Now that we’re shipping lots of the new MOTU 828 firewire audio interface the questions about firewire are ramping up. The most common of those is whether or not firewire drives even work with the 828, followed by what sorts of firewire cards will work.
MOTU has tested the Glyph Xproject drives with excellent success on G4s, Powerbooks, and even PCMCIA firewire cards in Powerbooks. The VST Firewire drive(s) also work.
As for PCI firewire cards, MOTU does not recommend cards with NEC chips, like OrangeMicro & Western Digital. They do recommend cards that have TI (Texas Instruments) chips, like the ADS Pyro, and the Keyspan.
While there are a number of valid reasons to install firewire cards in computers lacking such a port it may be prudent to consider a PCI based DAW solution instead of the 828. Let’s not forget the significance of the 2408 family of MOTU interfaces. There are some potential advantages to these so please consult with your Sweetwater Sales Engineer as you enter your decision making process.