SCSI LVD controller and 9.1GB 10k RPM drive for $120

[Floyd]

How's this sound? PCI LVD controller and 9.1GB 10k RPM drive for $120?

Hitechcafe has a Promise LVD Ultra2 controller for $29 and a Seagate ST39103LW 9.1GB for $89. Both products are listed as new. I picked up one of the Promise controllers a couple of weeks ago, and was pleasantly surprised that it included a LVD cable and active terminator...which by themselves would often cost the $29 price tag.

They have a few other nice deals on SCSI hard drives, however, there is a mix of SCA/80-pin and refurbished equipment so read carefully before you buy.

Best regards,
Floyd

 

[unrequited]

A Promise controller? Hmmm. Well, I guess that's okay, but I would much rather get a Tekram or Adaptec controller. Tekram SCSI controllers are incredibly cheap (usually around $80 to $150, depending on features), but they consistently rate as high (or higher) than their Adaptec counterparts. I personally have both Adaptec and Tekram controllers, and I like them both about the same.

You can find out how good a Seagate SCSI hard drive is by decoding the model number.

ST39103LW

ST = Seagate Technology
3 = The number of heads (usually the more the better)
91 = 9.1GB capacity
03 = Third revision Cheetah drive (the higher the revision the better)
LW = LVD, standard 68 pin connector

I'd probably skip the old Cheetah revision drives, because they're too hot, too loud, and too unreliable. Revision three is perfectly fine. I have one of those (ST39103LC), and it's a trooper.

 

[thesuperstar]

unrequited, good to know info.

 

[UltraWide]

the less heads the better, less mechanical moving parts means less heat and less failure rates. =)

 

[SSGTi]

For that deal on the Seagate X15 160mb/s drive which tekram controller would you recommend ?

 

[Floyd]

unrequited, must say I agree with you about the Tekram controllers, I've been using a DC390U2W for about 1-1/2 years and I love it. Dual channels are nice, stick all of the LVD devices on one, and CD-ROMs, CDRW, and scanner on the other. Nonetheless, I thought this deal represented a pretty respectable SCSI setup on the cheap. I expect those who have been running strictly IDE would be blown away by the responsiveness of a 10k RPM SCSI boot drive.

Gotta admit, $30 for any LVD controller is a pretty nice buy, especially with cable and terminator included. At 80MB/sec synchronous transfer rates, it would take two very fast drives transferring large contiguous files to saturate the bus. Given that sustained transfers aren't really much of a concern for typical hard drive usage, it's the fast access time and tagged command queuing that gives that feeling of performance.

Just thinking out loud...

Best regards,
Floyd

 

[russw]

Floyd: Hitech had this card listed as a SCSI Ultra PCI LVD controller a couple weeks ago for $21.00 Are you positive it's an Ultra2? I opted for their single channel QLogic Ultra2 68pin 64bit PCI card at the time. I would have gone for the Promise at half the price had it been an Ultra2 card. 🙁
...russ

 

[Floyd]

Yes, it's an Ultra2 adapter, 80MB synchronous negotiation.
Unfortunately, it looks like they're out now...

Best regards,
Floyd

 

[MuffD]

So is this a good drive to get?