Best SCSI card

[Pace]

Ok, not quite one of my "Best Hardware" threads, but just the best out of these two

Adaptec 29160N and Adaptec 19160.

The differences are the '2' has a 5-position 68pin LVD and 3-position 50-pin, but the '1' has only 3-positions on each. Also, the '2' has support beyond Windows "popular" OSes (NT/2K Server, OS2 Client/Server, Netware, SCO, Solaris).

I need only 3 things from the SCSI card.

1. It works with my 18GB 10K U160 80pin drive. Got this at an auction, and I'll be getting a SCA 80 pin to 68pin Converter.
2. It works with my Yamaha SCSI-II drive.
3. It works under all OSes (Windows 98/2000/XP/Linux in particular).

The card has one 68-pin for LVD SCSI, and one 50-pin for Ultra SCSI.

I have but these here questions four:

A. Is my 80 SCA to 68 convertor right?
B. Does this convertor take a 4-pin molex to provide the power to the drive?
C. Do I need an Ultra SCSI to SCSI-II convertor? (or just stick the cable in - they are the same, yeah?)
D. Do I need the 29160 for the OS support, or is the 19160 supported in Linux?

This card will be going in my SiS745/AthlonXP system to begin with, before moving through each upgrade

Thanks in advance,

Paul.

[Ribbit]

Re: Best SCSI card

Originally posted by Pace
The differences are the '2' has a 5-position 68pin LVD and 3-position 50-pin, but the '1' has only 3-positions on each.

Huh? I don't know what you mean by '3/5-position'.

To answer your questions:

A. Yes
B. Yes.
C. No, just plug the cable in.
D. I would be very surprised if Linux doesn't support the 19160.

[[GDI]Raptor]

I have a Adaptec 29160N SCSI card myself, it's a very good card, and you can get drivers for Linux.

I don't know about the 19160 in Linux, but I know for shure that the 29160N has suport for Linux

[Ribbit]

Go to http://groups.google.com and search for 'linux 19160'. Looks like it's supported.

[Taz]

Scan are currently selling the 29160LP for £99.88 which sounds like a good deal This is an OEM package so no manual, cables, etc.

[Pace]

Thanks guys.

And Taz, that's a 64bit PCI card I believe, but thanks anyway

The pricing is:
19160 OEM - £116.00 / $160
19160 R Kit - £164.50 / $230
29160 OEM - £134.00 / $190
29160 R Kit - £218.00 / $305

And it's the 29160N Shame it's ~£50/$70 for the retail kit.

The 3/5-position cables mean 3 connectors I guess, so I can attach either 2 or 4 devices and a host.

P.

[UtwigMU]

You can get extra cables for more devices later.

[Ribbit]

Originally posted by Pace
And Taz, that's a 64bit PCI card I believe, but thanks anyway

It's still cheaper than the other options you've listed, and there's no good reason for it not to work in a 32-bit slot (unless Adaptec were really stupid when they designed it). Might be worth considering...

[Pace]

Righto

btw, what does EZ-SCSI do?

P.

Edit:

29160LP
Bus Type
64-bit PCI (32-bit compatible)

Thanks

[Taz]

Originally posted by leech
EZ-SCSI is a CD-ROM burning software package.

Are you sure I thought it was just Adaptec's driver installation package plus other miscellaneous toot.

And yep they do work fine in 32bit PCI slots

[VJ]

I also thought EZ-SCSI was a SCSI diagnostic tool...
(I'm currently using a 2940UW, but intend to upgrade to a 64bit card; as the host is currently a bottleneck in my system: 2 10K drives can reach speeds of over 40 MB/s)

Jörg

[Pace]

I thought it was a SCSI tool as well, just wondering if it was necessary for using SCSI devices.

So, plug in 29160LP oem, cable, adaptor and 18GB hard drive. Will Windows do the rest? Any special SCSI formatting tools required?

P.

[VJ]

It is not required for using the SCSI-devices (I don't have EZ-SCSI, and my system is working ).

Depending on the controller the 18GB harddrive came from, I believe it could be possible that you need to lowformat the disk (this is an option in the SCSI-bios); but perhaps others can confirm/deny this (I did not have to lowformat my 2 drives when I bought them).

If you intend to boot from the harddisk, you will have to set this in you bios. (also be aware of how Windows will assign it a driveletter) It could be that you will have to set the boot-order in the SCSI-card (normally it starts from 0- (and up), but this order can be reversed).

Perhaps you need to check the manual for the drive; I have both of mine set to start spinning upon receiving the SCSI-start command (the controller sends this); this minimizes the initial power requirements (the drives spin up one at a time, not all together, and those 10K drives tend to require quite some power when spinning up).


Jörg

[Pace]

The drive is a second hand IBM, and has existing Windows file systems partitions on it (FAT or NTFS).

I don't intend to boot from it, as I rarely boot, so don't need the speed there

Digital video (capture and storage) and game storage is likely though.

The 64bit means I'll be able to stick this in future systems too hopefully.

[Colin Morey]

the 29160LP works fine under linux and in 32bit mode, your 80->64 pin adapter will require a 4 pin molex plug to work, but it should should work fine.
i've had some troubles with a 19160, so i try and stay clear of them. as for specifal scsi formating tools, the low level format is built into the controller card, and you can use any standard partitioning tool that can see the drive, (i use partiion magic for mine).

it's a nice card, you will have to update the drivers under windows 2000 though iirc. (not really a problem unless you're using it to boot from, which you're not iyswim)