MP 7,1 MP + Firewire 400 or 800 PCIe card?

[tapplet]

Hello world,

I read somewhere Apple require all PCIe cards to be 64 bit to work (else it wont)... but all I can see are PCIe cards which have FW400 or 800 and work on Windoze 32/64bit, but durr... as its new, no mention of 2019 Mac Pro, or even Mac compatibility.

Anyone had any luck or offer experience to guide my purchase decisions without being left with a PCIe card stockpile that wont work?

--

NOTE: I know FW is "OLD AF" and I should really "move on dude" but I have solid, reliable audio hardware that Im unprepared to drop due to cost investment + nothing new to really replace

 

[arock]

I have an older SIIG FW800 card with 3 ports that I just installed in my new 7,1. I probably bought it 6 years ago. Works just fine - recognized right away, no extra driver required. My guess is that you're not going to have a problem with most cards that you'd buy. Only catch would be if your external hardware is bus powered by the Firewire connection - in that case, you might need auxillary power to the card from the computer. If your audio interface has its own power supply, then you should be fine.

 

[Juicy Box]

You could just use a TB>FW adapter.

 

[bsbeamer]

The major caution with any FW device right now is to make SURE it supports Catalina software. MANY of the older FW devices are incompatible with Catalina due to 32-bit apps that have never been updated. Virtualization has NOT worked well through WINE or VMWare when hardware components are involved.

It's not as pronounced of a problem with video hardware, but several facilities with DV/DVCPRO and FW deck controlled devices are turning to direct hardware converters in Catalina via I/O and bypassing FW entirely. It's an expensive "solution" that really could be solved with an adapter cable or keeping a few older machines in service for these dedicated tasks.

 

[LightBulbFun]

Hello world,

I read somewhere Apple require all PCIe cards to be 64 bit to work (else it wont)... but all I can see are PCIe cards which have FW400 or 800 and work on Windoze 32/64bit, but durr... as its new, no mention of 2019 Mac Pro, or even Mac compatibility.

Anyone had any luck or offer experience to guide my purchase decisions without being left with a PCIe card stockpile that wont work?

--

NOTE: I know FW is "OLD AF" and I should really "move on dude" but I have solid, reliable audio hardware that Im unprepared to drop due to cost investment + nothing new to really replace

the 32bit vs 64bit PCIe cards thing is AFAIK to do with cards that have their own option ROMs (and not in the case of 32bit vs 64bit EFI, I think Apple mean cards that do and dont support above 4G decoding)

something like a Firewire card will generally be a dumb device with no option ROMs etc, so its a non issue basically, and should work fine

 

[fuchsdh]

The major caution with any FW device right now is to make SURE it supports Catalina software. MANY of the older FW devices are incompatible with Catalina due to 32-bit apps that have never been updated. Virtualization has NOT worked well through WINE or VMWare when hardware components are involved.

It's not as pronounced of a problem with video hardware, but several facilities with DV/DVCPRO and FW deck controlled devices are turning to direct hardware converters in Catalina via I/O and bypassing FW entirely. It's an expensive "solution" that really could be solved with an adapter cable or keeping a few older machines in service for these dedicated tasks.

If you have such legacy tech needs, I’m not sure why you wouldn’t keep an old machine just for those tasks. You’re not really gaining anything from faster hardware if you’re constrained to FW400 or 800 anyhow, and it’s almost always less fiddly than moving the tech forward.

 

[skizzo]

If you have such legacy tech needs, I’m not sure why you wouldn’t keep an old machine just for those tasks. You’re not really gaining anything from faster hardware if you’re constrained to FW400 or 800 anyhow, and it’s almost always less fiddly than moving the tech forward.

You can use the same 10+ year old interface on a brand new system and get all the benefits of a faster chipset and CPU and faster and/or more RAM etc....but maintain compatibility with your old interface. The interface can usually work with the latest software if drivers have been maintained too. So having an old interface should not lock you into having to buy a new interface to update other hardware in your system. You can run many more, and more intensive plugins on a newer system with an older interface for example. Bouncing times would be greatly reduced. You're off on the statement that there isn't anything to gain. In fact my experience is proof there is lots to gain from using the same old interface with upgraded systems

In your defense I do think it's peculiar someone purchased (or is thinking about purchasing, I'm not 100% clear on that) a MP 7,1 for audio but still uses a FW interface. I'd be curious what they are really doing with it because a 7,1 system is so so so so very overkill for whatever capabilities a FW audio interface has. Of course that is just tracking wise. If they solely mix then the interface isn't quite as critical because it's mostly just a DAC/ADC at that point and the computer system is more important for being able to run lots of plugins and CPU heavy plugins and reduce bouncing times etc

 

[tapplet]

The major caution with any FW device right now is to make SURE it supports Catalina software. MANY of the older FW devices are incompatible with Catalina due to 32-bit apps that have never been updated. Virtualization has NOT worked well through WINE or VMWare when hardware components are involved.

It's not as pronounced of a problem with video hardware, but several facilities with DV/DVCPRO and FW deck controlled devices are turning to direct hardware converters in Catalina via I/O and bypassing FW entirely. It's an expensive "solution" that really could be solved with an adapter cable or keeping a few older machines in service for these dedicated tasks.

Thanks. This is something Ive been trying to look into - Mojave was fine, Catalina though.. hmm..

I have legacy music files that I (albeit occasionally) have to go back into - which require the older hardware connectivity - which works perfectly well as it is. I guess I could sunset my maxxed out MBP 2015 CPU and use that as and when required... but Id rather retire it for basic graphic needs and move all music requirements over.. hence the need (wait) until a decent, upgradable machine to be released by Apple, ie: MP 7,1

 

[DearthnVader]

The 32bit apps and/or drivers for older hardware maybe the thing that bites you.

You could just use a TB>FW adapter.

There is no direct TB3 to FW, it requires a TB3 to TB2 bidirectional adaptor + at TB2 to FW adaptor.

At the price, we're far better off just using a cheap PCI-E card in the 7,1.

Thunderbolt 3 to FireWire
If you need to connect a FireWire 800 or FireWire 400 device to a new Mac using the Thunderbolt 3 port, you're in for a kludge of adapters. At the moment, there's no direct Thunderbolt 3 to FireWire adapter available, and we doubt one will ever be made. However, Apple makes a Thunderbolt 2 to FireWire 800 adapter, which you could combine with the Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 bidirectional adapter mentioned above.

If you need FireWire 400, then you'll have to add another item to the mix: a FireWire 800 to FireWire 400 adapter. We're told this will work, but our suggestion is this: if you must do this to access some stored data on a FireWire device, quickly copy it to a new storage system and retire your FireWire system.

If your goal is to keep a FireWire-based video or audio editing system working, this conglomeration of connectors and adapters may not prove dependable. Our recommendation is to upgrade to something newer and better supported.

 

[fuchsdh]

The 32bit apps and/or drivers for older hardware maybe the thing that bites you.



There is no direct TB3 to FW, it requires a TB3 to TB2 bidirectional adaptor + at TB2 to FW adaptor.

At the price, we're far better off just using a cheap PCI-E card in the 7,1.

I can verify that a TB3 cable > TB3 to TB2 adapter > TB2 to FW800 adapter > FW800 to FW400 cable chain works; I used it to connect someone's old iPod.

But yes, if you don't have those adapters on hand, it's not inexpensive.

 

[Juicy Box]

You could just use a TB>FW adapter.

There is no direct TB3 to FW, it requires a TB3 to TB2 bidirectional adaptor + at TB2 to FW adaptor.

Yeah, I know all of this.

At the price, we're far better off just using a cheap PCI-E card in the 7,1.

Maybe, maybe not.

The reason why I suggested using Thunderbolt was because a TB3>TB2 adapter could most likely be used with many other things and not just to use FW devices.

Finding a PCI-E FW card that actually works, then taking up a slot, might not be worth the trouble.

Maybe it might be worth it to the OP to get the cheapest possible option and hope it works. Personally, I would much rather get cable adapters that I know that work and ones could be used for other things if needed in the future.

 

[foonon]

I found a card that works. See my posts about it here:
MP 7,1 Firewire PCI Expansion Card
and here:
MP 7,1 FireWire PCIe

Enjoy!
~f