FireWire 800 PCI Cards Coming from IOGEAR

by New Editor
Published on Apr 30, 2003 12:00 AM

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At data transfer speeds of up to 800 Mbps, double the current FireWire 400 standard, Apple's FireWire 800 provides more than two times the available bandwidth of Hi-Speed USB 2.0 according to IOGEAR’s press release. The release goes on to say that the speed increase makes it ideal for high-speed storage and video transfer. The increased speed of FireWire 800 is said to enable users to conduct bandwidth-intensive functions, such as downloading video and graphics, quickly. Downloading a one-hour DV-format video now takes half the time it used to.

The FireWire 800 interface is said to be backward compatible with existing 100, 200 and 400 Mbps FireWire peripherals. IOGEAR's PCI cards allow both Mac and PC computers to become FireWire 800 compatible. One card offers three FireWire 800 ports, while the second offers two FireWire 800 ports and one standard FireWire 400 port. With FireWire 800, high-speed peripherals can be connected externally, eliminating the need to install complicated internal hardware.

''Days of twiddling thumbs and tapping feet while waiting for files to download are over thanks to FireWire 800,'' said Miranda Su, vice president of sales and marketing at IOGEAR, Inc. ''FireWire 800 will revolutionize the way consumers transfer digital information, most likely replacing IDE and SCSI in the years to come.'' IOGEAR's PCI cards are said to enable users to daisy chain up to 63 FireWire devices together and allow easy Plug-n-Play accessibility. The cards come with a three-year limited warranty. Leading hardware vendors are currently developing FireWire 800 drivers for PC systems, however, FireWire 800 ports can still function on computers at a rate of 400 Mbps. According to IOGEAR this allows computer users to gain early access to FireWire 800 speeds once a driver has been developed. Currently FireWire 800 is supported by Windows XP and Mac OS X 10.2.5. Both versions of IOGEAR's FireWire 800 PCI cards are priced at $99.95 (MSRP) The products are available from all major catalog resellers, online resellers and selected retail outlets.