Greetings Jerry and List--
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From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>

> Hi All,
>
> I need to re-install my operating system for reasons not worth mentioning
> here!
>
> I have 2 choices of drive, they are both 7200RPM, both Seagate but that's
> where the similarities stop. I use an Adaptec Ultra2 SCSI controller (4+
> years old at this stage) and 36GB Ultra2 SCSI drive, and in the past this
> combination has worked well but not necessarily mind-blowing in terms of
> performance.
>
> I've recently purchased an Ultra ATA/100 60GB drive and I just wondered if
> this would be the better option to install my OS on from a performance
> perspective and have the SCSI as a secondary drive? This is not a server it
> will be a stand-alone system.
>

Ultimately your choice depends on how you plan to use the computer.
If the Ultra2 SCSI is of the LVD type it is probably capable of 80MB/sec.
transfer.  This sounds, on the surface, like it is 20MB/sec. slower than the
UltraATA/100 drive, however; the SCSI is a totally separate bus, that
does not need to interrupt the processor to carry out 'disk transactions'
(to the best of my admittedly imperfect understanding).  The upshot of
this is that for disk-intensive activities like video editing the SCSI is a
better choice because its 80MB/sec. throughput is sustained.  There
are other factors (aren't there always?) which actually slow this down
somewhat, but this is one of the reasons (along with longevity--typically
SCSI drives have a longer Mean Time Before Failure rating) that SCSI
drives are most often selected for servers.  While the UltraATA/100
drive has faster transfer time, this is is a burst or peak figure.

I believe that, for an OS drive the SCSI would be a better choice, if only
because system maintenance (defrag, chkdsk, etc.) tasks will probably
complete more quickly.

FWIW,

Paul A. Shippert


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