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Archive 2010 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

Gregory.Rotter
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p.1 #1 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

Hi guys, I was just wondering if this firewire 800 card will be compatible with Windows 7 64 bit pro;

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Can't find any details on belkin's website. Just says win 98, 2000, XP. I'm just not sure if the drivers will work properly. I don't see why they wouldn't, but I was just hoping you could shed some light on this one

Jan 10, 2010 at 05:28 AM

sjms
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p.1 #2 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

yes it will work with the native drivers built into 7. as to it throughput, FW under windows is a hit and miss affair. i don't know what you have in mind to connect to your computer.

Jan 10, 2010 at 08:48 AM

UCSB
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p.1 #3 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

I just picked up a card Firewire 800 for my Windows 7 64-bit machine. This is what I learned: do your research and only buy a quality card from a manufacturer that says that they support the operating system at full speed. If you buy a card like the one above, it may/will work with the generic Windows 7 driver but throughput will be really low (14MB/sec). If it supports the old legacy Vista driver, you might get 35MB/sec. A properly supported card will give you more than twice that throughput. Anyway, my cheap card is only giving me 40MB/sec with old Vista driver. Unless you do the project right, Firewire is a waste of time and money. I don't have it, but the Sonnet card appears to be working correctly.

Jan 11, 2010 at 04:20 AM

sjms
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p.1 #4 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

surprisingly the belkin and sonnett cards are identical cards other then the sexy purple color of the sonnett. the differences as you said ar the drivers. the sonnett supplies the unibrain drivers which for some setups has been a problem in the past. but i took a shot after reading your answer and with my one remaining FW800 device which is a OWC portable external drive and got average 24-60MB/s results which is better then the baseline driver.

http://www.unibrain.com/

Jan 11, 2010 at 07:38 AM

Gregory.Rotter
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p.1 #5 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

It's for a sandisk firewire 800 CF reader. I'm using firewire 400 at the moment. Would like to get a firewire 800 pci card for faster read speeds. Nobody else here has one of these with w7 64 bit, and this card reader??

Jan 11, 2010 at 07:47 AM

Nickle S.
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p.1 #6 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

Gregory.Rotter wrote:
It's for a sandisk firewire 800 CF reader. I'm using firewire 400 at the moment. Would like to get a firewire 800 pci card for faster read speeds. Nobody else here has one of these with w7 64 bit, and this card reader??

Greg,

I'm running W7 Premium 64bit and have the Sandisk Firewire800 reader with the Unibrains driver. Transfer speeds are between 45 and 55 MB/sec. Here is the 1394b card that I'm using with it:

http://www.startech.com/item-download/PEX1394B3-3-Port-2b-1a-1394-PCI-Express-FireWire-Card-Adapter.aspx

Nicholas
www.copperhillimages.com

Jan 11, 2010 at 08:49 AM

sjms
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p.1 #7 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

again your xfr rates will vary depending on your device. there are devices that kick off others because they don't play nice together. throughput will vary with other devices on the same line. firewire is not the panacea for everything. it is less tolerant to marginal products and cabling. it also has the award for the absolute worst designed and implemented commercial electrical connectors.

Jan 11, 2010 at 10:49 AM

UCSB
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p.1 #8 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

Gregory ... if you have FW 400, I would try the (Legacy) drivers that come with Windows 7, that should get you to 35MB/sec (if your CF card supports those speeds). USB 3.0 will be coming out here soon and supports 5Gb/sec. It will kill off Firewire. I'm thinking that any investments that I make will be in the USB 3.0 direction. If you need the extra speed right now and your CF supports it, I would recommend investing the $75 plus in a quality FW 800 card (Sonnet, StarTech). One other possibility, when USB 3.0 starts shipping the prices on supported FW 800 cards may drop fast.

Jan 11, 2010 at 02:38 PM

Gregory.Rotter
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p.1 #9 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

UCSB wrote:
Gregory ... if you have FW 400, I would try the (Legacy) drivers that come with Windows 7, that should get you to 35MB/sec (if your CF card supports those speeds). USB 3.0 will be coming out here soon and supports 5Gb/sec. It will kill off Firewire. I'm thinking that any investments that I make will be in the USB 3.0 direction. If you need the extra speed right now and your CF supports it, I would recommend investing the $75 plus in a quality FW 800 card (Sonnet, StarTech). One other possibility, when USB 3.0 starts shipping the prices...Show more →

I've got two Sandisk extreme IV cards, the firewire reader, hence the reason I am looking for a firewire 800 card. Oh well.

Jan 11, 2010 at 02:59 PM

sjms
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p.1 #10 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

Gregory, i have 10 UDMA lexar and sandisk cards and i use the simple Lexar Pro UDMA USB2 reader. i sold off my FW800 reader. USB3 is already shipping on Gigabyte Motherboards. there is the next gen FW in the wings but i have a feeling it is becoming more and more irrelevent FW 800 was a near still birth.

Jan 11, 2010 at 05:33 PM

Nickle S.
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p.1 #11 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

sjms wrote:
Gregory, i have 10 UDMA lexar and sandisk cards and i use the simple Lexar Pro UDMA USB2 reader. i sold off my FW800 reader. USB3 is already shipping on Gigabyte Motherboards. there is the next gen FW in the wings but i have a feeling it is becoming more and more irrelevent FW 800 was a near still birth.

sjms,

I hear you, but in the meantime, Firewire800 is the fastest transfer on the market

.

Nicholas
www.copperhillimages.com

Jan 11, 2010 at 07:18 PM

UCSB
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p.1 #12 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

Gregory.Rotter wrote:
I've got two Sandisk extreme IV cards, the firewire reader, hence the reason I am looking for a firewire 800 card. Oh well.

Aren't Sandisk Ext IV cards 45MB/sec? Your FW400 port plus the Sandisk FW reader with the Vista (Legacy) FW drivers will probably get you to 30MB/sec to 35MB/sec range ... I would think even a fast FW 800 would probably only get you a little more. Most cards do not operate at their rated speeds. Anyway ... you have some good info here and it is just a matter of deciding if the extra expense is worthwhile.

Jan 11, 2010 at 11:17 PM

sjms
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p.1 #13 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

Nickle S. wrote:
sjms,

I hear you, but in the meantime, Firewire800 is the fastest transfer on the market

.

Nicholas
www.copperhillimages.com

that and $2.25 gets you on the NY subway. and no its not, eSATA is. they just don't make it powered yet and that is also in the works too. of course we all need to chase the speed ghost. marketing works real well.

. in addition the connectors work better too.

Jan 12, 2010 at 12:55 AM

Nickle S.
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p.1 #14 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

sjms,

With all due respect, I am extremely happy with Firewire800, regardless of your attempt to make me regret the day I bought it.

And after you get connected with USB 3.0, there will be something coming down the pike in a couple of years that will shatter that transfer speed and make it obsolete, and when that happens, you will be here touting that, too. The ultimate "gear-head" approach to this - gotta have the best and fastest and gotta have it yesterday is a futile attempt to keep up with the ever-accelerating pace of digital technology. If FW800 has been the fastest card reader for 8 months until the next-gen USB, then, yes, I'll agree, it has been a short reign. And I'll probably ditch it for USB 3.0 at some future date, but in the meantime, FW800 is perfectly fine.

I've got a blazing system (for me) and I don't feel it's lacking in any area for my work. There will always be the next-gen, always. Heck, I've got a D300, should I have waited for the D300s, maybe I should wait for the rumored D900, no, maybe I should wait for the D900s, no I'd better wait for the D4 series to come in 2011, no, maybe I should hold off on the D400 and wait for the D400s, no, I've got it, I'm going to wait for the D35000s because it will have the 35Gigapixel quantum sensor and one zoom lens that goes from 10 to 1200 mm., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc. ad infinitum.

Best regards,
Nicholas
www.copperhillimages.com

Jan 12, 2010 at 08:04 AM

Gregory.Rotter
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p.1 #15 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

It's not so much about catching the speed demon. It's about me having bought a firewire 800 card reader, and being fully aware that the Firewire 800 pci cards are getting cheaper and cheaper. Why shouldn't I get one to pair with my reader? Even if the extra speed is minimal, why not?

Anyway, I'll probably just get it and use it when I rebuild my xp machine. (amd x2 4600 etc sitting waiting for a fresh hard drive, psu, gpu and case)

Jan 12, 2010 at 09:41 AM

Nickle S.
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p.1 #16 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

Gregory.Rotter wrote:
It's not so much about catching the speed demon. It's about me having bought a firewire 800 card reader, and being fully aware that the Firewire 800 pci cards are getting cheaper and cheaper. Why shouldn't I get one to pair with my reader? Even if the extra speed is minimal, why not?

Anyway, I'll probably just get it and use it when I rebuild my xp machine. (amd x2 4600 etc sitting waiting for a fresh hard drive, psu, gpu and case)

Greg,

I agree with you totally, but my last post was directed to sjms. If you already have the card reader, and it is excellent BTW, then it makes perfect sense to get the PCIe card to be able to use it right now, no matter what is on the horizon.

Regards,
Nicholas

Jan 12, 2010 at 09:46 AM

sjms
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p.1 #17 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

you have a better chance selling it now then commiting more money to it. FW is simply an non starter in consumer world. even apple is slowly removing it from their products. remember i have one too. PCIe sitting in there. had a lexar pro reader too. but i also see the reality of it. the economics of it are not there. but if you have the money and feel it is the answer then have at it. right now i'll stand by and do 20-25MB/s on the USB to line as it seems i'm in somewhat less of a hurry at the moment.

.

i made no attempt to "make you regret the day you bought it". i bought it too. i even have two hubs one 400 and one 800 drive housings and a few other choice items too. FW EOS 1Ds, EOS 1D2, FW scanner, FW printer even. look around today and see where FW is. one by one it disappears from the scene. i have quite a bit of experience with FW and even its attempt in aviation.

Jan 12, 2010 at 10:23 AM

Gregory.Rotter
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p.1 #18 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

The reason I got the firewire reader was because my D80 fried one day when I connected it via usb to a computer at an internet cafe. Not something I want to risk with my D700. Anyway, it's not something essential. I don't shoot for a living/full time, so no biggie.

Jan 12, 2010 at 04:36 PM

dan727
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p.1 #19 · Firewire 800 card compatible with Windows 7 64 bit?

Nickle S. wrote:
sjms,

With all due respect, I am extremely happy with Firewire800, regardless of your attempt to make me regret the day I bought it.

And after you get connected with USB 3.0, there will be something coming down the pike in a couple of years that will shatter that transfer speed and make it obsolete, and when that happens, you will be here touting that, too. The ultimate "gear-head" approach to this - gotta have the best and fastest and gotta have it yesterday is a futile attempt to keep up with the ever-accelerating pace of digital technology. If...Show more →

It is not so much transfer speeds and having the latest and greatest technology.. I find USB 2.0 adequate... but rather support. You are having difficulty finding drivers. Purchase any USB 3.0 device and you will have drivers for Vista 32/64. Windows 7 32/64, XP, etc.

Firewire as good as it may be has always been a proprietary protocol. Early Apple licensing requirements left firewire as a secondary thought. Many manufactures still make firewire devices... but no where near the popularity of USB devices.

Jan 13, 2010 at 10:31 AM


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