Hi all,

I'm looking at upgrading my home studio. I'm going to be building a new desktop PC and buying a new audio interface. I think I've settled on RME (seems like you guys make awesome stuff), and I'm looking at both the Babyface and the Fireface UC. But I'm trying to work out a few of the details. This is a big purchase, so I want to make sure that I get it right. (For the record, my OS will be Windows 7 64-bit.)

I understand that certain USB2 chipsets are better supported than others. The short answer seems to be "old chipsets = bad, newer chipsets = good", but I'm wondering if there's an actual list of definitively well-supported chipsets. I've been combing through the "Tested Systems" page, but it doesn't seem like there's any consistent chipset support data to be gleaned there. What I'd really like to hear is something like "ICH10R always works perfectly" or something like that. I'm guessing that type of guarantee isn't possible, but is there at least a "probably best" chipset list?

Related questions/thoughts:

I saw some older forum posts that suggest that FFUC (and Babyface?) may not play well with USB3. Theoretically, a USB2 device should be usable on a USB3 port (at USB2 speeds, obviously), but is this still officially not recommended? Or is it OK? If not, does RME anticipate that the FFUC and Babyface will eventually support USB3 ports?

I'm trying to future-proof myself here. Right now, most current motherboards have both USB2 and USB3 ports. (I'm still not clear on whether that's a single USB chipset or two separate chipsets. Maybe someone smarter than me can clarify that?) Is that type of mixed USB configuration OK? Just plug into the USB2 port and you're fine? But what happens then when the next generation motherboards are all USB3? Will a FFUC or Babyface still be usable then? That's the type of thing I'm trying to figure out.

Side note: Along with USB3, with Intel's Light Peak right around the corner, anybody else worried that it's a bad time to be buying a $1300 (USD) USB2 audio interface? I badly need to upgrade (my old interface is on the fritz), but I'm worried that USB2 is fast approaching the end of its life and I'll be stuck with a really cool looking paperweight. I'm not really concerned about not having the absolutely latest-and-greatest and fastest, it's more about buying something that potentially won't be supported at all in 5-7 years.

Any information, thoughts, or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!