Hey guys. Hoping for some more of your informed opinions.
 
I know this subject has come up many times before, but I want to upgrade my interface, after going through four already!!
 
The main reason is because I want a couple more inputs, but also, ever since I started with this world, interfaces, and USB, have given me lots of grief. The first interface, an M-audio fast track, when I made my brief escape from Cake to Protools, simply failed. Of course, for ages, I thought I was doing stuff wrong, and spent lots of wasted hours 'fixing' my computer. But the interface had a problem. Bought another M-audio. The mobilePre. Which was pretty good. And I went back to Cake, upgrading to X2. Got me up and running, but still with many latency and conflict issues. Bought a Mackie Onyx. Great, once I got it it working OK. Shifted to X3 and in particular, Win 8, and lots more compatibility issues. There's lots of info floating around re their driver issues, but I took a chance, with mixed results. My latest is the Focusrite 2i2, which has been great, mostly!!! It simply doesn't have enough parameter control, plus like I said, I now want a least 3 inputs, so it needs to go.
 
So what I would like is some advice on is the age old USB / Firewire debate.
 
It seems to me that if I go firewire, I may eliminate some of the problems that are always there, which are USB conflicts. My present motherboard, which is only new, has problems if I change things between the different board connections on the rear of the PC, and in particular, between the front USB 2.0, or 3.0 inputs on the front. To the point where the PC will not even recognise the interface. I have tried everything to fix these problems, and have workaround fixes in place, but continue to have problems, and I blame it on the MBO, and USB. I may yet change the MBO to something more common.
 
I am concerned of moving to Firewire, that I may just have the same issues, or different ones. Also concerned that if I buy a dedicated Firewire interface, and not one of the Firewire/USB combo units that are available, that I will get stuck.
 
I am looking at Focusrite's latest addition to their Firewire range, the Sapphire Pro 24, which has 4 preamps. Perfect.
 
Is Firewire still a direction to move in for the PC? I would very much appreciate any thoughts.
 
Cheers. Dave.  edit - sorry. just realised I posted this in the wrong section. My apologies.....

The 1384 (firewire) protocol was deliberately designed to transfer audio and/or video streams in real time.  USB was not.
 
Firewire works VERY well if you have the correct interface in your PC (one built around a TI chipset).  USB is potentially much faster than firewire (USB 3.0) but does not have the same timestamp info in the data packets.
 
Firewire data transfer is controlled by the interface,  USB is controlled by your processor, so if it gets interrupted by another process your audio will glitch.
 
USB works perfectly well as long as you can control what your processor is actually doing. There are some very good USB audio interfaces.

Firewire proper setup, is also dependent on Motherboards and chipsets/bios implementation of onboard devices...
 
As some of the older builds x58/x79 ,I had to setup, with the 1394 a/b pci or pcie-1x in MB slots...Issues were shared IRQs with something else on the board, or in Win 7 doing it as it likes to do......No matter the brand of 1394 cards installed, I always had issues trying to make them work correctly, because of that sharing problem.
 
I know nothing about...ECU H87 mobo?
 
So it is best to read the Mother board manual before buying in...if You can, if it states shared devices...??? check into it!!!... to help sort that IRQ perfect unshared slot out, for 1394a/b cards "best suited or tested with" the audio device ,  you select for the deed... and what is shared or not, "natively", by the MB should help you along with little problems resulting in setting it up right .
 
Perhaps someone Like Jim or Jcs could help you with that build, as they build firewire systems for Music..and are helping around the camp.
 
From my stand point Firewire is better, Than USB...As Windows 7 and up, have so many tasks and services running in the background, and like to share IRQs, there is always something interrupting the cpu!..I say 1394a/b can be tricky,..And as Karyn states/ cpu interruption can causes problems on the audio end of things../.in both camps!
 
And then there are the win tweaks...to solve for some of them.
 
My solution was to try the Thunderbolt 2 Port with firewire adapter..(had one small issue with audio device being dropped or not found in sonar x3e) recent latest Bios Update may have fixed, for now?..still testing....." I am in heaven!"...Just saying from my perspective.
 
No disrespect intended at all.
 
Best of luck, and Regards.

I agree with Karyn. There are excellent USB interfaces these days. USB has the advantage of being more universal, so you have the option of taking your interface out into the field with a laptop. From a performance perspective, Firewire holds a slight edge. And yes, you do avoid potential problems with bus contention, ports shutting down, and having other USB devices interfere with your audio.
 
I've been a Firewire guy for many years, having switched initially for exactly the same reasons as you - weird problems that I suspected were USB-related. Sure enough, switching to Firewire took care of all the problems I'd been having.
 
This year I became a Focusrite user after my elderly MOTU gave up the ghost. I chose it on blind faith, based on features and price and with fingers crossed. It turned out to be a very good purchase and has been serving me well. I've been impressed with Focusrite customer support, too.

I had some initial issues with USB as well when I got my audio interface.  I installed a dedicated USB adapter and always connect my interface and midi keyboard to the same ports on that adapter.  It has worked flawlessly ever since.

Yes Focusrite is a good brand for audio devices!...I to will proclaim as well...and my focusrite pro 40 works on TB very well with the adapter on my mac!... they also make very good drivers for their products!
 
Motu Pre 4 USB with latest drivers,for me is not working out so well on a Asus p9x79 deluxe board...loud squeelling noises, and other problems with crashing using UAD solo in Pcie-1x slot...which when pulled out of either slot used, removes the issues or conflicts...still noise coming from the usb mouse though!....So...there is lots of different opinions, and perspectives, going to be coming at you...to look into....But check out the manual of your MB board first....wink.
 
Best of luck.

I'm enjoying quality performance and sound from a firewire based TC Impact Twin. Very good purchase imho.

Thanks for the replies.  I had been following some of the other threads in relation to compatible chipsets in the past, and have some notes already, which assisted me in the choice of the present MBO I have. It was deliberately chosen, as was all the other components for my system. I have done what I can to manage the CPU and set up things accordingly. A lot of info was drained from this forum in that process. I think my MBO has a problem that I cannot rectify which is why I have been considering dumping it. The next choice on my list was an ASUS Z87 or similiar, which I will order tomorrow. I had been hoping these last 6 months that someone would bring out an interface aimed at USB 3.0, but nothing seems to be on the horizon right now.
 
Some good info. Thankyou. I will follow your lead Bitflipper. i really like the Focusrite product and support too, and will await the new Pro24 to hit the shops.
 
Dave.

For me, USB interfaces have been idiot proof and I've owned/used many.

Firewire devices have been twitchy and unreliable for me on certain systems. You gotta be sure you FW chipset is one of those recommended by the interface mfg etc. and sometimes I've ended up spending extra money and calling on expertise to get things up and running if only barely (location recordings with other people's gear).

I retired my Focusrite Saffire Pro (FW) in favor of the little RME Babyface (USB) last year and have been very happy ever since.

Firewire vs. USB2 is completely a moot point.
There are excellent performers using Firewire and excellent performers using USB2.
 
What you need to focus on is choosing a unit that's a proven rock-solid performer.
If you need the lowest possible round-trip latency, make sure you're getting a unit that delivers.
 
When it comes to noise-floor, typically the more you spend, the lower the noise-floor.
 
As far as onboard preamps, some are a little better than others.
If you have top-tier outboard preamps, none of the onboard preamps are going to "wow" you.
They're typically reasonably quiet... and deliver pretty good results.
 
If you go Firewire, make sure to use a quality TI chipset controller.
Some Firewire units are even finicky about the specific TI chipset controller (Mackie, Tascam, and UA's Apollo).
 
If you get a USB2 unit, connect it to a USB2 port.  Especially if your DAW's USB3 ports aren't Intel USB3 ports (controller integrated into the motherboard's chipset).  Many USB2 audio interfaces either won't work at all... or yield poor performance when connected to 3rd-party USB3 controllers.  Unless you're running Z77, Z87, Z97 chipset motherboard (or the derivatives like the H or B series), your USB3 ports are provided via 3rd-party add-on controller (not integrated into the motherboard's chipset).
 
Do some research... and choose a unit that's a known rock-solid top performer.
Aside from the machine itself, the audio interface is the 2nd most critical choice for a rock-solid DAW.
RME and MOTU units would be on my shortlist...