Nick: basically if you look at it this way, the G5's have a fw800 bus on them, which is backwards compatible with fw400. It will run fw800, but if you plug something in to it which is 400, it will revert to the old spec, for backwards compatibility. So it is still worthwhile as an 800, but you just can't run different spec devices on the same bus. You have to install other buses to do that. Even then, if you only had fw800, and it says you can run a million or whatever number of devices off that bus - it's not true, in my experience, don't run more than 2 drives on any one bus (no matter how many ports it has), don't mix and match your specs, which anyway is bad because you lose the speed of any 800 devices there, and don't mix and match your devices *on any one bus*, you CAN have audio devices, hard drives, cameras - whatever as long as each type of device is on a separate bus, and even then, don't mix cameras on the same bus - just one per bus is enough. That's my experience anyway since dealing with fw for many years on macs.

Miklos.

Miklos,

How likely do you think having my audio interface and external HD each on a different bus will solve the crackling and popping? I've ordered more RAM, which should bring it up to 3.5GB - if that doesn't solve the problem I will get a PCI firewire card...I mean I could do that anyway, because from what you guys are saying it's a much safer way and ensures that there are no crosspath data issues between the HD and audio interface.

Matt

I'm not sure RAM is the culprit, unless you are trying to do too much.

I was using Nuendo on a G5 Dual 2g and some firewire drives with only 2.5g memory. I ran maybe 5 VIs at once. No problems.

Now I'm on two new Intel Macs. The Mac Mini is running with 2gs and the SAME DRIVES as I've had for VSL. Now I'm getting clicks and pops just playing one instrument at a time.

TH

Hey guys...put more RAM in and am still having the same crackling/popping noise as before...will probs keep the RAM in there as it will most definitely come in handy in the future......anyway, now onto plan B.

Can anyone recommend a reliable PCI Firewire card I can put in to my Apple TowerMac G5? What do you guys think about this...

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=151938# ?

Thanks,

Matt

I tried to setup a client with an m-audio 410 and found it to be absolute garbage. Sorry, but that was my experience. The drivers were dreadful and I had nothing but problems. The client took it back and swapped it for a motu device (can't remember which, Traveller, I think) and all was fine.

I'm running an RME DIGI96/8 card in my G5 (PCI-X, not express) and it's been great.

J.

You have to check that it is the right version for your mac IE pciX or express - I get confused as to which machine has which and what works with what BUT in my machine, which is a first generation 2.0 dual cpu G5, I have 1X PCI Firewire 800 and 1X PCI firewire 400 cards installed, both work great no problems at all - each one has three PORTS (but ONLY ONE BUS for the three ports this is important to remember don't get fooled by a single bus with lots of ports, still just one bus) - both of these cards are LACIE - I recommend them, they are very cheap, simple, nothing to configure, just stick them in the G5, close the hatch, power up and they're there, simple as that. No problems at all for me. Connected to those I have a number of 800 drives on the 800 card, 400 card has my audio interface and I have another 800 drive plugged into the G5 built in firewire (with no other devices on that bus). All works very well now.

Miklos.

Hi Miklos,

I've checked my mac out and it has PCI-X slots...this Firewire PCI card looks ok-

http://www.sonnettech.com/product/allegro400.html

Matt

I don't know that one, all I can say is that I can only recommend the Lacie cards - and any mac store I've been too has done the same, I believe there are some problems with some cards, the one you linked to - I don't know, but I know for me the Lacies have had no problems at all and I have two of them in the same box - a fw400 and fw800. Also they're cheap, simple no fuss and do the job. I would recommend going with the name brand on something like this, it's not like an audio interface where the difference is subjective or preferential, anyway, just my advice.

Miklos.

Thing is...the Lacie firewire pci card is not compatible with g5's that hold pci-x slots...check it out:

http://www.lacie.com/uk/products/product.htm?pid=10085

Matt

I thought they had both express and pci X? I am sure my G5 has pci-X I know it's not express. I could be wrong. Anyway, good luck with it that's the extent of my knowledge on the matter - sorry.

Miklos.

hmmm..well if you have that card you must have neither pci-x nor pci express slots...according to their website anyway!

thanks for your help,

matt

has to be one of the two - it's a g5 dual processor 2.0, the only ones with the old pci slots were the first gen 1.8 single processor machines.

how odd...because i have a first gen 1.8 single processor and according to apple in their support section, the g5's with 8 dimm slots (which mine has) are pci-x :S ...

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86790

Hmmmm.....! I remember, there was *a* model, single 1.8 G5, that had whatever the last G4 tower had - and then the other G5 models up from that, had the new pciX slots... perhaps I'm wrong. Anyway Sorry if so!

Perhaps this will help clear up some of the confusion on this issue - dual processor G5's have PCI or PCI-X slots. However the Dual Core G5's (including the Quad) introduced in October 2005 - and all MacPro's- - have PCI Express (PCIe) slots. PCI cards are compatible with PCI or PCI-X slots but are NOT compatible with PCI Express slots.

Matt's single processor 1.8 GHz G5 has, according to Apple, 3 PCI (not PCI-X) slots. However most cards that are PCI-X compatible are also PCI compatible. The question for Matt is: how soon do you anticipate upgrading your computer itself?

All new computers will likely have PCI Express slots, so any card you buy for your present computer will not be usable in your next machine. If you intend to keep your computer for a while, then you might want to invest in a card.

However, before assuming that the problem has to do with your drives, I would suspect, as some others have suggested, that the problem may be with your Audio interface or its drivers. If it's possible to borrow a firewire audio interface made by another manufacturer, I would try that first. If that does not appear to be the problem and you decide that you are going to keep your present computer for a while then you have to decide whether you want to stick with firewire and get a firewire PCI card or go with a SATA solution - - both would give you a dedicated firewire port for your interface.

Miklos, what I see you said a week ago (about FW buses) has been my experience too for the most part. And I understand about FW800 being backwards-compatible; my point is that there should be separate FW busses so none of this is an issue.

Good advice, however, the pci 400 card is very cheap, about $50US or even less perhaps, plug your interface into that, don't put anything else there and it should work fine, it's better to have things on separate buses anyway IMO. my interface is the MIO 2882 +DSP if I put anything else on the same bus despite latest drivers software etc, despite the fact the makers say you can do so, I get clicks pops, crashes and so on it's a pain, once I put it on it's own bus and don't touch it, it works perfectly and so does everything else.

Miklos.

Nick: overlapping post there - I agree. In fact I agreed from the start! [:)]

@stevesong said:

Matt's single processor 1.8 GHz G5 has, according to Apple, 3 PCI (not PCI-X) slots.

.......or go with a SATA solution...

In that link i put up, apple say my g5 has pci-X slots, apparently not pci lol

SATA? [*-)] lol

I'm certainly not thinking of upgrading to a new computer in the near future, so investing in a pci card (and considering, as Miklos pointed out, that theyre pretty cheap) is most definitely what I'll do.

Matt

just to explain - pci comes in several flavours:
- PCI 1 32 bit 5 V
- PCI 2 32 bit 3,3 V
- PCI 2.1 32bit 3,3 V compatible to PXI-X
- PCI-X 64 bit 3,3 V 66 MHz
- PCI-X 64 bit 3,3 V 100 MHz
- PCI-X 64 bit 3,3 V 133 MHz
all PCI-X slots are compatible for PCI 2.1 cards

PCI 2.1 cards have 2 notches to fit into both types of slots
PCI 1 cards have only one notch (so they don't fit into PCI-X slots)
christian