SATA and SCSi

Discussion in 'Storage Devices' started by mut, Nov 8, 2006.

  1. mut

    mut Geek Trainee

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    Just wondering what the difference between SATA drives and SCSi drives are?
    I was thinking of buying a 10kRPM hard drive for my windows setup and use my current 250GB HDD for programs, music, etc.

    I've got a P5LD2 Deluxe, and I don't understand what SCSi is and if my mobo will support it.
     
  2. Big B

    Big B HWF Godfather

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    SCSI=Small Computer System Interface. While it's typically found on drives, it has been used on scanners and external CD-ROM drives in the past. However, with USB and Firewire/IEEE1394's PnP, SCSI has been dropped. Unlike IDE, SCSI can use up to 7 devices on a single chain. Also, they require a host adapter, which is more of just a doorway to the rest of the system rather than a controller of IDE.

    Most motherboards do not have SCSI on them. Now, server and workstation boards may have them or have them as an option, but you won't find it on enthusiast or desktop motherboards.

    SCSI is designed to be a robust workhorse, and typically carry a longer warranty than IDE drives. They start at 10,000RPM but can be found at 15,000RPM. SCSI drives today are 68-pin, but some drives made exclusively for hot-swapping maybe 80-pin.

    If you want SCSI, then you'll have to purchase a PCI or PCIe SCSI host adapter. Depending on your needs, you can find them from around $50 to upwards of $500 or more, but these higher-end units have a separate processor for RAID calculations and onboard RAM and/or slot(s) to add RAM. Some may offer fibre channel, but that's really high-end stuff...and likely more than you'd spend on a computer.

    SCSI is also a little more complex than IDE or SATA drives. You need to configure the drives by a device ID 0-7, but one of these will be reserved for the host adapter. Secondly, you'll need a terminator after the last device on the chain. Some SCSI cables may come with one, but if not you'll have to purchase one.
     
  3. mut

    mut Geek Trainee

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    Thanks a lot for that, not going to spend that much on a new HDD for my desktop PC. Was going to buy one on ebay, thanks for clearing it up.
     
  4. zeus

    zeus out of date

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    SCSI has been around for 20 years or so. It has got faster as time goes by.
    The latest is SCSI Ultra-640. It can supposidly transfer at up to 640MB/s. (Thats megabytes!)
    Its used for all kinds of stuff, our printer has scsi plugs even!

    SATA is pretty new and is for harddrives only (I think!) SATA can transfer at 150MB/s and SATA2 300MB/s.

    SCSI I suppose is the best! The only thing which is quicker than SCSI Ultra-640 is Firewire 800.


    Bloody hell, you two above me posted quick!
     
  5. mut

    mut Geek Trainee

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    God, youre so last two minutes!

    Haha, thanks mate :)
     
  6. Big B

    Big B HWF Godfather

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    Well, if you can snag one and a host adapter for cheap, go for it. I half-heartedly bid on some U160 68-pin drives on eBay. You might also check 2CPU's For Sale forums. I've gotten some SCSI stuff off some trades over there.

    If you want the U320 stuff or newer or SAS (Serial Attached SCSI), then it's still going to run a fair price, but you might snag the U160 drives for a cheap price. I did it just to play around with it, and if I run across a drive for dirt cheap, I'll probably pull out the SCSI card to play with again.
     
  7. zeus

    zeus out of date

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    Its the RAID cards for the faster SCSI drives which surprised me. They cost a bomb.
     

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