I swich over to SCSI...

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ManuTOmanU

Golden Member
Mar 17, 2000
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Hi I finally got the money together to invest in a SCSI sys...Now here is what I want to purchase...Now I would like to know what you all think... I need some advise on a SCSI hdd and on the SCSI card... Whih one should I get? DC-390U3D or DC-390U3W?Now does anybody know about the Plextor? All I know that Plextor makes awesome drives... but how about SCSI? Are those good too?
 
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Ornery

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
20,022
17
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Now I would like to know what you all think...

You fool! :p

First of all, why do you refer to it as "investing" in SCSI? Are you just trying to invest in our slowing economy or something?

Since you asked, I think it's a waste of money. What is it that you're doing that you think requires SCSI?
 
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damien6

Golden Member
Oct 11, 1999
1,256
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DC-390U3D should be enough unless you're planning to have more than 7 Ultra160 drives.

For HDs, I guess that depends on your budget or lack there of. Seagate X15 (18gb) is at the top of the list (for now)for speed at around $440 shipped but some of the new 10k Ukltra160 drives are pretty fast and are around $250 or so, just don't get any older drives w/slow access/seek times.

Personally, I never had a Plexor but from what you hear around these forums, it's what these guys considers the industry's best. I had pretty good experiences w/Yamaha + HP burners and HP burners are CloneCD compatible, if that appeals to you. I don't see the need to spend excess money on name brand burners if I could find others that are just as reliable at about the same price, performance and after support.
 
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ManuTOmanU

Golden Member
Mar 17, 2000
1,165
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well I don't know...

I am sure that i am not going to need all of the SCSI performance, but some of it... And BTW I haven't bought yet...

And I don't think that SCSI is a waste of money, it all depends on needs... This SYS is going to be the thing I earn my money with... so I need a computer that allows me to have several appz up and does not crash...

I just started with those things and now can see that this is not the correct way to get there... Don't know... but I need some advice...So if you all tell me that SCSI isn't worth the price then I would have to think about it some more, but all ppl I know of are very happy with their SCSI config...

BTW sorry about the incorrect words I used that is the only way of getting better... lol...

so is there anybody out there that has a SCSI sys and does think that it might be worth the money in some cases...?
 
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Viperoni

Lifer
Jan 4, 2000
11,084
1
71
Ornery, some people just want a kick ass system.
SCSI will get you there.

You'll need to get the "DC-390U3W" SCSI Card (has a 50pin hookup)
The plex burner is definetely a good choice :)
For an HD, get something like a Seagate X15/Quantum Atlas
For a cdrom, something like a Plex 32x or Plex 40x, a Pioneer 6x SCSI DVD, something along those lines will be nice.


So you'd have the HD on the U160 channel, and the plex burner/whatever reader on the 50 pin channel.

That way, if you're burning something CD to burner, you can still do just about anything and you won't have to worry about under-runs (if you didn't have a burn-proof burner :))

BTW: You cannot go wrong with a plextor product :)
 
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Viperoni

Lifer
Jan 4, 2000
11,084
1
71
Just re-read your post.

If you really dont need SCSI, then get yourself a pair of Quantum AS/LM or IBM 75gxp's and a nice Raid setup will do you well too.
If you don't mind my asking, what are you going to be doing with your setup?
 
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ManuTOmanU

Golden Member
Mar 17, 2000
1,165
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We are building web sites for other ppl and trying to hold up our own... but this is all German...

well I also do video editing... (as a hobby)

So i will need some fast stuff...

NO GAMING HERE!!!
 
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Radboy

Golden Member
Oct 11, 1999
1,812
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Card ($89, free shipping, comes w/ all the cables & terminators you'll need)

IBM 36LZX or Quantum 10K II (9GB for $215 or 219, won't need more than 9GB to run your OS & apps .. use IDE/ATA drives for your storage needs)

Free drive shipping with this deal.

Perhaps u could write to Quantum & get them to extend this rebate offer.

That would give u an sdapter & hard drive for ~$300.

Can't go wrong with Plextor.

This is a good link to help decide which burner u want.
 
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Sir Fredrick

Guest
Oct 14, 1999
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IDE RAID is suck, especially since anything remotely affordable is software based.

I have an all SCSI system, and it's nice. Sure, I don't *need* all SCSI, but I probably don't *need* 256MB of RAM, or dual processors, but these things all combine to give me a great computing experience.

For your hard drive, I recommend the Quantum Atlas V if you're looking for a 7200 RPM drive, it's one of the fastest. If you want a 10K RPM, an Atlas 10K or 10KII are also good choices. IBM also makes good drives, but the drives in the same price range as the Atlas V just don't perform as well.
Stay away from Seagate drives, they're getting a bad reputation around here, and with an expensive component like that, you don't want to risk it.

For your cd rom, I think it's a great idea to get an Ultraplex 40MAX if you can afford it at all.

Lastly, I prefer Adaptec over Tekram, it has better support from windows, and I have heard (unconfirmed) that the tekrams have worse performance overall. If you were going to choose an adaptec card, I'd go with the 29160
 
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ManuTOmanU

Golden Member
Mar 17, 2000
1,165
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Yes yes....

Well that is cool...

No no no 7200 RPM... I thought 10000 would be fine...

Ok I will look in that...

BTW Adaptec might be better, but they are at a different pricelevel... then I would need to add all connectors and the card itself is about as much as the Tekram... I know about the support of Tekram but there are forums all over the place, so I might find somebody on ICQ to lead me through...

I think that there is no problem installing the DC-390U3W under win2k, (from what i have heared... but am not sure....)

thanx,,,:)
 
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Radboy

Golden Member
Oct 11, 1999
1,812
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I don't have an Adaptec card, but this thread (at Storagereview) says "..I'd buy the Tekram over the Adaptec (as most everyone else will tell you)." (Evan Mann)

.. they seem to prefer Tekram over Adaptec .. especially for their value.
 
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rahvin

Elite Member
Oct 10, 1999
8,475
1
0
Just make sure any Tekram card you buy has a Symbios chip instead of a tekram chip and you will be fine. Those Tekram SCSI chips are a bit shakey and support on OS's other than MS sucks.
 
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Radboy

Golden Member
Oct 11, 1999
1,812
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Yes, what rah says.

Have used my Tekram in following OS'es:

W2K
W98/SE
WinME
Whistler Pro beta1
Caldera 2.4 (Linux)
Mandrake 7 (Linux)
BeOS (FreeBe)
 
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ManuTOmanU

Golden Member
Mar 17, 2000
1,165
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Oh man I wish I could get all the parts today... but It is not that dramatic yet...

I am flying to America in April so I need all parts in at the beginning of April...

All I am doing now is getting familar with SCSI as much as I can...

So but i think i will get that card, that deal already...

ok... thanx...
 
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ManuTOmanU

Golden Member
Mar 17, 2000
1,165
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"Just make sure any Tekram card you buy has a Symbios chip instead of a tekram chip and you will be fine."

Ok you mean to ask the store? Do you think they could find out?

Or how could I find out?
 
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PCResources

Banned
Oct 4, 2000
2,499
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<< Stay away from Seagate drives, they're getting a bad reputation around here, and with an expensive component like that, you don't want to risk it >>



Actually, both Quantum and IBM has higher failure rates with their SCSI drives than seagate, so don't think that seagtes drives are bad.

As for Adaptec over Tekram... Well, they are both reliable and have very good OS support, the only reason for bying Adaptec is if the product you want is not carried by Tekram.

Tekram is great, seagate is great, after testing more than 4000 systems with that setup i think i know what i'm talking about.

Patrick Palm

Am speaking for PC Resources
 
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Ornery

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
20,022
17
81
Hey Manuel, kudos on your English. I can't imagine I'd even bother with the WWW if English weren't my primary language. No way would I venture onto a BBS like this! :Q

Anyway, how much money have these guys got you spending so far? For the hell of it, I looked a 1GHz Dell Precision? Workstation 420 for about $2,332.00
  • Standard Features include: integrated 3Com 10/100 ethernet controller, integrate 16-bit Sound Blaster Pro compatible sound, dual channel SCSI controller with an external 68 pin Ultrawide connector. Matrox G450, 32MB (dual monitor capable) 9GB Ultra 160/M SCSI (10,000 rpm) 20/48X IDE CD-ROM,NT &amp; WINDOWS Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Professional (Service Pack 1) 3 Yr Next Business Day On-Site Parts &amp; Labor,Unisys Special! Purchase 3 year, Same -Day, 4 hour 5x10 Onsite Response for $99, a savings of up to $51!
No monitor or CDRW. Just thought it might be easier to buy one already done. Looks like they can hook you up in Germany too.

Good Luck,
Ornery
 
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rahvin

Elite Member
Oct 10, 1999
8,475
1
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<<Ok you mean to ask the store? Do you think they could find out?

Or how could I find out?>>

Stores usually don't have a clue. Go to Tekram's website and look at the specs on the card you are interested in. Make sure it lists that it uses a Symbios chip, if it doesn't say it uses the Tekram one. I know the U3W recommended above does use the Symbios chip.
 
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ManuTOmanU

Golden Member
Mar 17, 2000
1,165
0
0
Hi Radboy that is you?

I just checked your website...

I read your &quot;guide to SCSI - boot from a beast&quot;...

That is nice I didn't know that... lol ;)

well done...

I almost gave up... but then I found that neet prog. TextAloud MP3...

so easy ... lol
 
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ManuTOmanU

Golden Member
Mar 17, 2000
1,165
0
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well Ornery this is kind of an hobby...

You know I have a friend he loves Jass... (some styles) He bought some speakers for about 20.000$


I don't think I would like to buy something all done... then you always get something you don't want and you miss the fun having trouble building everything ...

another thing is the motherboard... you never know...

well anyway, I give every biker out there another example... (talking about bicicle... not motorbikes...)

If you would need a new bike, what would you do? I do trial... so I would get my own frame, get some nice tires and so on... same thing...

Dell is good... but for ppl who don't want trouble...

not for me... lol

that is what i think... and i think you wouldn't buy a dell for yourself either.. would you?
 
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Sir Fredrick

Guest
Oct 14, 1999
4,375
0
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Just to clarify, the retail version of the 29160 comes with all the cables as well as an LVD terminator. Which hard drives are you considering at this point?
 
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SonicFlux

Senior member
Mar 9, 2000
238
0
0
Manuel,

I have a Tekram DC390-U3W card, and I had a lot of problems getting it to work. Tekram's support was terrible, but I did find a workaround (I had to set the SCSI BIOS options to NOT scan my CDR and DVD drives on startup). However, with all of the problems I had, I would still buy Tekram because it is much cheaper than Adaptec. And I have found (unconfirmed) reports on the web showing Tekram outperforming Adaptec. However, the better driver and tech support for Adaptec might be worth the extra price.

As for my HD, I have a seagate cheetah U160 18Gb. At first, I was dissapointed with my new SCSI setup. I thought it would be faster. But after a few weeks, I realized that my computer was a lot more responsive than any other computer I worked on, at home or at work. It really does make for a better computing experience... if you can afford it.
 
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soulm4tter

Senior member
Nov 6, 2000
967
0
0
Tekram is better than Adaptec IMO. The Seagate 15X is pretty loud and hot. I suggest a good 10K drive. Check out Seagates 18XL, its fairly quiet and cool. If you want a responsive system, some good SCSI drives is the way to go. Check out the benchmarks and pay special attention to seek and access times as well as the I/O performance. Don't worry so much about STRs. IDE RAID sucks IMO
 
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