Yea, I would go w/ USB if I had a choice.  But I already own a tC Konnekt 48, which costs more than my computer and I'm happy w/.  Hence the PCIe card.  $20 as opposed to getting a lynx card or something better than the TC.

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I have a new Gigabyte Z77X UD5H motherboard and it DOES NOT have have a T.I. firewire chip, it has a VIA. As far as Firewire or USB, I used to have a firewire interface unit and when it died I replaced it with a Roland Octa-Capture USB unit. Even with a T.I. chipset in my old PC I still had some issues. No interface issues with USB.