Re: Adaptec 2940 UW
aphro <nate@firetrail.com> writes:
> On 8 Dec 1999, Arcady Genkin wrote:
>
> a.genk >Gary, thanks a lot for your reply. I'd like to seek another advice
> a.genk >then. For what I'll be using the card, a simple SCSI2 card would
> a.genk >suffice just fine (I'll have 3 devices on it: CD-R, CDROM, and a
> a.genk >scanner).
>
> I believe the 2940UW (or any ultra wide card for that matter) would have
> an faster onboard processor(i think the 2940uw has a 40mhz risc chip on
> it) would provide better throughput and less cpu % during i/o
> transactions. nice to be able to burn cds with load ~5-6 and not get
> buffer underruns(never had abuffer underrun in linux btw)
>
>
> a.genk >If chosing *only* from the point of view of compatibility and
> a.genk >stability, shoudl I get the 2940UW or 2940U? Would it matter at all?
>
> 2940UW for sure, the UW spec is becomming obsolete fast, and the U spec is
> really obsolete(20mb/s) the 2940UW has no problem running some ultra 2
> drives as well, I've tried IBM and quantum myself. I hear that seagate
> Ultra 2's dont work well/at all on an ultra wide controller.
>
> a.genk >I figured 2940UW, because it seems that the card is newer, and I
> a.genk >thought that it would be better.
>
> or you could seek out an ultra 2 controller.. Ultra 3 scsi is not really
> effective until we get a faster PCI bus (PCI = 133MB/s Ultra 3 =
> 160MB/s) not to mention its sooo $$. If i were buying a scsi card now I'd
> get an ultra 2. but i'd get an 2940UW over a 2940U any day.
Well, I don't have any experience with cd burning so I'll defer to
Nate on whether the UW would be better than the U. I will say that if
I were buying a new card I doubt I'd by the UW. I'd buy a dual channel
U2W. It's just too hard to stay with the UW spec. I've got a big
server-style case and keeping the cable length below, I believe 3m,
isn't easy. No way could I add an external device with my current
config because it'd be out of spec. Also, there are VERY few devices
that even come close to saturating the UW bus. My fastest HD, a
quantum 10k, gets about 28MB/s. Still well below the 40MB/s UW
rating. The only way to saturate the UW would be to stick a RAID on it
and even I'm not THAT much of a techno-geek.
Personally, if I were in Arcady's situation I'd try to go
cheap. Perhaps a Tekram card, DC-390F for US$60 or US$70. It's
reported to have great Linux support (they've got a picture of a
penguin on their main web page!) and it's less than HALF the price of
a 2940UW, and it's still a UW controller.
Don't get me wrong, I've never had a problem with my 2940UW, but for
half the price and reportedly great Linux support I'd find it hard to
pass this card up.
Just my 0.02.
Gary
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