ATA 33 vs. ATA 100

[Hal]

Hi,
I've got:
BH6 mobo w/300A o/c'd to 450MHz
192MB RAM
IDE0 Master: Maxtor 10GB, ATA 33/5400RPM (Not sure on the RPM; not at home right now and forgot)
IDE0 Slave: ZIP
IDE1 Master: CD-ROM
IDE1 Slave: CDR

I want: to do NLE. (using either Matrox RT2000 or Pinnacle DV500)

I just bought:
a Maxtor 45GB, ATA 100, 7200 RPM w/ free USB ZIP

I plan on:
removing internal ZIP, adding USB ZIP
adding 45GB HD for AVI capture/storage

My question(s):
I can get a Maxtor ATA 100 PCI controller card for free after rebate. What will I gain by installing the Maxtor controller, and setting up as follows:
IDE0 Master: 10GB HD, OS/NLE software (probably Adobe Premiere)
IDE0 Slave: empty
Maxtor Controller: new 45GB HD, AVI capture/storage
IDE1 Master: CD-ROM
IDE1 Slave: CDR

Will this setup work, does it make sense, is it optimal, and do I gain anything from the ATA 100 controller, when running the mobo/HDs configuration above?
What is the impact on NLE, and are there other recommendations for configuring the hardware I've got?

thx,
Hal

[Dr Mordrid]

Ok..let me get this straight....

MAINBOARD controller;

IDE0:
Master - 10g (OS)
Slave - unused

IDE1:
Master - CD
Slave - CDR

Maxtor ATA100 controller:
(this is actually a Promise UltraATA100)

IDE0:
Master - Maxtor 45g
Slave - unused

IDE1:
Master - unused
Slave - unused

If this is what you meant, then yes this is a good setup. It isolates the capture drive entirely from the controller used by other devices on the system, which is a good idea. It also leaves you with a free master connection for another video drive if/when you need it.

If this is not what you meant, then it should be

Now for some info you'll need;

The Maxtor ATA100 drives come with Write Verification turned on when new. This turns itself off after 10 system power-up cycles. The effect of WV being on is that it nearly halves the throughput of the drive.

You can turn WV off manually using the WVSET.EXE utility on the Maxtor download page. Here's the url for the page you need;

http://www.maxtor.com/products/diamo...res/21008.html

Dr. Mordrid


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Asus P3B-F 6 PCI
PIII/850
Gigabyte GA-6R7+ slotkey
Matrox G400/Flex3D
Matrox RT-2000
256 megs RAM
Promise SuperTrak100 (4 x 60g IBM 75GXP: 240g RAID0)
AWE64 Gold
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[This message has been edited by Dr Mordrid (edited 13 December 2000).]

[Hal]

Dr. M,
Thanks for the reply.

Yes, that's exactly what I meant to say. Please excuse my limited tech language ability. (I'm at the edge of my knowledge here; just want to do NLE is all.)

If I decide to keep the existing internal ZIP
and just relocate it, controller-wise, could I just put it on the Promise controller, maybe on the IDE1 Master? (I'm considering giving the USB ZIP to my daughter.)

Couple follow-on Q's if you don't mind:

1. Is it no big deal removing the ZIP, adding USB ZIP (or as my alternate above, moving the existing ZIP), installing the controller card and new HD? Could you recommend a specific sequence? I have Partition Magic software; could I use that in lieu of f-disk? I've never used f-disk but some of the posts make it sound kinda ugly and unforgiving of ignorance.

2. I assume that in moving things around, again controller-wise, if cables don't fit, I just go to Best Buy and buy longer ones?

3. When people talk of keeping on big HD for video capture, I assume that means I'd install the HD, format it, and have no partitions; literally just one big 45 GB drive letter, yes?

4. What do I end up with as far as a functioning system goes, when I combine the ATA 33 mobo, ATA 33 HD, ATA 100 HD, and ATA 100 controller card?

5. Would you mind explaining the relationship between the ATA factor and video capture?

thx again,
Hal

Is it a real big effort installing the new HD?

[Gurm]

The benefit of the higher ATA level is simply this - bigger pipe.

The benefit of the offboard controller is to isolate the bigger hard drive from the rest of the system.

It's always better to have different devices on completely different busses. *shrug*

- Gurm

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