem in all the time, printer or webcam (depending on which is needed) and digicam as and when.

so... would it be worth investing in a firewire card card?
and if so am i correct in thinking i need both the card AND dock connector to firewire cable for this to work?

how easy is it to install a firewire card?

i truly hate hardware... about a year ago i completely killed my old compaq beyond repair in what i'll call an "accident" so had to resort to a quick fix replacement which is a dell, a few years old now...
i *think* i put a PCI card in it when i first got it... i know it's terrible that i don't remember, but i ordered the PCI card initially for the compaq along with a new cd-r drive (which i know i put in this dell )

i am comfortable with going inside my pc to put things in, the cd-r drive installation was incredibly easy, i am just sort of... confused!

uh
sorry for the wordiness, any help/advice?!

thanks in advance

 

[cubist]

I got a PCI two-port Firewire card for my PC at Micro Center for $30. They also have cards with two Firewire and two USB 2 for around $60. I'd definitely recommend getting the card and putting it in.

Sounds like you have an older PC, since you only have one USB port. The hubs don't really work very well (as you've seen), especially with powered devices. So, I'd suggest going with the Firewire-plus-USB2 card.

 

[neon]

Originally posted by cubist
I got a PCI two-port Firewire card for my PC at Micro Center for $30. They also have cards with two Firewire and two USB 2 for around $60. I'd definitely recommend getting the card and putting it in.

Sounds like you have an older PC, since you only have one USB port. The hubs don't really work very well (as you've seen), especially with powered devices. So, I'd suggest going with the Firewire-plus-USB2 card.

thank you i'm in the UK so i'll stick to just firewire to save some money (i will either switch to mac or upgrade to a new pc by the end of the year), i guess firewires uberfast too, so that justifies paying for it... in that case, do i need the cable as well?

any UK readers, would i be better off getting the firewire card from apple with my ipod or shopping elsewhere?

 

[Counterfit]

The iPod comes with a dock connector <-> FireWire cable, so all you need is the FireWire card. Of course, I would suggest getting the remote and dock too, and once you add those on, you might as well get the 20GB anyway.

 

[neon]

Originally posted by Counterfit
The iPod comes with a dock connector <-> FireWire cable, so all you need is the FireWire card. Of course, I would suggest getting the remote and dock too, and once you add those on, you might as well get the 20GB anyway.

thanks

i am getting the 20, i'm trying to talk myself into getting the 40 but as even that wouldnt be enough for everything i'm thinking stick with the 20 for now and if a 60 or 80 is released inside a year or so i'll be able to justify a second purchase (but it would be harder to convince myself to do that if i spend an extra £100 on the 40 now)

i just didnt want to have it all turn up and then discover i was short of something and have to wait

 

[Counterfit]

I just got the 20 on Saturday, and it rocks
I think you'll enjoy it, once you get the FireWire card.

 

[neon]

i'm like a five year old at christmas, cant wait

amazon have a firewire card for £20 which is a lot cheaper than at apple (and the customer reviews are mostly from people who got it for use with their ipods) so i'm convinced

just gotta wait for the £'s to hit the bank now