scsi drive questions

[GrInD1901]

hey guys, i have a couple questions. is a Seagate Cheetah 73GB 10K rpm scsi drive like this: http://www.impediment.com/seagate/s2000/spec_173404lcv.shtml as good or better than a raptor?? if i got one,what kind of scsi card would i need considering i had a 80-68 pin adapter? thanks in advance.
P.S. which is better??.......50 pin, 68 pin, 80 pin......????
P.S. is a card with 80 mbits per second or w/e good? 40?

 

[Missing Ghost]

A raptor would be several times better. This drive is very old. It uses 12 platters, and is 1,6" high!!!
Don't buy it. A new cheetah, or a raptor should be better.

 

[Peter]

True, 40 to 26 MB/s is well in the range of low-cost IDE drives today - you don't even need a Raptor for this.

The current choice of the day for a low cost entry into SCSI is LSI's "U160" PCI card, superseded by the "U320". However with standard desktop board PCI slots maxing out at about 100 MB/s actual (!) throughput, the U320 card is rather pointless - unless you plan to switch to a more serious platform with PCI-X (not PCIE) slots soon.

 

[GrInD1901]

okay, but this drive costs about 40-60 bucks online. is it a good deal if i dont need more storage than that and i game? if not, then point me to a fast hard drive in that price range. thanks.

 

[Peter]

60 bucks buys you a current 80-GB IDE or SATA drive, which is bigger, faster, a third as loud, and doesn't need a controller card.

40-60 is a good bargain for a 73-GByte SCSI drive anyhow - but as much as I'm a SCSI advocate for wherever it makes sense, in this case it doesn't.

 

[GrInD1901]

Originally posted by: Peter
60 bucks buys you a current 80-GB IDE or SATA drive, which is bigger, faster, a third as loud, and doesn't need a controller card.

40-60 is a good bargain for a 73-GByte SCSI drive anyhow - but as much as I'm a SCSI advocate for wherever it makes sense, in this case it doesn't.

so youre saying that a 8mb cache 7200 rpm sata or ide drive is better than this 10000rpm 16 mb cache cheetah? i would greatly appreciate if you explained. thanks

 

[Steve]

SATA/IDE will fulfill your needs just fine, especially as newer ATA drives outrun older SCSI drives. There's no point in spending the money on the drive, a card, and a cable, when it could all go toward a nice new ATA drive. Best Buy has Seagate IDE drives, 120GB for $40, no rebate, 5-year warranty.

 

[Peter]

See for yourself. This drive used to be a midrange performer back when it was new - five and a half years ago. Time has moved on, so has technology.

http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200005/20000503ST173404LW_sp.html (this drive)

http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200411/200411028D300L0_2.html (a current 10k rpm SCSI drive)

http://storagereview.com/articles/200401/20040126WD740GD_2.html (WD Raptor, SATA performance leader)

http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200410/20041016SP1614C_2.html (budget IDE drive)

In short, any current drive is running circles around this old beast. Even the $50 Samsung drive is twice as fast in throughput, and no slower in access.

 

[GrInD1901]

oh okay i get it now. the 10000rpm and 16 mb cache caught my eye. now i get it that that a 7200rpm 8mb cache can beat that. thanks. ill wait for new years and christmas sales and buy a good drive for cheap....mayb a raptor. thanks guys.

P.S. tell me of a good fast drive for gaming, besides raptor. if possible, cheaper than a raptor. thanks

 

[Peter]

How about looking at storagereview.com for a little longer? The performance database even lets you search and sort by application profile.

 

[GrInD1901]

Originally posted by: Peter
How about looking at storagereview.com for a little longer? The performance database even lets you search and sort by application profile.

fair enough 🙂

 

[Zepper]

The current generation of Hitachi PATA/SATA drives are nice and fast and often at remarkable prices, after rebate of course.

.bh.