Warm: Promise Ultra100 ATA/100 Controller for $28.34 + ship

[culex]

Since alot of people are talking about this controller and I personally bought one of these for my 75GXP, posting one here.

Buy.com has this controller for $38.24. It's retail, comes with card, ata/100 cable, manual etc.

http://www.us.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10253470&loc=101

Use this new $10 off $30 coupon... works for all customers, if not for returning customers.

http://www.us.buy.com/retail/coupon.asp?prid=80341222

Your price is now down to $28.24 + shipping. Good luck.

 

[directcom]

Is it really any better? I would trust a user than a report.

 

[culex]

I actually didnt get it for the speed, but it was having trouble with my onboard HPT66 controller so I bought this. I actually say it's worth the money since the transfer rate seems to be much smoother and better not to mention the noise level is way down and these hot drives are warm after using them on these controllers. Very cool controllers.

 

[Ender510]

I had 2 quick questions regarding hard drive ATA formats... I just purchased a 30 GIG Quantum ATA/66 Drive.. now, if I were to hook this up to the ATA/33 temporarily to throw data on there, I would still be able to access the data when I get a faster controller, right? I am assuming the controller just changes the throughput, and not the way the data is written?

2nd question, if I were to get the ATA/100 controller as mentioned on the past few msgs, would I be able to use this with the ATA/66 Drive? If not, any suggestions as to controller card type, price, and where to buy one? Thanks in advance all..

BTW, this is my first post so sorry if I sound lame!!

 

[Madcowz]

hmm, can this be modded as a RAID controller like the old 66 version?

 

[angrymaxx]

Ender510 > my experience with HD controllers is that it doesnt matter what speed drive you use with any controller.. I have the old skool promise raid 33 and use ultra 66 drives with it to run at 33.. I have also used UDMA33 drives with a UDMA66 controller card and no problems..

 

[culex]

Ender510:
Doesnt matter if you throw data with the ATA/33 then use the controller... it's just a controller and it writes data same way... so to speak. No incompatibilities there. Answering both first and second question, this controller is compatible with ATA/33 and ATA/66 and of course ATA/100 drives.

Madcowz:
I THINK I saw a post like that in the general topics forum. Not quite sure but that's a yes.

 

[Kroffty]

This might make it a hotter deal
http://translator.go.com/cb/trans_entry?input_type=url&lp=ge_en&lo=en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.darmon.de%2Fhardware%2Fraid100.html

 

[ElectricLegs]

Yeah this controller can be RAID modified. It just takes a little more work.
http://www.geocities.com/promise_raid/raid100.htm

Good Luck!

 

[Ender510]

Thanks for the response guys.. one question regarding your response though AngryMax -> You can use any controller w/ any hard drive.. but in order to take advantage of the throughput of the controller, the hard drive must be at the same speed, right? For example, if I have a ATA/100 Controller on a /33 HD, then it won't make a difference? Thus one needs a hard drive that can handle that speed?

How about this situation.. given 2 hard drives, one is ATA/33, the other is ATA/66. I have a ATA/66 Controller Card and a ATA/33 of course.. now they don't recommend hooking both HDs up to the ATA/66 because it would slow the speeds now? Thus, hook up each HD to the respective controller? Is this true as well?

 

[Dogcatcher]

Ender, Just hook up each drive on an ide of its own and everything should be fine.

 

[MontyBurns]

Ender:

First, you're right -- hooking an ATA/33 device or an ATA/66 device up to an ATA/100 controller won't make the devices any faster. Their maximum throughput is set at 33m/s and 66m/s, and you can't change that.

As for your second question: You aren't going to see a degradation on speed on either drive by hooking them both to the same ATA/100 controller. Those controllers are made to handle up to four devices, and you're not slowing them down by adding more devices. (Your computer doesn't take input from four devices at exactly the same time anyway.)

In fact, according to the documentation with my Promise controller, there is indeed a slight speed advantage to copying files between drives on the same ATA/100 controller card, but I honestly doubt it would be significant enough for you to notice.

 

[MontyBurns]

HOWEVER: If you're connecting two devices with the same cable, make sure the fastest device is the "master" not the "slave."

(The card has two inputs, and each cable supports two devices...)