A FireWire® card adds a FireWire® port to a computer system for high-speed external devices. FireWire® 400 transfers data at 400 megabits per second, and FireWire® 800 is twice as fast. FireWire® cards offer smooth data transfer and the ability to daisy-chain devices. FireWire®’s primary competitor is USB, which is generally slower.
A FireWire® card is a computer piece of hardware connected through a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) slot that adds a FireWire® port to a computer system. FireWire® is a type of data port typically used for high-speed external devices such as cameras and hard drives. Some computers come with built-in FireWire®, but in many cases, purchasing a FireWire® card may be the only way to add this type of data transfer port to a system.
FireWire® is generally known for having a lot of speed. There are two different FireWire® standards with different speed potentials. FireWire® 400 transfers data at 400 megabits per second, and the most advanced version, FireWire® 800, is twice as fast. Both standards offer great speed compared to most other external computer data ports and also have the ability to reserve system resources to make sure that data transfers smoothly.
This ability to transfer data smoothly is generally one of the main reasons people install FireWire® cards in their computers. Many external hardware devices, such as video cameras, have the potential to greatly benefit from the very smooth transfer speeds and high speeds that a FireWire® card can offer. In fact, many camcorders are generally built with FireWire® in mind, and this has been true ever since digital video first became a common consumer technology.
Another benefit of having a FireWire® card is the ability to daisy-chain devices. This is done by connecting one device to the FireWire® card, then connecting another device to the first device. This can go on and on with many interconnected devices. Your computer can access any device in the chain and transfer data throughout the chain using FireWire®-level speed and fluidity. FireWire® ports also have the potential to supply power to devices they’re connected to, and most computers can instantly recognize and take advantage of a FireWire® device as soon as it’s plugged in, which generally makes FireWire® quite convenient to use.
FireWire®’s primary competitor is the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard. These have very similar characteristics, but USB is generally a bit slower. For the most part, USB has been more easily adopted by computer hardware manufacturers, mainly because the cables used are less expensive and USB works well enough for most applications. USB 2.0 is actually a little faster than FireWire® 400, but FireWire® 800 generally outpaces it by quite a large margin.
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