PCI to PCIex adapter

Long shot anyone has played with these, but have to upgrade my ancient computer soon.
 
Much invested in a Delto 1010LT PCI card, audiophile 2494 and external preamps.
 
Not much new coming off the market with PCI slots and a real bummer to throw away a system that is rock solid..
 
They make adapters, PCI to PCIex. Requires a metalwork project to account for the new height, but small sacrifice if they work.
 
Any advice appreciated.
 
John

I know what it's like to have to give up a solid interface for something new and unknown, it's never easy.
 
But you mention external mic preamps.  Well, I'll tell you that if they're high-end pres, you are not getting your money's worth.  Sending that transparent or big and warm signal into the converters of those ancient sound cards is, frankly, self-defeating.
 
There was a thread here recently where someone remarked that going from an old interface (Layla or Delta, I don't remember) to a new one, he noticed a striking difference in the quality of sound --  just a lot cleaner.
 
I could only concur.... I and a number of friends noticed the same thing when we got rid of our ancient Delta 1010s for something new.  Though we went in different directions with our new interfaces, everyone still used the words "night and day" difference.  It all came down to the newer, better converters.
 
So my recommendation is to start researching for a new interface, and maybe sell those old cards for what you can on Ebay.
 
Something to think about....

JohnKenn
Long shot anyone has played with these, but have to upgrade my ancient computer soon.
 
Much invested in a Delto 1010LT PCI card, audiophile 2494 and external preamps.
 
Not much new coming off the market with PCI slots and a real bummer to throw away a system that is rock solid..
 
They make adapters, PCI to PCIex. Requires a metalwork project to account for the new height, but small sacrifice if they work.
 
Any advice appreciated.
 
John

I'd rather buy a MB that has those slots. Most of you affordable boards do.  Also check the RME forum. Some are using those adapters for the Hammerfall cards...and no they are not in a box. Google should help you.

Newer motherboards with PCIe slots are using "bridge chips" to bridge the PCI slot into the PCIe bus.
Some audio interfaces cope well with bridged PCI slots (M-Audio and RME)... and others don't (Lynx and Echo).
 
It's a little bit of a catch-22 situation.
You don't want to invest too much into a new machine (where you're pigeon-holed - due to needing PCI slots).
The transition is expensive, but investing in a new audio interface is the best long-term solution.
A quality audio interface... and you're set for the next decade.

Jim Roseberry
Newer motherboards with PCIe slots are using "bridge chips" to bridge the PCI slot into the PCIe bus.
Some audio interfaces cope well with bridged PCI slots (M-Audio and RME)... and others don't (Lynx and Echo).
 
It's a little bit of a catch-22 situation.
You don't want to invest too much into a new machine (where you're pigeon-holed - due to needing PCI slots).
The transition is expensive, but investing in a new audio interface is the best long-term solution.
A quality audio interface... and you're set for the next decade.

I don't have any issues with an AP2496 on an Intel Z97 board. USB2 audio interfaces are always a good option.
 

Kite,
 
Too dumb to get into a computer to unsolder and replace motherboards. Way out of my l league. Do you really got to melt them out?
 
Carrying the vestige of a third world survival mentality. Was a heathen missionary in the pits of human suffering across our planet until my 30's, wife too. Learned hard core the value of a piece of string, a plastic yogurt cup from the garbage.
 
Got into the medical field and ended up with enough money to buy anything I want. Has me at a paradox of affording any upgrade, but trying to squeeze out the last drop of what is already here. Left my heart in the dirt of Africa.
 
Not convinced about USB 2. Someone please otherwise educate me. Have some real CPU hogs in my collection. HeadCase for guitar processing. Nitroflex for keys. Others following the same pathology. My XP box with an ancient quad core and hard wired 1010LT handles them acceptable. Way faster box going thru the USB 2 Presonus is like a popcorn popper at lower latency settings. Far inferior to the 1010 LT hard wired and win XP.
 
Analysis from previous threads, and this one is to get a decent USB 2 external unit and forget old technology. Already got one and it sucks in comparison. Same drag through win 7 to win 8 to win 10. What am I missing here? Please advise.
 
John

Kite,
Will check Jim's site. Have a lot of respect for his knowledge.
Under the impression that USB 2 is USB 2. Doesn't matter who makes it as long as the protocol is adhered to.
Presonus makes some good stuff. Experience is that USB 2 is more throttled than a hard wired card. Can increase the fire power of the computer, better OS, more RAM. Still can't compensate for the limitation of a USB connection.
Just trying to muddle through the next upgrade. Toss the delta card. Go with an i7 n'th generation chip. 128 GB RAM. Limiting factor being the USB bottleneck that chokes the signal flow worse than an ancient hard wired setup with a fraction of the processing power.
 
John
 

JohnKenn
Under the impression that USB 2 is USB 2. Doesn't matter who makes it as long as the protocol is adhered to.
Presonus makes some good stuff. Experience is that USB 2 is more throttled than a hard wired card. Can increase the fire power of the computer, better OS, more RAM. Still can't compensate for the limitation of a USB connection.
Just trying to muddle through the next upgrade. Toss the delta card. Go with an i7 n'th generation chip. 128 GB RAM. Limiting factor being the USB bottleneck that chokes the signal flow worse than an ancient hard wired setup with a fraction of the processing power.
 

Hi John,
 
The quality of the USB-2 audio interface (and its driver) make all the difference in the world.
I run a RME Fireface UFX connected via USB-2.
Great low-latency performance
4.3ms total round-trip latency at a 48-sample ASIO buffer size 44.1k
To get lower than that, you need PCIe or Thunderbolt (running "PCIe via Thunderbolt" drivers).
 
I often leave my UFX set to a 48-sample ASIO buffer size.
If I'm working on a dense project, that might go up to 64-128 sample ASIO buffer size.
I never have to raise the ASIO buffer size above 128-samples.
 
MOTU's new AVB series are also great low-latency performers.
The Ultralite AVB connects via USB-2... while the larger AVB units have both USB-2 and Thunderbolt connections.
 
We have full "PCIe via Thunderbolt" support now under Windows 10.
You need one of the latest Z170x or X99p motherboards that offers Thunderbolt-3 via USB-C port.
You'll also need a Thunderbolt-3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt adapter (~$84).
Currently, MOTU is the only company that has "PCIe via Thunderbolt" drivers available for Windows.
Other companies will surely follow... but full "PCIe via Thunderbolt" support under Windows is very new.
 
An audio interface with 24-channels of I/O is nowhere near saturating the USB-2 bus.
Even though some USB-3 audio interfaces are now available, they're not outperforming their USB-2 counterparts.
USB-3 certainly has more bandwidth than USB-2.
But... if you're not close to using all the bandwidth of USB-2, simply throwing more bandwidth at the situation won't increase performance.
Liken the situation to a car that has a top speed of 100mph.
Doesn't matter if it's on a 2-lane, 4-lane, or 8-lane highway... the top speed will still be 100mph.
 
If you're thinking about the first generation USB-1.1 audio interfaces, those were indeed terrible.
USB-1.1 didn't have the necessary bandwidth for a multi-channel audio interface.