Firewire audio interfaces are a great option for producers and musicians running older computers, such as 5,1 Mac Pro Towers and PC towers with Firewire cards installed. Firewire was designed to deliver a constant speed of data transfer. It differs from USB, that was able to fluctuate more in terms of speed, producing higher peek data transfer rates. The constant data transfer rate makes Firewire an excellent protocol for audio-interfaces, reducing the likelihood of drop-outs and glitches. Apple also make Thunderbolt-Firewire 800 patch cables, that will enable you to run your firewire audio-interface on newer computers too.