Laptop with firewire or expresscard port

JJunkie

JJunkie

Power User
Hi

My home recording PC is starting to fail and I am wanting a lappie this time around. The problem I have is that It is so hard to find a reasonably priced one with firewire (haven't seen any in fact) or an expresscard port so that I can still use my Saffire interface.

Its a little more frustrating than that because I am trying to surf through like 15 internet tabs with the fucked up display resolution my computer is now locked into, and everything is laggy.

It would be awesome if manufacturer sites just let you select exactly what features you are after, is there a site anywhere that lets you search laptop models that way? I'm in Australia.

Cheers
 
Still struggling here. Is there anyone kind enough to offer a suggestion? My current method is pretty 'blind'. "Oh. This overview tells me the model has windows 10 AND an i7 processor.. better check that one out in more detail!".

Starting to get the feeling that firewire/expresscard slots are extinct this year, unless i opt for a customised build from a specialised company. I'm hoping i could get something mainstream without paying 3k
 
JJunkie said:
Hi

My home recording PC is starting to fail and I am wanting a lappie this time around. The problem I have is that It is so hard to find a reasonably priced one with firewire (haven't seen any in fact) or an expresscard port so that I can still use my Saffire interface.

Its a little more frustrating than that because I am trying to surf through like 15 internet tabs with the fucked up display resolution my computer is now locked into, and everything is laggy.

It would be awesome if manufacturer sites just let you select exactly what features you are after, is there a site anywhere that lets you search laptop models that way? I'm in Australia.

Cheers
Click to expand...
apple makes a FireWire adaptor for thunderbolt interfaces...
 
I bought two Dell Studio 1740S laptops and two SIIG FireWire expresscards (to have a dedicated FireWire bus separate from the bus on the laptop) back in 2009 and they're both still going strong. I picked up both the laptop and the SIIG cards on sale, each combo for less than $600 each. So for ~$1200 I have TWO studio laptops + FireWire express cards. Running Windows 7 I'm expecting them to last for several more years before I'm forced to upgrade.

I switched from a Tascam US1640 USB interface (HORRIBLE latency) to an M-Audio ProFire 610 and never looked back. Today I use the Sapphire Pro 40 connected to the same FireWire ExpressCard, and still have my ProFire 610 standing by as a backup, just in case.

I completely understand your plight, frustration, and loyalty to FireWire. I realize that was 7 years ago and many of the current USB interfaces may have overcome the latency issues I faced back then, but I stick with what has, and continues to work for me. I'm just glad I bought 2 of each when I did.

Good luck man.
 
Yeah, by the sound of it luck is needed haha. Well im definitely not going to pay top dollar for a laptop so if worst comes to worst i will build another tower pc. Assuming we still have firewire in those.
 
flying_walrus said:
apple makes a FireWire adaptor for thunderbolt interfaces...
Click to expand...
Hi there walrus, does that mean that I can use the adaptor for any PC with a Thunderbolt or does it have to be used with a mac?

I'm going to keep searching for firewire / express slot laptops for now, but I may fall back on this. I need to check that using that kind of adaptor is OK for my interface.

EDIT: I checked the Focusrite site and this advice from walrus looks like the ticket! thanks walrus dude!!! Now I go back to the delight of online shopping for a laptop. Hmmm. this website is asking if I want to explore their L-series or T-series of laptops, wow, that's service in a bag, right there.
 
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i would go with a used Macbook pro, even the old one ( 5 years old ) are still good, just dont update them if you dont need to.
my studio still run a 2009 Mac mini on OSX 10.6.8, still a bomb.
 
Thanks for the advice but i don't think i would enjoy the experience of changing to a different platform

Its ironic now that i have started looking for thunderbolt enabled windoes laptops, realising they are only just starting to be produced and are currently few and far between and generally only on high spec machines (gaming laptops). Almost same predicament as before haha.
 
A couple of things to bear in mind:

1. Many people who use FireWire for audio insist on having a Texas Instruments chipset for the FireWire adapter. Since it's often impossible to figure out what chipset is in on the motherboard in a particular laptop (manufacturers change specifications all the time without notice), you probably want something like this.

2. On PCs, an i7 always means quad-core, but on laptops it often doesn't. Many laptop i7s are dual-core with hyper-threading. Make sure you look up the actual model number of the CPU so you know how many cores you're buying - double the cores makes a big difference!
 
coldstar said:
A couple of things to bear in mind:

2. On PCs, an i7 always means quad-core, but on laptops it often doesn't. Many laptop i7s are dual-core with hyper-threading. Make sure you look up the actual model number of the CPU so you know how many cores you're buying - double the cores makes a big difference!
Click to expand...

Thanks I hadn't realised that.

Anyway thanks guys for the help. I have found a gaming laptop with Thunderbolt (and quad i7) at what seems a decent price that covers more than what I need. Cheers.
 
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