Please explain SCSI to me

i had a scsi setup not so long ago, now sold

i had the dell perc4 pci/e card with 2 maxtor atlas 15k
the performace was good but the heat is unbearable
from raid card and hard discs.

my room would heat up a great deal when encoding HD > DVD :D

so iam now going to buy an Sata Areca ARC-1220LP raid card
as this will run cooler even filling it up with drives and will match the lsi
megaraid card no sweat.
 
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The Dell Perc 4e/dc is the LSI Megaraid rebranded with a different bios. There are a few small issues with drivers but these are easily overcome (if you get them we can help ;) )

Pound for pound you won't do much better that the Dell at the moment (though it will have to be fleabay and 2nd hand!) Just make sure that you get one with the RAM on it or at least budget for another £30ish if it doesn't (the iBttu battery backup is not necessary for home use) - considering they can be had for little more than £100 I think they're great value!

Heat and noise are an issue, though creativity will set you free - mine are neatly silenced in an old case I have lying around!

Scsi is a hastle! I wouldn't swap mine for anything, but be aware that they're not 'plug and play' and you will have to do some learning along the way - but I think that's half the fun :D
 
I have started to get the parts, so far got a 39320A SCSI card and a HP 72Gb 15K Hard drive, just need the cable and I am ready to rock. I only recieved the drive yesterday and havn't had time to look on the internet but this drive doesnt have any molex type power connector. So it looks like it takes the power from the cable (not sure). What sort of cable/power connection do I need for this to complete it?
 
the.m said:
I have started to get the parts, so far got a 39320A SCSI card and a HP 72Gb 15K Hard drive, just need the cable and I am ready to rock. I only recieved the drive yesterday and havn't had time to look on the internet but this drive doesnt have any molex type power connector. So it looks like it takes the power from the cable (not sure). What sort of cable/power connection do I need for this to complete it?
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Sounds like you bought an 80-pin SCA connected drive there instead of the "normal" 68-pin drive.

These 80-pin connectors are designed for "hot swap" setups. So they do have the power built in. With a bit of hunting you can find convertors for these that will convert from 80 to 68 pins. BUT beware as some of these are badly/cheaply made. So you need a decent one. And make sure it is LVD. (i.e. check the guy's feedback.... and pick someone who also supplies the cables and terminators. i.e. someone who seems to know what he is doing, and not just buying cheap tatt from China)

(From personal experience, I found 80-pin drives too much hassle with the annoying convertor boards. If I was going to use any 80-pin drives now, I'd look on the same auction site for the caddies. I have seen these available at sensible prices before...)


Also remember - you don't just need a cable. (Make sure the cable is LVD) You also need a terminator for the end of the cable.

i.e......

SCSI CARD====HDD===TERMINATOR

So for a single drive, you need three connectors on that cable. One end is attached to the SCSI Card, the middle connector goes on your drive, and then you attach a "terminator" to the end of the cable.
 
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MAllen said:
So for a single drive, you need three connectors on that cable. One end is attached to the SCSI Card, the middle connector goes on your drive, and then you attach a "terminator" to the end of the cable.
Click to expand...
Indeed - Although some cables come with terminators on the end already, but have one port less on the cable.
(But when it has 8+ ports, it doesn't really affect you!)
 
Thanks for the info guys, the rest of the parts I need should arrive by the end of this week. Looking forward to getting it all installed.
 
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