probably a dumb question/easy answer on expresscards

I have a Dell Inspiron 1501 - 4 USB 2.0 inputs and no firewire

I want to hook up a firewire audio interface and an external drive. Both devices will be used at the same time. I read that USB is not a good choice for audio applications, so I would like to use firewire.

My plan is to purchase an expresscard with firewire inputs. My question is pretty simple - if I buy a card that has multiple inputs, can I use the inputs simultaneously? I don't see why not, but I want to make sure.

Also, if my audio device supports firewire 400 and my external drive supports firewire 800, am I okay to "mix" both of those types? I would purchase a card with both - something like this: http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=202730410&listingid=3928698&dcaid=17902

And one last weird question: does the expresscard technology still use USB 2.0? In other words, so I gain anything with the firewire expresscard or does it still pass through USB to communicate with the computer?

Thanks for the help!

 

I think you're OK on all counts.

 

Thanks for the reply.

I would love some more opinions on this. I'm piecing together a small home studio and this part of it is over my head.

Would I be safer just sticking to Firewire 400? I read a few things that said 800 is still a little unstable. And I don't think I would notice a huge performance difference between 400 and 800 for what I'm doing.

 

Can anyone else confirm that this will work? Sorry for the bump... I'm hoping to place an order today. Thanks!

 

yes you will be able to use them simultaniously.

yes, you will be getting the full use of Firewire, and it wont just be going through the internal USB ports.

As for the "mixing" question, im not 100% sure on this, but I dont see a problem.