Firewire question...

[tomtomtom1230]

OK so I can do old school audio tech, but forgive me for over-thinking the world of building a modern computer. I've been using Mac solely for work for the last few years and have just converted to PC (again... Praise the Lord for showing me the light and all that).

My specs are as follows...

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-5820K (3.3GHz) 15MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® X99-A: ATX, HSW-E CPU, USB 3.0, SATA 6 GB/s
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X FURY DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 980 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
Memory Card Reader
EXTERNAL MEMORY CARD READER (READS MS, CF, SD, etc)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler
Extra Case Fans
2 x 12CM Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11N DUAL-BAND 450Mbps PCI-E CARD
USB Options
2 PORT USB 3.0 INTERNAL PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS

Now my question is this;

Stupidly I must have gotten carried away and ordered some extra USB slots (see spec). No biggie, the cards aren't expensive and it'll be good to have a spare something for a rainy day.

I need a Firewire input on my computer. I'm not sure I'll have enough PCI lanes (it gets pretty confusing for a born-again newbie enthusiast) Is it as simple as pulling out the USB PCI card and inserting the following Firewire PCI card?

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/lyco...-(1394b)-and-1-port-firewire-400-(1394a)-card

I appreciate that that Firewire card needs a 4-pin power supply. You guys know if I'll have one spare on my PSU? 850W is overkill as it is, but it does mean that I won't need to upgrade it in a couple of years when/if I choose parts that start sucking more juice from it.

Any help is welcome. I think I just need some clarification Thank you in advance if you can help me. If not... Well... I hope my question helps you in the future somehow

EDIT: It might not making a big difference, but incase it does I will be using the Firewire card to receive audio from an interface.

 

[Mordant]

Yes, you should be able to swap the USB card for that FireWire card no problem if there isn't a free slot on your motherboard.

 

[Mordant]

P.S. what audio interface do you use?

I use an Edirol FA-101 at home and a Phonic Helix 24 MKII FireWire at the band's rehearsal room.

 

[tomtomtom1230]

Saffire Pro 40!

 

[Spuff]

I appreciate that that Firewire card needs a 4-pin power supply. You guys know if I'll have one spare on my PSU? 850W is overkill as it is, but it does mean that I won't need to upgrade it in a couple of years when/if I choose parts that start sucking more juice from it.

I can't remember whether I connected a power cable to my PCIe firewire card, but if I did it was no problem (it works for my one connection whether or not I did). I have a Corsair Modular PSU. 850w is plenty for a one GPU system.

 

[tomtomtom1230]

I can't remember whether I connected a power cable to my PCIe firewire card, but if I did it was no problem (it works for my one connection whether or not I did). I have a Corsair Modular PSU. 850w is plenty for a one GPU system.

Yep, sure is. As I said, 850w *is* overkill but I know that the PSU and MoBo won't need upgrading if I stick with X99 systems and the X99 processor chips catch on as a thing like the Z-what-ever-it-is chip set has.

And thanks. I may not need it to be powered to be honest, but I'll do a trial and error. If I have a spare 4-pin connector then good for me but if I don't, I'll try anyway and see if there's any performance issues.

Thanks again for your input. It's appreciated.