[iStudent 2003]

I have Mac Pro (January 2008 model) and I would like to a Firewire 800 PCI card to it for additional ports, but I don't know what's a good one. Any thoughts or suggestions, I know I could go with a firewire hub, but I don't want to be cluttering up my office.

[mduell]

2 FW800 + 1 FW400 for $75 shipped

If you need the ports for external storage (rather than audio/video devices, etc), I'd suggest considering eSATA instead; it's faster and eSATA/USB enclosures (for compatibility when you're away from your system) are much cheaper than FW800 enclosures.

[iStudent 2003]

Thanks for mduell the recommendation for the FireWire card. Can you recommend a good eSATA PCI card for a Mac Pro? I know I can use an eSATA bracket and have it connected directly to the motherboard, but I am currently use 4 internal hard drives for a total for 2TB of storage; so that's not really going to work for me.

Thanks again mduell.

[mduell]

There are 2 more SATA ports on the motherboard (not in hard drive bays) that you can use with a $5 bracket. If you've already used those (or intend to use them) for aftermarket optical drives, you can get a card for $32 shipped.