SCSI 15k U320 Cards?

[Zepper]

Nope, but you can get the 80-68 adapter cheaper on eBay (less than $10.) and maybe a cable w/ terminator too. Here are some of my SCSI sources too:

Here are some good SCSI vendors:

hypermicro.com (may offer free ground shipping if you mention www.storagereview.com - check the SR site for the latest offer)
centrix-intl.com
pc-pitstop.com (offers PayPal as a payment option)
scsi4me.com (ditto)
etech4sale.com
and I can usually find stuff (like drives, cables and adapters) for low bucks on eBay.

 

[sharkeeper]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...

If you really NEED workstation storage then by all means purchase a workstation board! This means Xeon for Inteloids and Opteron for Amdroids.

 

[Krusher]

If you are starting out with a system, most likely you would get more for your money with a 36GB Raptor boot drive and a 73GB Raptor application drive. (SATA)

If you really are doing video editing, web or file serving, or anything else that loads multiple files at the same time, then SCSI is still the way to go. If your constantly read/write 24x7, I would trust SCSI more. For most desktop applications though, the Raptor is hard to beat.

I myself have three 15k drives on an LSI Logic 21320-R card. It's a nice PCI-X card that I have on a PCI-X motherboard. I bought the 36GB 15K drive before the Raptor existed, and then got two more 73GB 15k.3's on auction since I had already spent the investment. Ya, it's really fast but so are other combinations that you can buy nowadays.

So I'm not trying to discourage you from getting an U320 card, but unless you have a PCI-X card on a PCI-X bus, you'll never see U320 speeds anyway. Practically speaking, I doubt I tax the computer that much here unless I defragment all three drives at the same time.

Another thing to consider is that most U320 15K drives get hotter than others, and they are usually noisier. The Cheetah 15K's I have are an exception, but they are only faster overall than the Raptors for example when doing multiple I/O at the same time. (The advantage a 15K drive has yet is the low seek time.)

Good luck.

 

[ribbon13]

36GB raptors are a waste of money. End of story.

74GB raptor would be a wise choice though.

The Ultimate Motherboard
$525.83 Tyan Thunder K8WE S2895UA2NRF

 

[Arcanedeath]

In your case I would get a 73gb Raptor SATA drive, it's gonna be comparable in price if not cheaper than the 18gb 15k.3 drive + cables, HBA, and adaptors and for desktop usage like your going with it actualy performs better than the 15K.3 18gb drive.

 

[Fern]

Thanks for the help everyone!

But giving up on the scsi thing.

With no PCIx slot, seems can't use it fully (as mentioned above). Also seems doubtful its geared towards my intended purpose.

I'm gonna look at SATA/RAID O.

 

[ribbon13]

A single raptor would give you performance, but it comes at a premium to most people. SATA HBA's also need PCI-X/PCIe to reach thier full potential. But for a small array an onboard controller would suffice.

 

[Krusher]

Why do you say that the 36 GB Raptors are a waste of money ribbon13? They are more $$$/GB, but if you're going for $$$/GB, you're better off with a 300GB SATA drive then.

The 36GB drive has only one platter and 2 heads, instead of 2 platters and 4 heads. That doesn't mean the 36GB version is twice as reliable, but fewer parts mean less to fail.

But for the extra money, ya I'd just go for the 74GB drive and partition half of it if you want the speed.

RAID 0 sounds good on paper and in the specs, but it really won't make your system twice as fast but it will make it half as reliable. You can't double the seek rate, only the STR (sequential transfer rate) and that will make little difference unless you're working with huge files.

 

[sharkeeper]

Raptors have no martians (STIR).

You have to experience sitting next to racks full of thousands of 15k's to know what I mean.