FireWire bracket for Asus motherboards

[dodecahedron]

i have an Asus motherboard A7N8X Deluxe, which has FireWire.
but there is no built-in firewire socket on the external I/O panel.
just 2 FireWire connectors on the motherboard itself.

the motherboard is supposed to come with a bracket, which is placed in one of the expansion slots in the case (not in a PCI slot however), and connects to one (or both) of the motherboard's connectors.
however i didn't get this bracket with the motherboard (long story...)

my question, to anyone who has an Asus board with FireWire and has/has seen such a bracket:
does this bracket have only one or two FireWire sockets in it?



(from the Asus manual)

[dodecahedron]

BTW, does anyone know where such a bracket can be purchased?

[cfitz]

It appears that it has one full-size Firewire connector and one Sony iLink mini-connector:



(from Game PC - the picture isn't from your motherboard, but comparing it to smaller pictures of your motherboard's accessories, I think it is the same thing. Anyway, I can't imagine ASUS uses different brackets since there is no need for the bracket to be motherboard specific.)

I couldn't find the ASUS bracket for sale, although I did find brackets for Intel and Abit motherboards:

http://www.shop-intel.com/shop/product.asp?pid=SIDB8226
http://www.excaliberpc.com/product_info ... ts_id=2335
http://www.excaliberpc.com/product_info ... ts_id=3375

It looks like the connectors on the cables of these Intel and Abit brackets are 5x2 rather than 8x1 as in your diagram, so they won't plug right in. You could always cut and solder to make them work, but perhaps your best bet would be an email to Asus asking them where you can get a replacement.

cfitz

[ruderacer]

dodec,
I have an Asus P4G8X deluxe and it has a similar diagram to your MB. I have one going to the bracket you are looking for and the other to the top of case. I'm sure if you contact ASUS they'll send you one. The one I have is very similar to the one cfitz picture shows.

I took a picture of mine, but for some reason I cannot copy/paste picture here.

[Silentbob343]

Belkin sells what you are looking for. There are other small companies that make that type of bracket. I have been looking for one with a longer than usual cord and have not been succesful.

I can't find it on Belkin's site, but I have seen it at my local compusa. I hate searching for those on-line as typing in Firewire Bracket brings all sorts of motherboard reviews. It's a lot easier to find the USB variation.

http://www.trianglecables.com/usbtomotpora.html
http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp ... 201-01.JPG

This one has both firewire and USB
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... 752&depa=0

[dodecahedron]

@cfitz:
thanks for the extensive research. who would do that but you? good to have you back.
yeah, i already knew the Abit brackets won't fit since they have a different kind of plug.
why oh why are the FireWire connectors on motherboards not standardized like USB are???
cutting and soldering the wires into a new plug is a bit beyond me (and who had the time anyway?)

@ruderacer:
does the one you have look like the one in the pics posted by cfitz?
1 regular FireWire port, one mini port ?

@Silentbob343:
i don't live in the states so i can't browse B&M stores
the USB brackets are easier to come by, i agree.
i've already seen the 2 products at newegg you linked to.
however i'm interested in the FireWire not USB.
the Biostar USB/FireWire combo one:

http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp ... 752-02.JPG

it's hard to tell from the pic, but it looks like the FireWire plugs are the brown ones, and they are 5x2, not 8x1 like the connector on the Asus mobo.

[LoneWolf]

Dodec, my local mom-n-pop shop might have the ASUS brackets, I saw some the last time I was there and I'll be happy to check for you. I could get you a price and try to figure out shipping, or ship to a friend if you know someone travelling your way. You could PayPal me the money. Let me know.

I checked NewEgg; they have every ASUS bracket BUT the firewire one, sad to say. I had this exact same bracket on my A7V8X when I had it.

[dodecahedron]

I checked NewEgg; they have every ASUS bracket BUT the firewire one, sad to say. I had this exact same bracket on my A7V8X when I had it.

indeed they have i've already checked that!

Dodec, my local mom-n-pop shop might have the ASUS brackets, I saw some the last time I was there and I'll be happy to check for you. I could get you a price and try to figure out shipping, or ship to a friend if you know someone travelling your way. You could PayPal me the money. Let me know.

thanks for the offer!
would you check if they have the FireWire bracket, and if so how much it costs?
also, like in my original post, does it have 1 or 2 FireWire sockets? and what kind (2 regular or 1 regular and 1 mini like in cfitz's post) ?

[cfitz]

also, like in my original post, does it have 1 or 2 FireWire sockets? and what kind (2 regular or 1 regular and 1 mini like in cfitz's post) ?

For what it is worth, the standard bracket as shipped with your motherboard seems to have 1 regular and 1 mini just like the bracket in the picture I posted. Here is a zoomed view of the bracket as pictured in another review of the A7N8X Deluxe:


Here again, for reference, is the first photo I posted:


The image isn't good since I had too blow it up so much, and it shows the bottom rather than top of the attached circuit board, but you can still see that there are two connectors, one standard and one mini.

[bill]

Dodec,

Was that a Deluxe-E motherboard and have you found the bracket?

[dodecahedron]

hi there BigMonkey.

no, it's a A7N8X Deluxe (not the E-Deluxe).

one place around here has the bracket, but the guy tells me it only has one firewire port. he says he knows that such brackets exist with 2 ports but the importer that store works with doesn't have it.
should cost around $12 or so.
i inquired at another place, don't know the answer yet.

i really should try out ruderacer's advice and contact Asus, maybe they'll be nice and send me one!

[LoneWolf]

Hi Dodec,

Sorry I haven't gotten to the store yet, it's been nuts around here. I'll try to go tomorrow, seeing as I have the day off.

[dodecahedron]

i appreciate it very much.
i've a friend in the US who'se bought some stuff for me and is going to ship it to me soon. so it's a possibility for you got get it and send it to him.

so if you could check it out, and find out what i've asked in my questions above, that'd be great.

[LoneWolf]

Dodec, I can get the bracket, but I cannot get the cables to connect the bracket with the mainboard. It looks exactly like the bracket cfitz posted, with one standard 1394 port and one iLink port. The bracket will probably cost around $15USD from the local store; I'll try and get `em down a little in price if I can, after all they have two and that kind of thing doesn't sell very quick, no guarantees though. If you're interested, let me know. I'll get it at the cost of the part plus shipping it to the friend of yours, USPS Priority Mail is pretty cheap so it'd probably be under $5 to ship in the US.

[dodecahedron]

thanks for the offer, LoneWolf.
but without the cables it's no good at all. especially since the Asus motherboard uses nonstandard connectors (well, anyway, differenct connectors that those used by Abit and Intel boards...)
for me to be able to get the cables would be next to impossible i think...

[LoneWolf]

thanks for the offer, LoneWolf.
but without the cables it's no good at all. especially since the Asus motherboard uses nonstandard connectors (well, anyway, differenct connectors that those used by Abit and Intel boards...)
for me to be able to get the cables would be next to impossible i think...

I figured as much...though I suppose that you could wire cables yourself if you have the manual for the board, which will probably have the pinouts. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.