what are the pros and cons of both?
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The most important pro of using a PCI card is that you will have
The most important pro of using a PCI card is that you will have less latency than with firewire. The biggest drawback of using a PCI card is that its converters might pick up lots of interference from your computer. Firewire boxes tend to avoid that noise by keeping the converters outside of the PC.
BUT, there are exceptions to every rule. I have owned a MOTU firewire interface, as well as a LynxTwo PCI card. Guess which one was by far the quieter of those two devices? The LynxTwo, surprisingly.
Really, the first question is how much do you have to spend? If you can afford a Lynx, I would recommend that you buy it without even considering firewire. You'll get unbeatable latency and virtually no noise. But if, like most people, you can't afford a Lynx, you should look into options that would keep the converters away from your PC.
One last note---do not, under any circumstances, purchase a USB device unless it is USB 2.0 compatible. USB 1 is much too slow for serious audio.
if you just think of their basic tech. structure, you'll find th
if you just think of their basic tech. structure, you'll find the answer for yourself...
info transferwise, they're pretty similar, firewire is the only real feasible method for laptop use, and you need a bulky tower pc/mac for a pci card...not always needed of course in firewire (with a laptop)...generally, the world is going firewire/usb.