Firewire with a T42 or T 43? Using PCMCIA card?

[vespadaddy]

Hello.

I am currentlt shopping for a 'desktop replacement' laptop computer. I noticed the T-42 and I like many of the features, but there are no firewire ports on this machine?!?!?!?!?!?

I need a firewire-capable machine so that I can capture video from my Panasonic PVGS 120 Mini DV camcorder.

I DO have a PCMCIA card that has 2 firewire ports that I have tried in vain to use with my Dell Inspiron 8200. It works for connecting to my external HD and DVD burner, but I can't seem to capture video with this card (or this Dell, FWIW).

Here's the question:

Can I use the PCMCIA card in a T42 to give me the firewire connectivity that I need? Will this connection be as fast as if there was a firewire port manufactured into the laptop?

Put another way, is a PCMCIA card going to be a bottleneck in the system, or will it function as fast as if it was built in to the machine?


Thanks!

Dan in Mpls

[vespadaddy]

bump

[RonS]

I tried PCMCIA firewire cards on three different Dell notebooks (Inspiron 8600, two brand new Latitudes) and the fastest transfer rate I could get was 14 MB/sec. Makes me wonder if Dell supports Cardbus.

Using the same cards (LaCie FW800, by the way) in two different Thinkpads (both T42's) I can sustain 64 MB/sec, bursting to 77 MB/sec. The Thinkpad's PCMCIA could probably go even faster, if it weren't for the FW interface being the bottleneck. While this test was happening, the Thinkpad was still totally responsive and operating normally.

[vespadaddy]

The Thinkpad's PCMCIA could probably go even faster, if it weren't for the FW interface being the bottleneck.

Thanks for the reply.

I am not too tech savvy, so I must ask you (or someone) to clarify:

Do you mean to say that the limiting factor in your data transfer using the firewire card is that you are bumping up against the upper limits of the design of firewire itself? And that the thinkpad PCMCIA card slot is capable of accepting data at a rate faster than firewire can supply?

If I am going to shell out 2 grand for a new laptop, I'll expect it to capture video from my Panasonic mini dv player, and also to burn dvd's of edited video.

Thanks!

[DIGITALgimpus]

FireWire is designed for 400Mbps (800Mbps for the newer version)... theoretical of course. PCMCIA does have some limitations, which is why ExpressCard/Newcard is starting to be pushed.

So yes it will work, but there are performance limitations due to PCMCIA. If your camera supports USB2 you would likely get more real performance out of that. Or a Firewire ExpressCard (if any are available), I belive ExpressCard is on the T43 already.

Remember: PCMCIA is a rather old standard... actually really old for technology. It was good for it's time, but it does have it's limitations.

The card itself may also be a factor in some cases. My USB2 card on an A31 didn't do to bad, but my Mac Mini's USB2 ports did better, since it had a faster bus speed. My Mac Mini's Firewire port is the fastest of all (Firewire 400).

[vespadaddy]

So Expresscard is a new type of laptop card slot?

My camera doesn't have USB2, just Firewire, so I'll have to buy a computer that will support firewire. I guess now I'm off to find out what speeds are capable (and possible availability of) using firewire via an ExpressCard.

Thanks!

[DIGITALgimpus]

personally I would settle with a firewire PCMCIA card for now, and perhaps get something new when ExpressCard matures a bit. AFAIK there are very few on the market... meaning it's still somewhat experimental.

[davidspalding]

Catching on this thread a bit late ... Vespadaddy, check the language on your little FireWire card. PCMCIA is the older standard, and the T4x (well, at least my T43) does not have PCMCIA ... it has one each of the newer Cardbus PC Card, and an ExpressCard slot. PC Card is backward compatible to PCMCIA, but if your Firewire card is truly PCMCIA, then you might want to upgrade. Cardbus = 32-bit, PCMCIA = 16-bit.

I just caught another thread

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=16052

which referred to a manufacturer somewhere on the planet producing a FireWire 400 ExpressCard.

Me ... I also wanted to use Firewire to import DV straight from my Sony Handycam, and was eyeing the X30/X40 line for that port. Ultimately, I got more bang for my buck getting a T43, bought the Dock II which takes a half-size PCI card, and put a CompUSA Firewire 800 card in there (it has two backward-compatible Firewire 800 ports, a Firewire 400 port, and a cable to connect Firewire 400 4-pin devices to the newer 800 ports). The Dock II also has a wealth of connections on the back, including two PC Card slots, and an Ultrabay 2000 which can take any number of thingies (hard drive, my DVD optical drive).

I've done some capturing of video, and burning DVD-R directly from captured video using the InterVideo app, and both worked fine. Though, teh Windows Movie Maker locked up once or twice after capturing about 20 minutes video (not a disk space issue, btw).

With the Dock II, as a desktop replacement that can go from home office to living room to downtown cafe, my ThinkPad has made me a happy camper.