scsi vs ide

[Torro]

i have a wd 100gb hd with 8mb cache operating as my main drive right now
i also got an adaptec scsi card (i could post more info on this card later cant remember which one right now)

i plan on hosting my web/ftp server from my own machine
my question is simple

not many people are going to be using my web/ftp server (i'm realistic here) but when they do use my ftp server, it would most likely involve transfer of large files

should i
a) use scsi for my os for faster boot times etc
b) use scsi for my programs for faster working times
c) use scsi for my servers for faster response times
?

in which area do you think it would help me the most?
i do alot of programming, alot of gaming, video/audio encoding and plan to start doing some rendering as well

thanks for the help

 

[arcenite]

If you are not planning on many users, I'd say use the SCSI drive for the OS/Programs... Unless they're on a different drive (really shouldn't be..) I'd think it would depend on what you want. A faster boot, or a faster program response (i'd go for the second option)

Bill

 

[Torro]

I guess i could do os/programs on the same drive ....
what should i look for in a good scsi drive? where can i find good deals?

 

[dullard]

SCSI's main advantage is for many small files (thus great for servers with many users and small files). Unless you get the top of the line new SCSI, the large files won't have much difference.

Which SCSI drive are you considering? If it is a slower (older) model I wouldn't let it touch my main computer for OS or programs, yet it would be great for server use. If it is a new (and fast) model, then I'd honestly do an OS/Programs drive like aRCeNiTe mentioned - and it would be great for server use, but might as well see the benefits yourself on your main computer.

As for good SCSI models, I'd suggest a NEW 15K rpm SCSI. Older 15k models are not anywhere near as fast as the new models. The Fujitsu MAS drives are great as are the Maxtor Atlas 15K drives. Seagate Cheetah 15K.3 aren't too far behind.

 

[MDE]

You may want to wait for the 74GB Raptors and see what you could do with those (RAID-0 namely) and check prices against SCSI drives in the same range. You should take into account SCSI and SATA card prices if you don't already have the appropriate card.

 

[Torro]

I have an adaptec 19160 card at the moment

 

[Torro]

sorry
make that an adaptec scsi 39160 ultra 160 controller

which kind of drive would give me good performance/price?
would the new 15k drives bottleneck with this card? should i stick to a 10k drive?

what about noise levels?

btw i'll prob be getting a 20-40 gb drive since i already have enough storage on my ide drives

 

[xenos500]

it doesnt sound like you need to spend the money on a new drive....and you also dont need 15,000 rpm.

I would get a used 36GB drive either 7200 or 10k rpm. IBM ultrastars are my weapon of choice.....

 

[Torro]

No, you're right
i dont

need this drive but it will be fun to have and i want to play
around with scsi
its more of a learning thing than a necessity

i'm more or less rebuilding a machine i built last year
the boot up is sticking on proc init (i would link to my post on that in tech ques but i dont know how) so it
seems that the cpu is dead
i figure if i gots to buy a new cpu, i might as well get a scsi drive to play with

 

[redbeard1]

Scsi has one big advantage over ide. Because it has it's own controller, it utilizes very few cpu cycles. The system would run smoother while transferring files, if your main storage was on scsi.

A 39160 is a dual channel controller, so you could have drives on two different channels, handing out data faster than most anything could take it.

Something to consider about hard drives in general. They are only as fast as the parts that they are made of. A top line ide drive, will be larger, may be cheaper, and possibly read and write as fast as an affordable scsi drive. Though it may not be as durable.

Scsi drives usually have a 5 year warranty. Scsi is built to different standards also. Seems to me I read that they figure ide drives at 5% writes for it's MTBF hours. Scsi is rated higher than that, though I forget how much. So if your going to do a bunch of reading and writing, scsi should be more dependable.