As for a Firewire card, I would recommend going to Ebay and searching for "AFW-2100" in desktop components.

This is a Dell part# for a PCI Firewire card (Lucent chip I believe) that has two external ports and a standard header to connect a case's front port to...and they are usually really cheap.

Mine worked well with my test Hackit0sh machine and will be used in my permanent rig once all the parts arrive.