Are SCSI CD-RW worth it?

[weshuang]

I have an HP SCSI CD-writer, which makes some distressing rattling noises and probably is ready to be replaced. I generally use the drive for burning some CD's (not alot) and obviously reading software, principally games.

Anyway, my question is, are SCSI drives worth the extra price? For example, I have heard that Plextor makes great CD-ROM and CD-RW drives. However, they make 48/12/48 Atapi CD-RW's for around $160, but only a 12/10/32 SCSI CD-RW for $260. Does the increased throughput of SCSI make up for the lower RPM's of the SCSI drives (and also the increased cost?)

Opinions, anyone?

 

[dakarm]

Originally posted by: weshuang
I have an HP SCSI CD-writer, which makes some distressing rattling noises and probably is ready to be replaced. I generally use the drive for burning some CD's (not alot) and obviously reading software, principally games.

Anyway, my question is, are SCSI drives worth the extra price? For example, I have heard that Plextor makes great CD-ROM and CD-RW drives. However, they make 48/12/48 Atapi CD-RW's for around $160, but only a 12/10/32 SCSI CD-RW for $260. Does the increased throughput of SCSI make up for the lower RPM's of the SCSI drives (and also the increased cost?)

Opinions, anyone?

The type of interface has nothing to do with throughput. For example your 48X cd-rom on IDE is transfering at 7.2mb/s. A 12x SCSI 50-pin device is transfering at 1.8mb/s. The IDE has bandwidth of 33mb/s while the SCSI one is probably 20MB/s <---that's for Ultra SCSI.

It's not the interface but the speed of the drive that mattes more. There will never be a cd-rom that can transfer 33mb/s or even 20mb/s sustained.

SCSI doesn't make sense for desktop anymore. It's a waste of money if you ask me unless your running a full blown Server.

Simply put the throughput of the drive is limited by how fast it can spin (48X versus 12x). The fact that the 12x is SCSI makes no difference whatsoever.

 

[weshuang]

That's exactly what I was afraid I was going to hear. So I basically wasted money on my HP SCSI CD-RW? Why does anybody buy SCSI CD drives then, if they are all slower and more expensive?

 

[bacillus]

burnproof for ide cdrw is also another nail in the scsi coffin!

 

[dakarm]

Originally posted by: weshuang
That's exactly what I was afraid I was going to hear. So I basically wasted money on my HP SCSI CD-RW? Why does anybody buy SCSI CD drives then, if they are all slower and more expensive?

Here is one reason. You can attache 7 SCSI CD-burners in a tower and make 7 copies of 1 cd at once.

You can't do that with IDE burners. but yeah SCSI desktop has been going down and is nearly dead now.

As to why some people still buy scsi cd drives... beats me. Some people just want scsi only.

 

[weshuang]

>> <FONT size=1> burnproof for ide cdrw is also another nail in the scsi coffin!

What's burnproof?</FONT>

 

[mastertech01]

I have an all SCSI system, and just prefer it to IDE. I dont burn a lot of disks so an 8/20 Plextor that will burn anything and works with all my other drives on a single controller with low CPU utilization is perfectly fine for me. If you need to burn at 48X then by all means get an IDE drive. If you dont have a need or appreciate the SCSI interface you certainly wont be any better off with it.

Ive had to go back to IDE a time or two just to remember why I like SCSI so much. Its just a personal preference.

 

[CubicZirconia]

Originally posted by: weshuang
>> <FONT size=1> burnproof for ide cdrw is also another nail in the scsi coffin!

What's burnproof?</FONT>

It prevents buffer under-run. Buffer under-run normally occurs when the drives buffer becomes empty and the burning process cannot continue.

 

[blackhawk]

I still run a plextor 8/2/20 scsi that was great before burnproof and still bulletproof but not worth selling at the price its worth now.

I replaced my plextor ide 12/10/32 with burnproof with a liteon 40x burner thats incredible value and burns a full cd in just over 2 minutes. Does all the latest encryptions with clonecd too.

I wouldn't go back to scsi now unless for other devices in my computer but go with a liteon, you should be real happy.

 

[corkyg]

SCSI external burners were, for several years, the best solution, especially for those already using SCSI for other purposes. But, IDE has improved, and now external burners are available in Firewire and USB 2. Both are good. I have an HP External SCSI burner on the shelf in my closet - I replaced it with Firewire, and it actually works better because it does not have to be "on" during the boot cycle.