🚀 go-pugleaf

tn0s+@andrew.cmu.edu (Timothy L. Nali) writes:

>Forgive me if this is an FAQ, but what is the difference between IDE and
>SCSI hard drives/controllers.  Which gives better performance under
>ms-dos?  under unix?

Please forgive any technical blunders, I'm a systems guy, not a hardware
guy.  I've done a lot of testing of SCSI, ESDI, IDE, Etc.  My conclusion
is that right now, SCSI-II is pretty much the hottest thing going.  This
conclusion is not from any theoretical study of the standards, but from
real-world observed performance.  The reality is that the best hard drives
are all SCSI hard drives right now.  I'm thinking of 5400 RPM high transfer
rate drives like the Quantum Barracuda series.  When I can get a 3 1/2"
2 GB, 8ms drive, I don't ask too many questions about why it's so blindingly
fast.  On the controller side, SCSI wins again.  My current mainstream
favorite controller is the DPT SmartCache EISA SCSI controller.  Put a Meg
or two of Cache on that puppy and it even makes DOS fast.  I haven't had
any experience with local bus SCSI yet, but I'm assuming it will be even
faster.

So if speed is your concern, I'd say SCSI is your answer.


-- 
Lamont Cranston                        "I once had a plan, but it seems to
moses@netcom.com                        to have gone missing"