[jlo mein]

my motherboard is rather dated...have USB1.1 or whatever on it...

Thinking of getting a HD mp3 player and started wondering if i could add these faster transfer methods to my old pc.

If i can, how muchy do you think it would cost?

 

[PorkRind]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlo mein my motherboard is rather dated...have USB1.1 or whatever on it... Thinking of getting a HD mp3 player and started wondering if i could add these faster transfer methods to my old pc. If i can, how muchy do you think it would cost?

There are after-market IEEE1394 (Firewire) and USB 2.0 cards available from a variety of sources. I bought a Firewire card two years ago for something like US$22, and it included a cable and video editing software. USB 2.0 cards don't cost much more than that, but you need to make sure your operating system supports it. Only Win2K and XP (with appropriate service packs installed) support USB 2.0.

A good source for computer hardware is NewEgg; decent pricing and very good order status/tracking.

 

[PooJou]

As long as its not YE OLDE (ala P2 or something) as Porkrind said, an aftermarket firewire or USB2.0 card should only set you back something like... $20ish US dollars (dunno the exact conversion) and that'll give you 3 ports or something.
I'd assume your board is some kind of AMD board, maybe KT133-A based?

 

[jlo mein]

How you kno my pc is AMD based?

Its an MSI K7T266 Pro2....USB2.0 is written on the box as optional, but it doesnt have the check mark sticker on the check box for USB2.0...so apparently i didn't get it.

I guess firewire would make the most sense....hopefully it can get me some decent speeds for uploading music to an mp3 player.

 

[JiPi]

You should first check if your wanted MP3 player supports Firewire. IIRC, only iPod's do so far. Plus, in theory, Firewire is slower than USB 2.0 (400mb/s vs. 480mb/s).

 

[Oddball]

NJB3 supports firewire.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JiPi ...in theory, Firewire is slower than USB 2.0 (400mb/s vs. 480mb/s).

That, I believe, would be the burst rate. But realistically, the sustained (continuous) throughput of USB 2.0 is shared between several devices that may be connected to the same bus - and using a USB 1.x device on a USB 2.0 port may bring down the speed of the entire USB 2.0 bus to USB 1.x speed (depending on the controller's implementation of USB 2.0). And even with a single USB 2.0 device, the sustained sequential throughput of USB 2.0 can be slower than the sustained sequential throughput of IEEE 1394 (FireWire).

 

[Braver]

true, FireWire is faster in reality, but USB1.1 compatibility rocks IMO. depends on how you look at it / what you'll use it for. both are nice and fast.

I recently added a Sitecom USB2.0 pci-card to my computer, to use with my portable Lacie drive. Plenty fast if it works, but for some reason I keep getting 'Delayed Write Failed' errors. not often, but once or twice a week...think it might be my mobo, cause it's kinda old and aside from perhaps my BIOS, everything else is up-to-date. and it's been ultra-reliable through the USB1.1 ports I already had (as well as on other computers using USB1.1....again, compatibility rules

).

 

[Unclewai]

http://www.turboled.com/productdetai...?productID=248

$20 shipped, best of both world

 

[RunsWithScissors]

Adaptec makes great products that just plain work. I use an Adaptec 4300 firewire PCI card for my win2k PC with my iPod and it has never caused me any problems.

Adaptec also makes Firewire/USB combo cards so you get the best of both worlds.

This link will show you all the products but search around for best prices once you decide on one:
http://firewire.adaptec.com/

 

[PooJou]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlo mein How you kno my pc is AMD based? Its an MSI K7T266 Pro2....USB2.0 is written on the box as optional, but it doesnt have the check mark sticker on the check box for USB2.0...so apparently i didn't get it. I guess firewire would make the most sense....hopefully it can get me some decent speeds for uploading music to an mp3 player.

Heh, just go down to the computer swapmeets and get yourself a cheapo card man, either one will be extremely fast, the difference is very small.

lol.. i assume everyone is AMD based until proven otherwise. Hmm... K7T266... i didn't think any KT266/KT266A chipsets had USB2.0... my A7V266-E didn't anyhow. Don't forget to Update XP with the USB2.0 patch.

 

[superjohnny]

A lot of the KT266A & KT333 chipset motherboards added USB 2.0 functionality with an add-on connector (instead of the USB ports on the back of the panel). They're 8 or 9 pins IIRC and wire directly to some seemingly unused pins on the mobo. They fit where a PCI card would fit on the case, but they don't use a PCI slot... if that makes any sense at all.

 

[PooJou]

Quote:

Originally Posted by superjohnny A lot of the KT266A & KT333 chipset motherboards added USB 2.0 functionality with an add-on connector (instead of the USB ports on the back of the panel). They're 8 or 9 pins IIRC and wire directly to some seemingly unused pins on the mobo. They fit where a PCI card would fit on the case, but they don't use a PCI slot... if that makes any sense at all.

Nah, the expandable USB is still USB1.1 because they use the same controller chip, it's just that they are unmounted on the mobo, or can be used for front mounted USB ports on some cases. I remember, my 8k3A+ (KT333) only got USB2.0 because it was a late revision.

 

[Stephonovich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PorkRind Only Win2K and XP (with appropriate service packs installed) support USB 2.0.

Um, no. A friend of mine has Windows 98 with an MSI board (KT133 based, I think) and has onboard USB 2.0. Runs just fine.

(-:Stephonovich

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephonovich Um, no. A friend of mine has Windows 98 with an MSI board (KT133 based, I think) and has onboard USB 2.0. Runs just fine. (-:Stephonovich

Actually, USB 2.0 didn't exist as an onboard item on AMD-based systems until the advent of the KT333 chipset. And even then, most USB 2.0 implementations on KT333-based motherboards required the addition of a separate controller chip with its dedicated ports, as the native USB controller of the earlier versions of the KT333 chipset supported only USB 1.1.

As for USB 2.0 support in Windows 98 and Windows Me, it requires the installation of third-party software drivers (from the motherboard maker) in order for USB 2.0 to even work at full speed; otherwise, the USB 2.0 ports will only work in USB 1.1 mode. Windows 2000 and Windows XP (both with the latest Service Packs) do natively support USB 2.0. And some chipsets (Intel's chipsets for Pentium 4 processors, for instance) require Windows 2000 or Windows XP (either with the latest Service Pack) in order for USB 2.0 to even work at full speed, as Intel will neither support nor write USB 2.0 drivers for Windows 98 or Windows Me (under those operating systems, the USB 2.0 ports will work only in USB 1.1 mode anyway).