Oh crud...the SCSI RAID card bug bit me...whattaya think about this card?

[MichaelD]

This one here. LSI 21320 PCI-X?

Yes, there are far better SCSI RAID cards...but not ones that will run in a 32-bit PCI slot. This one will.

Not saying I need it. But you know how that goes. :Q

Also, this card is a 133MHz card as opposed to a standard 33MHz; how big of a diff does that make AFA my using it in a regular PCI slot goes?

Thoughts?

ps
Thanks to my own "Personal You Don't Need It...But...." Hardware Advisor, Dr. mechBgon for implanting this Matrix-Like mechanical worm in my brain.

 

[XMan]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
This one here. LSI 21320 PCI-X?

Yes, there are far better SCSI RAID cards...but not ones that will run in a 32-bit PCI slot. This one will.

No, it won't. That's a server card. It won't fit in a 32-bit PCI slot unless you use a hammer.

 

[MichaelD]

I beg to differ, Sir.

I have this card

It's also PCI-X and fits my Epox 8RDA+ just fine...works great too.

Did I miss something? (entirely possible...I'm a SCSI n00b)

 

[XMan]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
I beg to differ, Sir.

I have this card

It's also PCI-X and fits my Epox 8RDA+ just fine...works great too.

Did I miss something? (entirely possible...I'm a SCSI n00b)

Nowhere does it say the other card is PCI-X. The pinout looks the same, but it's a 33Mhz card. The other card is a 133Mhz card. Look here. Looks like you're right about it working in a 32-bit slot, but I don't know how that would perform, given that it'd be running at 1/4 speed.

 

[MichaelD]

Sorry, wrong page link. Fourth from the top.

It would fit my 32-bit PCI slot...just the rear-most "key" would hang off...like the card I use now, the LSIU160.


However, I don't know about the 133MHz thing. I need to read more....

 

[Sunner]

AFAIK the PCI spec in of itself doesn't exclude running a PCI-X 133 MHz card in a 32bit/33 MHz slot, but some(many?) cards won't work like that anyway.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: Sunner
AFAIK the PCI spec in of itself doesn't exclude running a PCI-X 133 MHz card in a 32bit/33 MHz slot, but some(many?) cards won't work like that anyway.

I don't know for sure...but logic tells me that X-Man is right. The card would run like crap, if at all.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: Sunner
AFAIK the PCI spec in of itself doesn't exclude running a PCI-X 133 MHz card in a 32bit/33 MHz slot, but some(many?) cards won't work like that anyway.

I don't know for sure...but logic tells me that X-Man is right. The card would run like crap, if at all.

 

[sharkeeper]

LSi MegaRAID 320-2X with 128MB and battery is the weapon of choice.

Not exactly cheap, but will chew through your I/O needs like a $100,000 industrial CO2 laser system cuts through a GeForce2 GTS.

EDIT: These cards run very well at 32/33 but still at a fraction of what they are capable of. You can get the LSi MegaRAID Elite with 64MB for well under two Bens on Ebay.

Cheers!

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: shuttleteam
LSi MegaRAID 320-2X with 128MB and battery is the weapon of choice.

Not exactly cheap, but will chew through your I/O needs like a $100,000 industrial CO2 laser system cuts through a GeForce2 GTS.

EDIT: These cards run very well at 32/33 but still at a fraction of what they are capable of. You can get the LSi MegaRAID Elite with 64MB for well under two Bens on Ebay.

Cheers!

That is one cool pic! Where do you get all these cool pics?

Anyway, I'll have to look into your suggestion. I know you know your SCSI...especially after those graphs and pics from last week. :Q

*turns green with envy, wants you to take me to work with you on "Bring Your Tech-Obsessed Internet Buddy To Work Day."

 

[jose]

Never used that card but taken LSI's website:

"With PCI-X throughput of 1056 MBps, this adapter also capitalizes on maximum system performance for those systems needing it; yet is backward compatible with existing PCI systems"

Do you plan on running raid 0 ?

MichaelD: What are you using that card for ?

Take a look at this mobo, it has 64bit 133mhz pci slots + agp8x .

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-056&catalog=302&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1

This would scream w/ those 15k hd's ..........

Regards,
Jose

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: shuttleteam
LSi MegaRAID 320-2X with 128MB and battery is the weapon of choice.

Not exactly cheap, but will chew through your I/O needs like a $100,000 industrial CO2 laser system cuts through a GeForce2 GTS.

EDIT: These cards run very well at 32/33 but still at a fraction of what they are capable of. You can get the LSi MegaRAID Elite with 64MB for well under two Bens on Ebay.

Cheers!

MichaelD's goal would be to run two Fujitsu MAS-series 18GB drives in RAID0 for his OS and apps, at which point it might be bottlenecked by the PCI bus (my 8RDA+ topped out around 122MB/sec peak PCI throughput), but still combining the inherent advantages of SCSI with a sprint speed that no single drive can match. Comments based on this scenario, anyone?

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: jose
Never used that card but taken LSI's website:

"With PCI-X throughput of 1056 MBps, this adapter also capitalizes on maximum system performance for those systems needing it; yet is backward compatible with existing PCI systems"

Do you plan on running raid 0 ?

MichaelD: What are you using that card for ?

Take a look at this mobo, it has 64bit 133mhz pci slots + agp8x .

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-056&catalog=302&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1

This would scream w/ those 15k hd's ..........

Regards,
Jose

Hi Jose,

Cripes, that's a nice mobo! Outta my league though...dual Xeon's DO get just a bit pricey. The board DOES have an AGP slot...so it would be possible to use it for gaming....with a board like this and dual 3.2GHz Xeons, who needs overclocking? (the bios on this board is MAYBE two pages long...no OC options, I'd bet)

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: mechBgon

Originally posted by: shuttleteam
LSi MegaRAID 320-2X with 128MB and battery is the weapon of choice.

Not exactly cheap, but will chew through your I/O needs like a $100,000 industrial CO2 laser system cuts through a GeForce2 GTS.

EDIT: These cards run very well at 32/33 but still at a fraction of what they are capable of. You can get the LSi MegaRAID Elite with 64MB for well under two Bens on Ebay.

Cheers!

MichaelD's goal would be to run two Fujitsu MAS-series 18GB drives in RAID0 for his OS and apps, at which point it might be bottlenecked by the PCI bus (my 8RDA+ topped out around 122MB/sec peak PCI throughput), but still combining the inherent advantages of SCSI with a sprint speed that no single drive can match. Comments based on this scenario, anyone?

*nods head*

Aaaa-yup. I do realize that the PCI bus would be the bottleneck. Man, it sure would be nice if the next-gen A64 boards (NF3250, anyone?) had at least one 64-bit PCI slot...

 

[Special1Sauce]

Must be a common thing around here to get bit by the SCSI raid card bug.

 

[sharkeeper]

Keep in mind unless you're a STR whore, the hardware solution (Elite or 2X) will still be much much faster even on 32/33. For example, I ran a pair of X15 36LP's on a 29160 on an Abit KG7 and the performance was good but when I put these in RAID0 on a MegaRAID Elite, it was smoking hot. Benchmarks didn't seem to agree. What would you tend to believe? How fast the system actually runs or a silly benchmark? Kind of like the Futuremark/MadOnion/Whatever-the-hell-they-callthemselves people are doing.

Cheap ride to real performance. This will make your tongue smack your head making your forget where your brain went.

Cheers!

 

[mechBgon]

:Q

 

[MichaelD]

Well...not arguing, but good benchmarks like ATTO or IO Meter don't lie. But, they are only half the story.

For example, my 3Ware7000-2 IDE Raid 0 array vs. the single MAS18GB drive.

In ATTO, the array is ahead by 23MB/s in read speeds, and tops out at 93Mb/s vs 72Mb/s for the single SCSI.

However, the SCSI drive is much snappier. It doesn't pause when it starts to load something...it just goes. It also responds a LOT faster when it's already busy, i.e. doing a NAV scan. I can open up big stuff like an Access database fairly quickly, whereas the IDE array takes a few seconds at least.

I'm taking notes and appreciate the input.

 

[Markfw]

Dang you !!! I have been resisting for weeks now, but my tax rebate is $2300, and due on 2/20 !!! MichaelD !!!! Good luck..... I may have to join you...

 

[MichaelD]

Bump for additional input/opinions.