CompuServe Messages

Don, I'm running a DX2/66 with a VLB Fast SCSI-2 controller (Ultrastor 34F) and a Maxtor MXT1280 drive. I can get about 3.5MB/sec off the hard disk without a cache. The Quantum LP240 on that machine gets about 1.3MB/sec. In my experience, IDE is a little faster than SCSI on small reads and writes since there's less handshaking protocol going on between the controller and drive, but SCSI is much faster on larger operations. Before with an ISA system (Future Domain TMC1680) I was getting getting about 1.2MB/sec with both drives. The best I've seen IDE do on ISA systems is around 0.6MB/sec. I understand that some of the new VLB IDE controllers are getting around 1MB/sec. I usually run a 2MB cache with smartdrv. This way, small reads and writes (compiling and linking) go very fast, and large operations (displaying 10MB Targa files, playing 50MB FLC animations off the disk) go fast too. The benchmarks I've seen in PC-Magazine all show rediculous speeds like 150KB/sec. Their program just tests small operations and random seeks. I suppose if all you do is run dBASE on small records and huge files all day long those numbers might be valid, but I don't think that'a what most users do. It's certainly not what I do! Besides with SCSI I can run my CD-ROM and all three hard disks (sometimes four) off the same controller. John.