OT-Getting a Firewire port on the FRONT of my next PC

markrad wrote on 7/25/2004, 10:36 PM
Right now I have a SIG Firewire card in my current PC. Works fine but its very limiting hooking up camera/cable to the connector on the rear of the computer. I vowed my next computer would have a firewire port on the FRONT of the case.
Now that I'm computer shopping I realize I'm going to have to have a computer case with a firewire connector on the front but thats only the half of it.

Looks like some motherboards have onboard support for IEEE-1394. But I also remember that it needs to be OHCI compliant, correct?
One particular motherboard, the Asus - P4P800E Deluxe has a VIA firewire chipset. This is what I found on the VIA website.

"The VIA VT6307 is compliant with the latest IEEE 1394 standards with full 1394a P2000 support, and has an OHCI compliant programming interface with support for I2C EEPROMs and 4-Wire Serial ROMs. The VIA VT6307 has VIA and OHCI software driver support built into all recent Microsoft® Windows® operating systems."

OHCI software driver support? Is this going to work or not?
Sorry for the long post, please chime in if you have any experience with this or anything to add.

Mark

Comments

Spot|DSE wrote on 7/26/2004, 1:36 AM
There are all sorts of panels/cable harnesses that can currently place a 1394 port at the front of your computer.
MOST motherboards these days are OHCI compliant as well.
Anything VIA scares me. They've come up in the world, but given their past, I'm not buying.
Chienworks wrote on 7/26/2004, 3:55 AM
I solved this problem long ago by getting an extra firewire cable and leaving it plugged into the back of my computer all the time. The other end of the cable sits out on the front of my desk, always ready for the camera to be plugged in. I've never had the need to have a port in the front of the computer.
stormstereo wrote on 7/26/2004, 5:04 AM
Chienworks - the easiest solutions are often the last we think about. :)
Best/Tommy
FuTz wrote on 7/26/2004, 5:35 AM

I don't know about your card, but my ADSTech's got an "inside the case" 1394 plug so I would just buy a "front pannel bridge" that shouldn't be very expensive and hook everything up. But now I do exaclty the same as Chienworks...

"Anything VIA scares me. They've come up in the world, but given their past, I'm not buying."
You bl++dy bet! I got this computer with VIA KT133 chipset and because of that, I've never been able to do decent audio on my comp. Abit mobo. AMD driven. Went to a shop where they sell/maintain ALL kinds of comp's and guess what, the guy who hits the road everytime to troubleshoot said: "stay away from those chips, everytime I get a job to do it's with these chips".
I know they've fixed most issues but it's too late with me.
Never again. My back's still aching from that rip-off.
Next time: Intel. More expensive but more reliable from what I learned with friends and professionals. "They develop for Intel, then AMD adapts..."
AnotherMovieMaker wrote on 7/26/2004, 9:34 AM
My latest motherboard - Soyo SY-P4I875P - came with a 6in1 card reader along with 2 firewire ports and 2 USB2 ports. This installs in the front of your case either thru a 3 1/2 bay or a 5 1/4 bay.

So far, it works great.

As long as your existing motherboard has the proper connections on it, you can buy just the card reader/firewire/usb combo.
riredale wrote on 7/26/2004, 10:30 AM
I've had a little panel on the front of my PC for the past few years. It has dual USB, mic, line-in, line-out, a game port, and a firewire port. It cost about $20, and uses one of the knockout 5 1/4 panels. Very useful.
ken c wrote on 7/26/2004, 3:16 PM
I use that ASUS board, it's great (P4C800 I think.. P4) ... just get a case with a firewire front port and run the wire from the m/b to the case's front firewire port. I also have a 4-port firewire PCI card which works well..

ASUS makes the best m/bs imho, I've bought virtually all boards.

I'm doing what Chien is, eg I have a dedicated firewire plugged in all the time, and it's looped over the top of my desk to the front, so I can plug my DV-camcorder into it anytime... and I use the pci firewire card for my portable hard drives.


ken
BrianStanding wrote on 7/27/2004, 9:38 AM
I've had problems with my Via KT133 mobo, too.

However, my KT400 mobo and two OHCI firewire cards are both Via chips, and I've never had a problem with them at all. The firewire cards cost $18 apiece, so I ain't complainin'. (More than I can say for my highly rated, relatively expensive and now completely defunct ADS Pyro card with a TI chip, so go figure)

Check this out for a nice, customizable front port option:
www.frontx.com
biggles wrote on 7/27/2004, 2:41 PM
I have been using the frontx 'system' for years now - I like the ability to mix and match the connectors.