Scsi Question

[jot2b]

I've reviewed the faq at scsifaq.com and I am still a little lost. This is the drive I am looking to purchase, and its specs:

Seagate ST118202LC 18.2GB SCSI 10K RPM Hard Drive

Specifications
- Formatted Capacity: 18.21GB
- Interface: 80-pin
- Data Transfer Rates: 80MB/s
- Average Seek Times: 5 .0ms
- Buffer Size: 4MB
- Rotational Speed: 10,000rpm
- Height (mm): HH (42.01)=1.6 Inch

I am aware I need to purchase and install a host adapter to get this working, but what kind should I buy? 80-Pin SCA interface to 68-Pin adapter? 80-Pin SCA interface to 50-Pin adapter?

I have used only IDE hard disks in the past. My motherboard is a KT7A-RAID, and my understanding, by observation, is the IDE hard disks and cables I have are 40-pin. What do I need to get one of these SCSI puppies up and running? Are older generation SCSIs still better than new IDE hard drives?

Finally, will I still be able to use my 120gb video IDE drive while my primary drive is a SCSI?

 

[Bobsonsirjonny]

Why are you going the SCSI route? Do you intend to do a lot of video editing where you need super a super fast data rate?

If not you may well be better off - price performance wise, investing in a PCI IDE card (which also supports serial ATA? ) and some super fast IDE drives with a decent on board cache. I quite like Seagates and IBM drives - but then others (like Axeman) have their fav drives as well.

SCSI while fast - is expensive... and the gap between it and IDE is no loneger as large as it used to be. Especially now we have serial ATA - its quite nice and the cables are really small and thin as well



- just edited - I note you have a RAID motherboard.. well you may wish to exploit this to get some super fast disk access using IDE drives. Dont bother with SCSI if you have a RAID mobo. Do you know what types of RAID your board supports?

 

[jot2b]

Thanks Bobsonsirjonny!

Yes, you nailed it, I intend to do a lot of video editing; in fact, I am a film student and plan to make a career out of it. Also, my primary 20GB drive has died on me recently, so I thought I'd expand my computer knowledge by going SCSI this time. But most importantly, I found a really good deal with a reseller I trust.

It is helpful to know the SCSI vs. IDE "speed gap" is not what it once was.

My motherboard supports four types:
Striping (RAID 0)
Mirror (RAID 1)
Striping and Mirror (RAID 0+1)
Span (JBOD)

I've enjoyed the RAID features, but only span, which is essentially adding more disks without increased security or speed (my extra drives were old small GB drives, so it was the only option that made sense). Honestly, I don't feel ready for striping or mirroring. It would require another large hard drive like the 120gb Maxtor I have, and since space is so precious when it comes to video, I would most likely give up speed and security to add that much more mileage.

Again, thanks for the help so far. Before posting the first, I scanned my entire motherboard manual for only the word SCSI, but found not one instance. And even after reading online FAQs about SCSI, I am still in the dark. Any other suggestions, anyone, or help concerning adapters or cables or pins?

 

[Bobsonsirjonny]

Im an Animator - so do loads of video work. What NLE package are you using?

20GB is tiny - this is my suggestion:

40GB boot and application drive
180GB data drive - and even then, that aint enough

or 40GB boot drive - and two 60GB data drive's set up on RAID 1 - so it spans the data across the two drives - reading from both drives at the same time - thus faster access to the video.

If you are worried about data loss - bung in another drive for mirroring - though you will not have access to that drive for general use. Trouble with RAID is that your dives have to be identical make and modle....

I once built the mother of all video edit systems - she was a beast!



Hmmm... now this is pretty lovely get yourself a serial ATA card and throw the video around:

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...oduct_uid=55240http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...oduct_uid=55240


Or even better - you dont get as much space, its cheaper but works out a little more per MB - but this drive is bloody fantastic!! It would be my weapon of choice - many turn key NLE systems come with it:

NICEST DRIVE!!

This way you can ignore RAID, yet still have the speed. BTW - these drives are OEM so dont come with serial ATA cables. You will see a noticible speed increase with a dedicated card for your HD's. leave the boot drive and CD drives on the motherboards built in IDE bus.

How much Ram have you got? You can never have to much! processor go for the fastest best value bang for buck you can afford :-D

Man I love making video horses!
You want me to build it for you! :-D

 

[Bobsonsirjonny]

Also - did you know that SCSI can slightly slow your boot times down, as its unlikely your BIOS will support SCSI - so in order to boot from SCSI you have to boot your machine - let the IDE kit in, load the SCSI bios - detect the SCSI chain - boot the SCSI. Dont get me wrong when SCSI is up - its fast. But serial ATA is as fast - or almost as fast, and cheaper, and a lot simpler to set up!


I mean you can get some super duper fast SCSI drives but... do you want to pay through the nose?

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...oduct_uid=4505136gb for over £100....

 

[jot2b]

Man I love making video horses!
You want me to build it for you! :-D

LOL, yes!

OK, here's the rundown:
Athlon 900mhz. Yeah, I can't really afford an upgrade, so...
256mb PC133 ram. I still have two slots open, but will this be enough?
PNY Geforce 4 420mx video card.
120gb 7200rpm Maxtor devoted solely to video "files".
2gb Western Digital. Yes, you read that right -- 2 gigs -- for web surfing and Pocket Tanks until I purchase a new drive and get back on my feet again.
Pinnacle DV500 capture board w/ breakout box. OK, this is probably worth more than my entire system. I love it!

I still have a couple PCI slots open, but now I'm seriously beginning to doubt using one for a SCSI adapter. Your last post and the general spirit of the faq at scsifaq.com give me the impression I am really about to give myself a big headache. I don't want to see BIOS screens any more than I have to.

Here's the deal I was looking at:
http://www.softwareandstuff.com/hd_st118202lc.html

Yeah, it's refurbished, but dirt cheap. Unfortunately, surpluscomputers has a less than stellar rating at most consumer review sites, and while I completed a happy and successful ebay transaction with them a long time ago, I am hesitant to patronize a company with an unsatisfactory report card at the BBB.

Alright, serial ATA, I'll do some research...

 

[Bobsonsirjonny]

I would never, ever, under any circumstances buy a re-conditioned hard disk.. the platters were probably shot through, and been replaced - but the rest could be really old. Furthermore - taking a HD apart is a nightmare - you need to be in a clean atmosphere - the slightest dust will kill the drive.


Oh - and up your RAM from 256MB to at least 512. The DV500 is designed to take a lot of the hard work off your system. I take it that you will be using purple/edition - in Europe that came with the card. Though as a rule I wont touch pinnacle cos they are in my experience the worst for technical support, and communication.

check out http://www.dvdoctor.net/ for tips

 

[jot2b]

I'm not sure whether or not I have purple/edition, I live in the US and it's called simply Pinnacle DV500 DVD. I purchased my device from ebay, and it came with Adobe Premiere 6.0, which is the only serious editing software I am familiar with. And there's a manual in my tray for Minerva Impression, so I guess it came with that one too. Also, I think it shipped with a version of Pinnacle Studio, another version of the software I once used with my old Studio DC10+ card.

This discussion has been very valuable to me. I have decided not to take my chances with surpluscomputers.com, or even SCSI for that matter. I'll stick with IDE or give Serial ATA a shot. Thank you again for all your help.

 

[Bobsonsirjonny]

No Problem I like talking about Video

Pinnacle bought out a Purple - a once, hi end NLE app - and rebadged it Edition. They then gave it away with their cards. It is a heavy weight app though - a very pro one. I have yet to get to use it properly.

I wish they would port Final Cut Pro to Windows - its a fantastic app, and IMHO has a better work flow than Premier - though I will always have a soft spot for premier for it was the first NLE I cut my teeth on... Ive not used tape since

Though Im trained as an animator, and do the odd bit of freelance stuff (I say odd - but it has been ages) I ended up in IT. If you have any questions do not hesitate to ask.

And also bite the bullet - you are young enough to take the gamble - if it goes belly up you can start again and get a "steady" job. Thats what I've come to realise anyway - which is why I've quit my job to go to australia...