The 10 Best Firewire 400 cards (2023 reviews)
We consider a firewire 400 card to be a worthy investment in the long run.
We are here to help you choose the right one for your needs from all the best available products in market today.
Our review process:
Our Top Picks:
Best Overall: Buy: Syba Firewire 400 Card READ REVIEWBest For transfering Camcorder footage: Buy: Vantec Firewire 400 Card READ REVIEWBest For desktop: Buy: Linkstek Firewire 400 Card READ REVIEWBest For using As a Firewire: Buy: Eliater Firewire 400 Card READ REVIEWBest For laptop: Buy: Tan Qy Firewire 400 Card READ REVIEWBest with Alesis multimix: Buy: Startech Firewire 400 Card READ REVIEWBest For Mac: Buy: SIIG Firewire 400 Card READ REVIEWBest For video: Buy: Lazmin112 Firewire 400 Card READ REVIEWBest Premium: Buy: Sanpyl Firewire 400 Card READ REVIEWBest Feature: Easy to install: Buy: Pardarsey Firewire 400 Card READ REVIEWBest Overall: Syba Firewire 400 Card
Buy on Amazon We are personally inclined towards syba firewire 400 card, it is not so pricy, but it overachieves its purpose and outstanding in important aspects. It is great for capturing from an old hi8 sony camcorder model dcr-trv. It provides internal 9-pin firewire header to connect the pc front panel for new custom build with a new next generation z270 motherboard that doesn't have onboard firewire 9-pin header. This is accomplished by previewing the tape and defining start and end set points of the scenes you want. It also includes a full size bracket so you can put in any size case. It installs quickly, and is instantly recognized on windows 7 64 bit home version. It works with newly built systems. It comes with interchangeable low-profile and standard brackets. It comes with a little 'goosing' of things with handbrake so you can smooth out motion and improve resolution a little.Why We Like This:
- Reasonably priced, very compact, easy installation, performs very well
- Easy to install and driver is built-in
- Includes both full sized and low profile pci bracket
Best For transfering Camcorder footage: Vantec Firewire 400 Card
Buy on Amazon This is a firewire card that easily installs and captures HDV and other feeds. It can solve latency and playback problems, as well as low resource conditions. The Vantec plugs into a pCie card slot in your pc motherboard, so the only requirement is that your mother board has a pCie slot available. This card has 2 external firewire ports and one internal port. It has TI drivers built right in the card and installed on boot. The card is PCIe x1, slim and small, full size PCI bracket, so it installs easily in a motherboard with a free functioning PCIe x1 slot. This little item has really come in handy.Why We Like This:
- Low profile, very small and compact
- Plug and play with windows 10 and included sata power connector is nice bonus
- Works great just plug and play with win 8.1
- Fully functioning and ready to go in minutes
Best For desktop: Linkstek Firewire 400 Card
Buy on Amazon We know from years of feedback from readers, customers and amazon sellers, what most people want in a convenient and appropriate card. The linkstek firewire 400 card is exactly that - it's a simple card that hits all the right notes. It is perfect for capturing old footage and firewire. In addition to the two standard and one mini external connectors, there is a standard IEEE 1394 connecter on the card itself oriented to the back of the card. This card will allow you to connect the presonus to the pc. It has a 6 pin firewire port and a cable for 6 pin to 4 pin but no exposed pins. It's free and works perfectly to rip the movies to digital format. There is also what looks like a standard PC power connector next to it. It comes with a cd with all necessary drivers to install. It's compatible with iee 1394a ohci (open host controller interface) 1.1 standard interface devices such as digital cameras, cd-rom, dvd-rom drive, dv camcorders, hard drives, media equipment, 1394a video and audio devices and printers. This makes it more time consuming to put the video back together again.Why We Like This:
- Easy to install in a win 11 computer
- Easy to install for windows 7 system
- Interconnect non-6000 series flex radio to pc,performs beautifully
- Worked flawlessly in a windows 10 custom pc
Best For using As a Firewire: Eliater Firewire 400 Card
Buy on Amazon We know from years of feedback from readers, customers and amazon sellers, what most people want in a convenient and appropriate card. The eliater firewire 400 card is exactly that - it's a simple card that hits all the right notes. It provides with a low profile bracket and a firewire cable, your best choice of firewire card for pc. It is perfectly on an intel i7-3770k and free capture soft windv. It is powered by the computer through it’s edge card connector. It is compatible with devices in 400/200/100mbps transmission speed. It is a piece of cake to install, and works right away with no need to install any other dirvers. The PCIe card is a generic interface. It installs quickly and easily (if you know your way around the interior of your desktop PC) and works immediately after powering up. It is a low profile bracket and a firewire cable, your best choice of firewire card for pc.Why We Like This:
- New and hot release
- Lot of satisfied buyers
Best For laptop: Tan Qy Firewire 400 Card
Buy on Amazon We know from years of feedback from readers, customers and amazon sellers, what most people want in a convenient and appropriate card. The tan qy firewire 400 card is exactly that - it's a simple card that hits all the right notes. It is perfect for copying video from a minidv camcorder to your PC. It comes with a cable as well which is a plus if you don’t have old firewire cables lying around. It is mostly plug and play.Why We Like This:
- Fully backward compatible to 1394a specification
- Good brand reputation
Best with Alesis multimix: Startech Firewire 400 Card
Buy on Amazon The startech firewire 400 card is specially designed for your regular usage and has all useful features. This pci express firewire adapter reduces performance bottlenecks by offering support for data transfer rates up to 400mbps to each port. It includes two full-profile brackets for versatile use with low profile and standard computer cases. The physical installation of the card is easy. It works well with older fire wire devices. This allows you to connect iee 1394a firewire devices such as digital cameras, external hard drives, dv camcorders, printers and more. The pcie firewire adapter is natively supported in windows with no additional drivers required. There are both high and low mounting plates supplied in the box.Why We Like This:
- Worked well for transferring dv movies from dv tape to computer
- Includes full profile and half height installation brackets
- Allows you to connect ieee 1394a firewire devices
- Easy to install and exactly as needed
Best For Mac: SIIG Firewire 400 Card
Buy on Amazon Next on the list, we've got yet another card that manages to win our hearts. It's the siig firewire 400 card and it's widely considered as card that has the most suitable features. The PCI Express 1-lane (x1) FireWire adapter works with PCI Express slots of different lane widths. It works with firewire (1394a) devices including dv camcorders, cd-rw/dvd-roms, portable hard disk enclosures, digital cameras, and many other audio/video devices. Once you use this card that's powered up, the habit is happy, windows is happy, the card is happy, the drivers are happy, and now you're happy because everything's working.Why We Like This:
- Installs in any available pci express slot supports data rates up to 400mbps
- Lot of satisfied buyers
Best For video: Lazmin112 Firewire 400 Card
Buy on Amazon The lazmin112 firewire 400 card is satisfactory and appropriate and fits well with your daily usage. It works with various types of firewire 800 (1394b) and 1394a devices including portable hard disk, dv camcorder, digital camera, cd-rw/dvd-rom drive and other audio/video devices. It has lots of good memory in the tapes. Its Express bus transmission speed is 2.5Gbps, far higher than the PCI bus, fully shows high-speed transmission performance of IEEE 1394b, and is backward compatible with devices in 400/200/100Mbps transmission speed.Why We Like This:
- Simultaneous operation of multiple high-performance devices
- Fully backward compatible to 1394a specification
- Supports hot-swapping and plug-and-play connection of peripheral devices
- Fully interoperable with firewire, ilink, and sb1394 implementation of ieee 1394 standard
Best Premium: Sanpyl Firewire 400 Card
Buy on Amazon The sanpyl firewire 400 card is the best quality card on the market today.Why We Like This:
- Adopt sophisticated production technology, support 400/200/100mbps data transfer rate
- Good brand reputation
Best Feature: Easy to install: Pardarsey Firewire 400 Card
Buy on Amazon The pardarsey firewire 400 card's material feels more premium than its price would suggest.Why We Like This:
- Fully backward compatible to 1394a specification
- Works as well as firewire can work
- Lot of satisfied buyers