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SCSI help needed pls

M

Mizugori

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
Messages
1,240
is scsi practical for a regular pc (as opposed to a server) ? If so, what would I need to use SCSI devices instead of IDE ones? Can I continue using my IDE optical drives, and have a SCSI hdd ? what is everything i would need to add the scsi hdd?

thanks!
 
Of course scsi is practical in PC's... as long as you can afford it! :p

You'll need some kind of PCI scsi controller card, a scsi cable with terminator, and a scsi HD, and you should be good to go. Try to make sure that your controller and HD are the same protocol though (i.e. both ultra 160, ultra 2, etc.). It will still work otherwise, but whichever has the older interface will end up being a big bottleneck (with the exception of Ultra 320 vs. Ultra 160). Hope that didn't confuse you too much... :eek:

And yes, you can certainly keep using your IDE optical devices, and even IDE/ATA hard drives in addition to your scsi set up. Just plug them into your onboard controller like normal. :)
 
so how much would that stuff cost used? sorry lol but you seem to have some experience with it
 
scsi harddrives usually run close to double the price of an ide drive, sometimes more. Controllers will run you anywhere from $50-(a hell of alot if you look into raid). A newer ultra320 controller you can pick up for $100-200 depending on what you want. A cable can run around $20-50.
 
Look for Adaptec SCSI cards on the FS/FT board. I've seen a few 29160s for good prices lately.
 
the 29160 is a very good card but as the name implies its only ultra 160. the 29320 is the ultra 320 card that would be the best match for a new U320 scsi drive. BUT the cost goes up
 
The words "regular PC" were used. This implies 32/33 PCI, which has a max of 133MB/sec and that's not even including other stuff on the PCI bus. U160 is just fine.
 
honestly for a "regular PC" some 10k SATA drives cant be beat. chances are you already have the controller on-board too.
 
kronchev said:
honestly for a "regular PC" some 10k SATA drives cant be beat. chances are you already have the controller on-board too.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Don't get me wrong, I love my SCSI, but the 10k SATA stuff does some decent performance for a good price.

As to the SCSI, I'd probably stick with U160, not much point in going higher than that if it's a regular PC, you'll never even see the upper end of the theoretical performance. Check around here and ebay for parts. The HDD is probably what'll cost you, since you'll likely be looking at the larger capacity ones which are hella expensive.

My advice, if you want to get your feet wet, would be to buy a controller, terminated cable, and a small HDD... say ~9 - 18GB and use it for your OS. Keep a large IDE drive in your system for storage. That way, you'll actually see some performance benefits from the SCSI drive due to it's higher spindle speed and better seek/access times... your OS should be snappier than usual. And at the same time, you'll still have gobs of IDE space for all that por... I mean, all those pictures from your family vacation. ;)
 
A really common SCSI card choice around here is the single channel U160 card by LSI.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=16-118-009&depa=0

Looks like it's going for $35 right now, great card for the price. This card will easily accomodate 1-2 15k top of the line SCSI drives and not run out of bandwidth. You can then head over to SVC.com for some rounded SCSI cable lovin. You can usually score some great SCSI hard drive deals on the FS/FT forums here and over at anandtech.com. I would also keep an eye on the Newegg refurbs. I have got some great SCSI drives for cheap using them.
 
i actually don't know what the hell SATA is lmao. Sorry, just haven't ever looked into it...could you explain? I have a nf7-s, will it be able to use this? All I would need is the drive and possibly a SATA cable right? How much for those?

thanks!
 
Mizugori said:
i actually don't know what the hell SATA is lmao. Sorry, just haven't ever looked into it...could you explain? I have a nf7-s, will it be able to use this? All I would need is the drive and possibly a SATA cable right? How much for those?

thanks!
Click to expand...


Yes, the NF7-S has onboard SATA (aka Serial ATA). It's listed as optional on their site, so I'm not sure if some boards have it and some don't... you'll have to look at yours.

Since you seem to be looking a performance boost, most people here swear by the WD Raptors. They're also pricey, but not horrible...

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-144-200&depa=0

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-144-160&depa=0

You may be able to find them cheaper elsewhere... I didn't look.
 
Just do yourself a favor and don't go for a crappy Raptor 36GB. If you want Raptor, 74GB is the way to go. Period.
 
Yeah, raptors are going to be your best bet for an increaese in performance, most likely. They are kinda expensive for ATA drives, but they won't cost you nearly as much as a SCSI set up would.


The single channel LSI U160 card that aug1516 linked to earlier (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-118-009&depa=0) is the card that I'm currently using. Its just fine on a 33 MHz PCI bus with one 15k drive on it. Any more drives though, and the PCI bus might start to get saturated. Thats when you would want to look into an U320 card in a PCI-X slot or something.

So, in conclusion I guess, either option will get you noticable performance gains in your daily computing. The raptor will be a cheaper solution, and most likely offer you more hard disk space (unless you plan on dropping $600 on a 73 gig 15k drive or something of that nature). In my opinion, you should probably stick with teh WD Raptor with your onboard SATA. The performance gain from going to SCSI over that would be fairly negligable in most cases, and would end up costing you a lot as well. Hope that helps a bit! :)

/edit

dandragonrage said:
Just do yourself a favor and don't go for a crappy Raptor 36GB. If you want Raptor, 74GB is the way to go. Period.
Click to expand...

He's completely right. The WD740GD drives (the newer 74 gig raptors) pretty much kick the crap out of the 36 gig ones that are out. :)
 
whats wrong with the 36s ? also, is adding SCSI going to interfere with my OCing? I found a 160 card for 20 and I think I can get a 18 gb hdd for ~30 (both used but work fine) and svc.com has the cable for like $10. btw, why the hell are the scsi cables 30" long?? My ide cables are 10" and its plenty. can i buy a shorter scsi cable somewhere?
 
SCSI is meant for servers, which generally come in bigger cases and have more drives.

The 36GB Raptor is loud and not much faster than a Caviar SE.... Not worth it at all.
 
dandragonrage said:
SCSI is meant for servers, which generally come in bigger cases and have more drives.

The 36GB Raptor is loud and not much faster than a Caviar SE.... Not worth it at all.
Click to expand...

i dont know what raptor youve been using but mines not loud at all. and yes it is faster.
 
dandragonrage said:
SCSI is meant for servers, which generally come in bigger cases and have more drives.

The 36GB Raptor is loud and not much faster than a Caviar SE.... Not worth it at all.
Click to expand...

SCSI is also meant for workstations
which it could be argued that
workstation of yesteryear
are todays desktops

the line has blurred considerably
what with video editing, 3D, and Image editing on so many desktops
is it worth it? depends, for some aps and reliability Id say yes
ATA with the Raptors has equaled and surpasssed SCSI of yesteryear (10k)
and its far too easy to puruse benchmarks foi benchmarks sake when it comes to
15k U320, SCSI RAIDs, ect
so it really depends on what the typical access pattern is going to be
you might be better off with a combination of SCSI and ATA, just an Optimized multi drive ATA or simply more RAM
 
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