Recommendations for SCSI system. Edit: Question on 80-Pin SCSI

[Bellweather]

Trying to make a pretty cheap, yet good scsi system. I have never built a scsi before, so your help is appreciated. I've decided on a 10G seagate hard drive, but I don't know what adapter to buy. So I'm looking for a good adapter, and a good DVD scsi drive (does such a thing exist?) Thanks much.

 

[AaronP]

Go with a Tekram brand adapter. THey work GREAT, are just as good as Adaptec, but 1/2 the price. I've been using Tekrams for years, and they are hella sweet.

 

[AaronP]

I would just get an IDE dvd drive. If you're hd's are all SCSI, having a DVDrom drive as a master on one of your mobo's ide channels won't hurt performance really.

Pioneer makes a SCSI dvd drive, but SCSI is kinda being ignoreed in teh DVD drive market. The newer IDE drives, like the 12x and 16x Toshibas are far superior drives in my opinion.

 

[fishingeek]

You can get the Toshiba SCSI DVD drive. Its a little more expensive but from what I hear its a great drive. I plan to switch mine over to SCSI here soon. I also second on the Tekram card, it works great.

 

[SCSIRAID]

I would go for the Tekram 390U3D or the 390U2W. The U2W is probably less expensive and will most likely meet your needs. It is single channel U2 with a 'repeater' to create a SE "channel" (for CD & Tape) without downshifting the LVD 'main' bus. The 390U3D is 2 channel U160.

 

[Hanpan]

For a scsi dvd i would go for the pioneer 305s.

 

[Kwad Guy]

Personally, I'd keep my eyes open on eBay for an AMI Megaraid
adaptor. These come in one, two, and three channel versions, all
with both 68 and 50 pin connectors internal (and external
connectors as well). Very solid, great support (except for
Win9x, unfortunately), and if you decide to go that way, you can
upgrade to Raid from standard SCSI by just adding drives.

You can find these adaptors on eBay for as little as $70 with
a little perserverance.

Kwad

 

[Bellweather]

Thanks for your help. What is the deal with the 80pin SCA hard drives. I've found some seagates 9.1 gigs 7200rpm for $60 dollars each. Should this be something I should look into?

 

[Kwad Guy]

80 pin drives aka SCA drives, are intended for hot swap bays.
They can be used on a standard SCSI cable if you buy a 80->68
pin adaptor (or 80->50 pin adaptor for a 50 pin SCSI cable). The
adaptor will cost you $12-20. So figure that into your costs.

Those Seagates sound like an OK, but not incredible, deal.

Kwad

 

[tristramshandy]

If you're going to get a highspeed scsi-3 (ultra 160) LVD hard drive that has an SCA connector, make sure you get a high quality adapter -- another guy in another current thread was complaining that he bought an adapter and is now having trouble formatting his drive.

The tech support at quantum sent me to CS Electronics at http://www.scsi-cables.com/ to get an 80 to 68 pin adapter. All their adapters are fully warrantied against defect for life and guarantee no signal degradation.