SCSI Controller

[dicecca112]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=56091&item=5750004612&rd=1

For those who know Controller is this a good one? I know its cheap and it screams you get what you pay for but is it worth the trouble?

what about this?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=39969&item=5162947675&rd=1

[9mmCensor]

Double post!

[dicecca112]

way ahead of you, it is taken care of.

[Xaotic]

With either controller, the controller latency can and will kill performance. For noncomplex SCSI installations on conventional PCI 2.0 boards, it's best to go with either an entry level nonRAID controller, like the LSIU160 single channel, or an entry level RAID card like the LSI 21320-R RAID kit. Prices have been goiung up on the 21320s lately, so look for a decent deal if you go this route.

[dicecca112]

well maybe I should elaborate. I have on the way two 15K (18gb) seagate cheetahs. I'm try not to break the bank either. The plan was to raid them, and use them as my OS drive.

My system is
2.8 Xeon at 3.1
NCCH-DL
2x80GB Hitachi Sata drives

[Xaotic]

well maybe I should elaborate. I have on the way two 15K (18gb) seagate cheetahs. I'm try not to break the bank either. The plan was to raid them, and use them as my OS drive.

My system is
2.8 Xeon at 3.1
NCCH-DL
2x80GB Hitachi Sata drives

Both are likely to murder your IO. They were designed as server IO controllers and are significantly slower than current controllers. Given the board, I'd go with either a 21320-R for hostraid or the LSIU160. With two drives, you will not be saturating the U160 or U320 bus, while both are bursting. I run RAID where needed, but tend to avoid it on smaller boxes, due to the more complex nature of the IO performance.

[dicecca112]

what about the adaptec 29160?

[Xaotic]

They run fine, as long as you are not planning on running the second channel hard. The secondary channel is actually a virtual channel, rather than a discreet channel. If you can find an inexpensive controller, it will run well. A 19160 would also work and may lower the cost. The main reason I tend to recommend the LSI is the cost. They are dirt cheap and offer good performance and reliability. Adaptec controllers also have a proprietary method of writing to disks and this often prohibits importation of disks written by other manufacturers controllers. The LSI can read disks from Adaptec controllers(this may have been addressed, but was a previous issue).