Recommended 1394b (Firewire 800) PCI card for PC?

Most motherboard manufacturers haven't quite adopted 1394b (Firewire 800) like Apple has, leaving me stuck with a couple 1394a (Firewire 400) ports - too slow for most file transfer work .

So, I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good 1394b PCI card, with at least two external ports? There's a number of them scattered on Buy/Newegg/etc, but reviews seem mixed. Thanks!

Most motherboard manufacturers haven't quite adopted 1394b (Firewire 800) like Apple has, leaving me stuck with a couple 1394a (Firewire 400) ports - too slow for most file transfer work .

 

So, I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good 1394b PCI card, with at least two external ports? There's a number of them scattered on Buy/Newegg/etc, but reviews seem mixed. Thanks!

What device are you connecting? Firewire 400 is not all that slow, and eSata is a lot faster than anything else out there. Firewire seems to be fading out, even at Apple.

Memory card readers and semi-old, but still very functional, external hard drive enclosures (that want either USB2 or Firewire 800...and I'm not fond of USB2).

What device are you connecting? Firewire 400 is not all that slow, and eSata is a lot faster than anything else out there. Firewire seems to be fading out, even at Apple.

I don't see Apple abandoning FW anytime soon, as eSata is only good for data storage and not the other 100s of items FW is used on. I have yet to see any camcorders with eSata ports, or card readers, or still cameras, or any other multimedia device. I'm not aware of any laptops that sport eSata ports today, and they are rare on desktops as well.

That being said, it depends on what PC you have. You need to be sure and get the correct card type for your system, whether its PCI or PCI Express. I've used SIIG devices in the past, they seem to make 1394a/b cards of both bus flavors. I can understand not liking USB, its slow and too high of host CPU impact for my liking.

Yes, eSata is great for its narrow application...but it doesn't replace FW or USB at this point, and it is unlikely to as it has a different purpose.

Once eSata starts carrying power (the "Power Over eSATA initiative"), I will be happy.