Liquid Saffire 56, Laptop and Sonar

Hope I have the right forum for this.  Here goes.  I am in process of upgrading to a new laptop for Producer.  I want to keep the Focusrite Liquid Saffire 56 as one of my interfaces. The 56 has ADAT lightpipe and firewire connections.  Firewire has worked well on my desktop, but I can't really find a newer PC laptop with Firewire.  There is an Apple firewire to Thunderbolt adaptor that I understand works well.   Alienware Gaming Laptop has a USB-C connector.  Will that work?  If the USB-C connection doesn't work I won't have to spend an additional $400 to $500 on the Alienware PC.  Has anyone on here successfully connected a Firewire or Thunderbolt interface to a PC laptop? Thoughts? Thanks.

Dont know much about the 56 -
but if it has a firewire port you can check out if a firewire express card
fits into your lap top.
If that is possible, I recommend an express card with TI chipset.

I have the 56 and love it as well. Not sure if you got the laptop yet bit I got my laptop from adk pro audio, it's custom built and you can have them put firewire in it if you want. I have it in mine, but my 56 stays with the studio pc.

What model of laptop are you using?

FireWire is about dead on mainstream laptops.  You are looking at the custom stuff if you want that.
 
I have a FireWire interface that has been going strong for 10+ years, and I had to add a PCIe 1394 card to my latest desktop build to keep it working.
 
If I needed to add audio to my laptop now, I would probably spend the money on a good USB interface.  FireWire seems to have reached end of life as a technology.

Pragi

abacab
FireWire is about dead on mainstream laptops.  You are looking at the custom stuff if you want that.
 
I have a FireWire interface that has been going strong for 10+ years, and I had to add a PCIe 1394 card to my latest desktop build to keep it working.
 
If I needed to add audio to my laptop now, I would probably spend the money on a good USB interface.  FireWire seems to have reached end of life as a technology.

Firewire seems to die  since nearly 10 years,
same was said the time I bought a saffire pro 40..
You are probably right.
Focusrite  proclaimed last year
that firewire interfaces will run via thunderbolt port in the future.
Any news about that ?

Jim Roseberry has already posted a few threads about the current status of Thunderbolt for the PC on this forum.
 
FireWire has nothing to do with Thunderbolt.  On the PC, Thunderbolt is just a way to use the PCIe bus on an external device. 
 
There are some hardware prerequisites involved before even considering going down that path.  USB3 sounds fine for me.  Look up Jim's post for the details!

Just received the compatibility list of focusrite ,
interesting :
Thunderbolt 3.1 ports
Scarlett Range (1st and 2nd Generation)
Adapter: Apple USB-C to USB-A adapter
Compatible: YES
Saffire 6 USB (USB 1.1 and 2.0 variants)
Adapter: Apple USB-C to USB-A adapter
Compatible: YES
Forte
Adapter: Apple USB-C to USB-A adapter
Compatible: YES
Clarett range
Adapter: Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter
Compatible: YES - please note that Thunderbolt 3 on Windows machines is not yet fully supported, see this article
Saffire Range
Adapters: Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter, Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter (Firewire 800-400 cable)
Compatible: YES
Red 4Pre/8Pre
Still no windows compatibility.
 
So the question is if a  (windows compatible) mainboard incl. real thunderbolt port is in development or meanwhile available ?
regards

abacab
Jim has already answered those questions. 
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3631959
http://forum.cakewalk.com...-m3571119.aspx#3571167
http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3574825
http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3575130

Now there are news about thunderbolt for windows :
Stevenpanther wrote :
I'm using a Focusrite Clarett 8-pre on Windows 10 with an Asus motherboard and thunderbolt card and this works fine at a latency of 1.8ms. So it can be done but I think I'm right in saying that you need Windows 10.
 
Now if Focusrite would just get around to updating their Windows drivers so that they are no longer in beta...
Written here :
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Has-anybody-installed-a-Thunderbolt-card-into-a-desktop-PC-m3654138.aspx#3655126
 
So you are wrong , it is possible to use thunderbolt interfaces via Win 10,
equal if Jim answered this question some time ago.
I recommend better research before answering question in a harsh way .
 
regards
 
 
 
 

Pragi

abacab
Jim has already answered those questions. 
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3631959
http://forum.cakewalk.com...-m3571119.aspx#3571167
http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3574825
http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3575130

Now there are news about thunderbolt for windows :
Stevenpanther wrote :
I'm using a Focusrite Clarett 8-pre on Windows 10 with an Asus motherboard and thunderbolt card and this works fine at a latency of 1.8ms. So it can be done but I think I'm right in saying that you need Windows 10.
 
Now if Focusrite would just get around to updating their Windows drivers so that they are no longer in beta...
Written here :
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Has-anybody-installed-a-Thunderbolt-card-into-a-desktop-PC-m3654138.aspx#3655126
 
So you are wrong , it is possible to use thunderbolt interfaces via Win 10,
equal if Jim answered this question some time ago.
I recommend better research before answering question in a harsh way .
 
regards
 

 
I never mentioned that Thunderbolt would not work on a PC.  I even pointed out a few posts by our resident PC build expert, Jim Roseberry, on how to do it properly:
 
"You have to meet all the following conditions:

• Running one of the latest Z170, Z270, or X99 motherboards that provide Thunderbolt-3 via USB-C port
• Running an up-to-date install of Win10
• Need a USB-C to Thunderbolt adapter
• Your audio interface needs full "PCIe via Thunderbolt" driver"

 
The OP's post was a question about connecting a FireWire interface, Saffire 56.
 
You brought up the Focusrite claim that FireWire will run via Thunderbolt, to which I  merely commented that FireWire on a PC was not related to Thunderbolt.  For clarification, that is still true, as they are two different protocols.  Thunderbolt 3 on a PC is actually USB-C over Thunderbolt, essentially an external PCIe bus.
 
It also seems to be possible, as Focusrite claimed, to use converters to attach a FireWire audio interface to a PC that only has Thunderbolt 3, but it appears to be a delicate process that requires external converters.  It would probably be easier to either add a FireWire interface to your PC, or get a new audio interface.
 
So no argument here.  Just a friendly discussion of pros & cons...

To clarify:
 
USB-C is a port (connection)
It gets confusing because USB-C ports can be used for Thunderbolt-3 or USB-3.1
 
NOTE:  Just because a machine has USB-C port/s does not mean that it has Thunderbolt.
If the motherboard doesn't specifically have a Thunderbolt-3 controller (or add-in-card providing TB3 controller), the machine doesn't have Thunderbolt.  Many motherboards have USB-C ports... which are used for USB-3.1
 
Lots of folks mistakenly assume that because their machine has USB-C ports (carrying USB-3.1) that it'll work with Thunderbolt audio interfaces (when using a USB-C to Thunderbolt adapter).  If the motherboard doesn't specifically have a Thunderbolt-3 controller (or optional TB3 add-in-card), this will not work.
 

Pragi
 

abacab
 
So no argument here.  Just a friendly discussion of pros & cons...

@Abacab
That´s were all my intentions, that you are discussing friendly,
not teacher like . Seems you you are able to do so , or ?
 
cheers

Let's focus on the topic, and not each other OK?  It is nothing personal to disagree with somebody's comments on a public forum.  That's just how facts get sorted and we all learn from each other.
 
We are here to discuss, debate, and share ideas, and we have to agree to disagree at times, and not take it personally.  If you have a problem with what I have to say, please feel free to ignore me!

abacab

Pragi
 

abacab
 
So no argument here.  Just a friendly discussion of pros & cons...

@Abacab
That´s were all my intentions, that you are discussing friendly,
not teacher like . Seems you you are able to do so , or ?
 
cheers

Let's focus on the topic, and not each other OK?  It is nothing personal to disagree with somebody's comments on a public forum.  That's just how facts get sorted and we all learn from each other.
 
We are here to discuss, debate, and share ideas, and we have to agree to disagree at times, and not take it personally.  If you have a problem with what I have to say, please feel free to ignore me!

the person  who was 3 times offending me with comments  
was you . Don´t  prevaricate, it is you who has to ignore me .
You think you are the forum police to remember me to stay On T or you have to 
tell me that I have to be  investigate better before   asking  a question ,
but you are not even a mod , and I tell you - a mod wouldn´t do either.