SCSI Q

[Zebo]

Do I need 80 pin card for 80 pin drives? Every card I see is 68 pin..

Also what the fastest 15K drives...

 

[Markfw]

NO. Regular card, 80-68 pin adapter (exspensive, $15-$25 each) Find 68 pin drives, or get a hot swap box that takes 80 pin drives, and interfaces with 68 pin. Right now I think there is an Hitachi that rules, but maybe sharkeeper can set me straight.

 

[Zebo]

do they make 80pin adaptecs?

 

[Quino]

Nope. All the SCSI cards (as far as I know) are 68 pin. On a server they conect to a backplane and goes from 68 to 80 pin to get the hotswap cpabilities. hypermicrosystems sells the 80 to 68 pin adapters for cheap. I am currently using one with my scsi hdd

 

[jose]

You can use one of these:
http://www.hypermicro.com/prod...868&dept_id=11-002

Do you mean 80 pin adapters or 80pin controllers ?

Controllers have 50 & 68pin interfaces. ie UW, u2w, u160, u320 and fibre.

I think the Maxtor Atlas 15K II is the fastest drive right now.

Regards,
Jose

 

[Vegito]

80 pin are basically 68 pin with power in it.. its for server that uses back plane for hot swap.. use adapter if you're really going to get a 80 driver.

 

[Zebo]

No hot swapping... I'm a bit confused basically I need all SCSI to minimize CPU cycle in addition to reliable and fast.

I need DVD Burner SCSI, 2 x SCSI HDD raid 1 for OS+apps, another raid 1 config for data storage off a cluster.

Here's what I got so far:

2 x OCZ Enhanced Latency Series Dual Channel Kit 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) ECC Registered DDR PC-3200
1 x IWILL "DK8X" AMD-8000 Chipset Server Motherboard for AMD Opteron
1 x ZIPPY/EMACS 700W Power Supply With SATA Connector
2 x AMD Opteron Model 246, 1MB L2 Cache 64-bit Processor


What drives? What controller?

Up to $400 a drive.. up to $300 controller.

 

[Markfw]

Fujitsu MAS 3735 appears to be the current leader in performance (73 gig, $700)

 

[Markfw]

Oh, and add to that LSI megaraid 320-2 cacheing controller (does that mobo have 64 bit 133 mhz PCI-X slots ??)

Edit, saw the money, try 2 of these 15k Maxtor drives

Will look for a controller and get back....

 

[Markfw]

OK, how about This for $419 ? I know its a little over, but its what you need.

 

[Zebo]

Perfect mark.. I was hoping to get 74 gigs in 15K for that price and since you recommeded it must be good

mobo I want has: 1x AGP Pro50 8X, 2x PCI,32-bit/33MHz, 1x PCI-X 64-bit/66MHz, 2x PCI-X 64-bit/133MHz

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
OK, how about This for $419 ? I know its a little over, but its what you need.

Why do you say it like that? I've seen $100 SCSI cards...what makes this so special? (and expensive)

 

[Zepper]

80-pin SCA drives are easily adapted to work with a standard 68-pin controller. If you buy your drives from hypermicro.com, they usually include the 80-68 adapters.

More good SCSI vendors:
hypermicro.com (may offer free ground shipping if you mention www.storagereview.com - check the SR site for the latest offer)
centrix-intl.com
pc-pitstop.com (offers PayPal as a payment option)
scsi4me.com (ditto)
etech4sale.com
and I can usually find stuff for low bucks on eBay.

There also was a guy that had some new 74GB 80-pin Atlas 15k drives and was selling them for $185. LMK if interested and I'll see if he still has some.
.bh.

:moon:

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: Zepper
80-pin SCA drives are easily adapted to work with a standard 68-pin controller. If you buy your drives from hypermicro.com, they usually include the 80-68 adapters.

More good SCSI vendors:
hypermicro.com (may offer free ground shipping if you mention www.storagereview.com - check the SR site for the latest offer)
centrix-intl.com
pc-pitstop.com (offers PayPal as a payment option)
scsi4me.com (ditto)
etech4sale.com
and I can usually find stuff for low bucks on eBay.

There also was a guy that had some new 74GB 80-pin Atlas 15k drives and was selling them for $185. LMK if interested and I'll see if he still has some.
.bh.

:moon:

Can he take a company PO or CC? If so I'm VERY interested may get 8.

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: Zebo

Originally posted by: Markfw900
OK, how about This for $419 ? I know its a little over, but its what you need.

Why do you say it like that? I've seen $100 SCSI cards...what makes this so special? (and expensive)

Well, I have the predecessor to that one recommended by sharkeeper (formerly shuttleteam) and it a cacheing raid controller. If you want multiuser speed, this is the card to get ! See if sharkeeper replies to confirm !

Edit: And I am trying to get you the fastest drives that fit (or come close) to the $ you mentioned, not the cheapest. And also the best quality.

 

[Zepper]

I'll try to contact the guy - I think he's in Canada...

.bh.

 

[sharkeeper]

80 pin drives (SCA-80) have the power and SCSI interface connector integrated into a single edge connector with 80 positions. All UW SCSI interfaces are 68 pins. If you purchase SCA drives you must use a backplane (enables hotswap caps) OR use a SCA-80 to UW68 adapter.

If you need RAID, I recommend a caching controller such as the LSI 320-2X or Intel SRCU42X. These come standard with 128MB and are upgradeable to 512 and 1GB* on the Intel.

You can find these NIB on ebay for much below MSRP. example

NOTE: The 320-2X/SRCU42X (identical) controllers REQUIRE a 64 bit PCI-X slot. They will NOT work in a 32/33 slot. If you have the latter, the 320-2 or previously mentioned 320-1 controllers are your best bet.

__________________________________________

* Firmware to correct memory address spacing issues with 1024MB DDR modules will be available from Intel next month.

Cheers!

 

[Markfw]

That controller is $869 !!! Is it that much better than the 320-1 for $419 ??????

 

[Zebo]

Thanks shark What do I need the two channel controller for? Also is thier a signifigant boost 133 vs. 33 pci bus? Adds about 2x to price.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
That controller is $869 !!! Is it that much better than the 320-1 for $419 ??????

No it's "only" $569 @ egg LOL

 

[sharkeeper]

That controller is $869 !!! Is it that much better than the 320-1 for $419 ??????

Yes. 320-1 = 6 cyl camaro. 320-2X / SRCU42X = Gale Banks 454cid dual turbo.

Back to the original question. How many drives do you plan to use and will you be creating and managing arrays?

There is a big diff between 32/33 pci and 133 MHz PCI-X. HUGE difference as a matter of fact. If you're using a desktop board and really need the bandwidth, you can use this instead. Of course there is nothing like the smoothness of an SMP workstation with a fast disk system. Once you get accustomed to it, there is no going back to a desktop PC. If you do, stock up on Excedrin or give up multitasking.

Cheers!

 

[Zebo]

Well here's the board I'm using
http://www.newegg.com/app/view...amp;manufactory=BROWSE

will be running 4 drives, 2 x 2 RAID 1

 

[Zebo]

What wrong with this card? Seems same thing 133.
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=16-103-159&depa=0

 

[sharkeeper]

I would not waste money on the Adaptec card.

With four fast U320 drives, get the fast HBA and stick it in the PCI-X 133 MHz slot. You won't be disappointed.

If you want disappointment, buy the Adaptec.

Cheers!

 

[Arcanedeath]

The Benches / tests I read all say that the higher end LSI or the Intel I960 (or it's succsor) based cards are the way to go for scsi raid.