"Al Franz" said:
The ASUS web site states the P5RD1-V has two Firewire (1394a) connectors.
http://usa.asus.com/products/mb/socket775/p5rd1-v/overview.htm
But I do not see any Firewire connector on pictures of the board or in the
manual at...
http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?Type=All&model=P5RD1-V
Anyone know forsure if they are on this board, thanks!
Best place to look, is the downloadable manual.
The term "1394" only occurs once, in a warning about not
plugging any 1394 adapters brackets into the USB headers.
There is not even a place on the board for a Firewire chip.
Some Asus boards have room for a chip, but the chip is missing.
So the answer is no.
I've noticed Asus is equipping fewer boards with Firewire,
presumably to save a few pennies. I don't know if they've
done a marketing study, and determined that nobody does
digital video or what.
There is an advantage to you as a customer, as now you can
shop for a PCI card, with the Firewire chip on it that you
want. Check in Google, to see which chips people recommend
and which ones to avoid. Searching based on your camera
model number, might turn up a few references to stuff that
works.
As for the motherboard itself, I don't recommend buying boards
with mixed chipsets. When two different companies (ATI and ULI)
make the chips, both will throw their hands in the air, when
there are problems. ATI won't be feeling your pain, if the ULI
chip doesn't work, and vice versa. Asus just picks up whatever
files the two companies deliver, so there is nobody working
for the customer. It is better to get a motherboard, where
the same chip company makes both Northbridge and Southbridge,
as there is a better chance they will stand behind the product.
Many times, if you want the latest drivers or fixes, you have
to go to the chipset maker's website yourself, and having to
visit two sites is more work than getting a universal driver
package from one site.
Paul
