USB v. Firewire

[RixMix]

Hi,

I've been researching interfaces, purchased a Firebox and have not had much success getting my PC to see it. Still plugging away at the issue but I'm wondering if I would have better luck with a USB interface vs Firewire.

From what I understand Firewire is supposed to be less taxing on the CPU than USB as it has it's own process which I guess is why I'm having problems at some level.

So, I have a brand new 2.66 Intel Quad processer, Vista 64, 8G RAM, 640G drive. So my questions are:

Will the quad processor handle the performance of USB compared to Firewire?

If USB is subpar to Firewire, why do so many manufacuters offer a USB interface?

Anybody out there using a USB interface having good success or just getting by?

Are the USB interfaces more plug/play than firewire which seems (to me) to be critical of hardware compatibility?

What's your name? Who's your Daddy? You know the rest.

Thanks for any insight you can offer.

 

[dementedchord]

well it's easier for the manufacturer to implement usb since it doesn't take as much silicon...

it seems when people have trouble with usb it's primarily a problem with higher track count issues...

do you know what fw chipset is in your puter??? this can be a problem... the TI (texas instruments) chips are the prefered...

 

[Minion]

Well the problem with most USB interfaces is that many will take all of the Tracks and Mix them into a stereo track and then send it to your computer were a Firewire interface will send a seperate track for every input the interface has ...

If you only want 2 Tracks then USB is Fine , if you want more inputs Firewire is better....

Pluss firewire is Much faster than USB....

Most all of the cheaper USB interfaces will only record a stereo Mix of what you are recording and not seperate tracks for every input, there are a Few more expensive USB interfaces that can record more than 2 tracks at a time but at that price you might as well get firewire....

If you are haveing problems with your PC recognizeing the Firewire interface it is probably due to the Firewire Chipset you are useing in your PC ....

Try getting a firewire Card that uses a Texas Instruments Chipset....


Cheers

 

[RixMix]

Thanks all for your input. Much appreciated.

Basically, it's just me recording everything one track at a time (or I plan to if I can ever get this I/F to work). But are you saying if I use both inputs on a USB interface (say acoustic guitar and vox), it will be recorded as on track?

My reason for thinking about USB is that I don't want to keep mucking with firewire and compatibility issues, drivers, etc. And would prefer to spend more time playing with the DAW itself.

As for my Firewire card, at the manufactuers suggestion, I did go out and buy a SIIG 40012 PCI card that has the TI chipset. Still to no avail. We've come down to the unit being defective. So, I'm getting a new one shipped tomorrow and will try one last time. If it doesn't work, I'm going to another manufacturer, hence why I'm asking about USB, hoping it would be more plug and play.

For more info, my guess is that I would use about 8-12 tracks total with max of two inputs being recorded at any one time.

Thoughts?

 

[dgatwood]

My reason for thinking about USB is that I don't want to keep mucking with firewire and compatibility issues, drivers, etc. And would prefer to spend more time playing with the DAW itself.

The problem is that USB is quite a lot more likely to have compatibility problems for a number of reasons, most of which boil down to poor interrupt routing decisions made by motherboard manufacturers who assume USB will never be used for anything important....

If your computer can't see a FireWire device at all, unless your FireWire chip is just plain bad, it's a faulty device or cable. I can only think of one case where this wasn't true, and even then, it was true. Long story.

The other remote possibility is that the new TI chipsets and/or recent boards may enforce 1394a/1394b compliance, which limits inrush current during device startup. (IIRC, this was absent from the original 1394 spec.) Macs have enforced compliance for years in their laptops; the result is that badly designed devices like the Firebox just plain don't show up without using the external power supply when used with computers that rigidly enforce 1394a/b compliance. Try using the external supply brick and see if the problem goes away. If so, blame Presonus for not designing the power supply circuit in the Firebox correctly.

 

[RixMix]

The problem is that USB is quite a lot more likely to have compatibility problems for a number of reasons, most of which boil down to poor interrupt routing decisions made by motherboard manufacturers who assume USB will never be used for anything important....

If your computer can't see a FireWire device at all, unless your FireWire chip is just plain bad, it's a faulty device or cable. I can only think of one case where this wasn't true, and even then, it was true. Long story.

The other remote possibility is that the new TI chipsets and/or recent boards may enforce 1394a/1394b compliance, which limits inrush current during device startup. (IIRC, this was absent from the original 1394 spec.) Macs have enforced compliance for years in their laptops; the result is that badly designed devices like the Firebox just plain don't show up without using the external power supply when used with computers that rigidly enforce 1394a/b compliance. Try using the external supply brick and see if the problem goes away. If so, blame Presonus for not designing the power supply circuit in the Firebox correctly.

Thanks. The results were the same between the motherboard firewire and the new card. Right now I think Presonus is saying the device is bad. A new one should be here this afternoon. I'll try your suggesting when I load it and use it with the power supply vs power from the firewire.