firewire? HELP

[ranchmom5]

I just bought a r50...it has a firewire. I have decided to go with a Dell for a new desktop. Should I add a firewire? Do I need one? Don't know anything about them.

[jamiphar]

I just bought a r50...it has a firewire. I have decided to go with a Dell for a new desktop. Should I add a firewire? Do I need one? Don't know anything about them.

Firewire is mostly used with DV video cameras and some external hard drives. If you don't think you'd ever use it, then you probably don't need to bother.

If you decide to get one, a PCI firewire card can be had for $10-$20 on eBay.

Here's one I just found: http://cgi.ebay.com/VIA-CHIP-PCI-4-port ... rd-w-Cable...

[The Spirit of X21]

FireWire is used mostly for video transfer, though you can use it for transferring files (I find this is more common with my Mac using brethren.) You will find that on average FireWire enclosures and drives tend to be more expensive than their USB equivalents. This has to do with the architectural differences between the two technologies:

FireWire has a dedicated processor that monitors the transfer of data over its bus, while USB relies on the main CPU to monitor what happens over the bus. The result is that while USB 2.0 has a higher theoretical throughput, FireWire is in reality faster over large file transfers.

FireWire has its place, but both your new Dell and the R50 have USB 2.0. You will very likely use those ports for file transfers/keyboard/whatever you need to add. Of course, if you need to free up the USB ports, FireWire is always an option.

Edit: Looks like jamiphar beat me to a reply. Well played, sir.
As a side note, the Mac side tends to favor the Oxford 911 FireWire controller.

[ranchmom5]

I ended up not buying the Dell...seems the better coupon had already expired. Another day perhaps. I am really intrigued with the iMac so maybe will hold out until I have the funds for one of those.

Thanks for the firewire information. This forum is a great find.

[The Spirit of X21]

Those coupon deals from Dell pop up almost daily. I've been enthusiastic over their Vostro 200 mini towers....one deal had core 2 duo and 1GB RAM for $450 shipped! dealnews.com is a great place to check on the latest Dell deals (yay! alliteration!)