Suggestion on IDE additions.

[Beej514]

Hey forum peoples!

I need some suggestions on what I should do. I just bought a new CD-RW (Plex 24/10/40...sweet as hell!) and have thus lost an IDE channel. Before that I had my DVD, zip, and HD hooked up. So, I should be ok with adding this new cd-rw but the comp is a Dell and they have the HD way down in the front. So, I could go buy a new long cable and hook it up with the HD and zip, but I've been thinking about getting a controller card. Here's some questions I would love to have answered.

1) If I decide to get a RAID card, can I still use one HD hooked up to that as a controller card? Or do I have to run an RAID configuration of some type.

2) If I can run it as a controller, any recommendations? I was looking at a Promise Fastrack of some type.

3) If I can't run it as a controller, should I buy a controller? If yes, which one? I've been looking at the Promise Ultra100 TX or something like that. However, I noticed they have a 133 TX2 now. Should I go with the Ultra 133 for future upgrades?

4) Anything else you think I should know before going with all this? Oh, the reason I'm not going with a longer cable is I'm planning on getting a new HD sometime, but not sure how soon.

Thanks,

-Beej

 

[Hessakia]

1.) Yes, you set your one drive up for stripping across 1 drive and it will work just fine

2.) any promise RAID card will work great, but if you dont want RAID, Promise IDE cards are MUCH cheaper and can be modded into a RAID card later with a couple of resistors

3.) Answered above

4.) No point in going RAID if yoru not going to have 2 Identicle drives on it (or if you never plan on it). IDE Controller will be much cheaper

 

[Beej514]

First, thanks for responding and with useful information!

Second, I'm convinced on buying a controller card from Promise now. I'm still wondering if I should get one of the new Ultra 133 ones or just go with a U100? Or, maybe wait for 133s to come out and then get a 100 (hopefully will have dropped in price). However, I have yet to see a 133 HD or a Promise 133 controller card at any store, much less on pricewatch. Even if it is released soon to stores, will the jump be worth the price? Or will I have to wait for Anandtech to come out with some article on tests?

Thanks again,

-Beej

 

[Zepper]

Not likely to see much if any diff between 100 and 133 or even older 66.
.bh.