What sort of bus (USB, Firewire, PCI, etc) do I want to use?
• PCI cards take the form of an upgrade card that needs to be fitted to the inside of a desktop computer (no laptops) USB and Firewire interfaces are plugged into an external socket on the back of the computer. USB and Firewire devices are therefore, external devices. • Many laptop computers feature built-in Firewire of USB sockets. If you are using a laptop for your audio work, you are limited to an external expansion bus such as Firewire or USB. Laptops can also use PCMCIA interfaces. • In summary, desktop machines might have an inclusive USB or Firewire adapter built in. If they don’t one can usually be added. This means that desktop machines could use Firewire, USB or PCI audio adapters. Laptops can not use PCI but might feature USB or Firewire sockets on them. Most laptops also feature an expansion standard called PCMCIA that is almost unheard of on desktop machines.
