Noob questions about SCSI

[overclockedpc]

I have a few questions regarding SCSI drives/controllers.

I am looking to go for a 15k SCSI drive (probably seagate). And from what I have gathered, if I'm going to use a controller in a standard PCI slot, I am limited to 133mb/s transfer rate. So does it make sense to go for the U320 controller/drive, or would it be the same if I went with U160 parts?

And for a complete SCSI setup, I know I need a drive, controller and cable. Is there anything else? I also know that I will need a floppy for windows install to recognize the controller. But am I missing anything? Or does that about cover it?

 

[Lazn_Work]

http://www.acme.com/build_a_pc/bandwidth.html

160 should be the same.

 

[UICompE02]

And for a complete SCSI setup, I know I need a drive, controller and cable. Is there anything else? I also know that I will need a floppy for windows install to recognize the controller. But am I missing anything? Or does that about cover it?

If the cable you buy doesn't already have a terminator built into it, make sure you have one.

 

[drizzt81]

I have a few questions regarding SCSI drives/controllers.

I am looking to go for a 15k SCSI drive (probably seagate). And from what I have gathered, if I'm going to use a controller in a standard PCI slot, I am limited to 133mb/s transfer rate. So does it make sense to go for the U320 controller/drive, or would it be the same if I went with U160 parts?

And for a complete SCSI setup, I know I need a drive, controller and cable. Is there anything else? I also know that I will need a floppy for windows install to recognize the controller. But am I missing anything? Or does that about cover it?

It is likely that the newer 15k drives are U320 SCSI. Newer drives generally offer better performance. You could save money using a U160 controller.

 

[overclockedpc]

I already plan on buying a u320 drive, but I'm thinking about a U160 controller to keep the cost down.

The cable I have picked out has a built-in terminator, and is a LVD/SE cable (I hear it will get you better performance than a non LVD cable).

Am I missing anything else? Or should that about cover it?

Oh, and other than drivers for the controller, is there anything special that needs to be done to set up the drive/controller?

 

[drizzt81]

The cable I have picked out has a built-in terminator, and is a LVD/SE cable (I hear it will get you better performance than a non LVD cable).

I am not up-to-date in the SCSI sector, but I was under the impression that U160/ 320 SCSI required LVD cables for operation.

 

[UICompE02]

I am not up-to-date in the SCSI sector, but I was under the impression that U160/ 320 SCSI required LVD cables for operation.

That is correct. But they'll fall back to the highest supported speed if an SE cable is used. But you'd most likely need to use some sort of adapter in that case anyway since SE cables have 50 pins and LVD are 68.