#SCSI controllers
4 messages in this thread
I am about to buy a CD-ROM drive for use primarily with Photo CD, but also for
general multimedia use. I think I have settled on a Toshiba 3401B drive (this
week — by next week who knows what may be available?).
Now, what should I do about a controller? I notice in Computer Shopper that
someone is selling an Adaptec 1510 CDR controller which costs half the more
usual 1542BK controller — what is the difference? And what do I achieve by
buying a controller other than whatever my vendor would bundle with the drive?
In general, what should I be looking for in a controller, and what do you all
recommend for a mid-quality and a top-quality controller for PCD and
multimedia?
And — is this the best forum for my question?
Thanks for any input,
– susan
I recently bought a Toshiba 3401B drive and have been quite happy with it. I
saw an article in PC Week that said Procom just announced a CD ROM drive with
the same specs (200ms seek, 330K transfer).
I didn't buy a SCSI card, instead I bought the ProAudio Spectrum 16 card by
MediaVision. It uses a standard SCSI interface and so does the Toshiba drive.
It does cost extra (~$50) for cables and software driver (from Trantor). I
stayed away from both CDROM drives and sound cards that used any sort of
proprietary interface. You said you wanted general multimedia, this
combination works well for me. You may want to consider it if you don't
already have a sound card.
Paul
Paul—
The Procomm drive that was just announced is an OEM version of the Toshiba
3401.
Eric
Susan:
I'm not familiar with the Adaptec 1510, but I can tell you that the 1542 is a
Bus Mastering controller which can perform the data transfer between a SCSI
device and memory without involving the CPU. I assume that the 1510 is NOT a
bus mastering controller (I know the 1520/1522 is not), and this undoubtedly
accounts for much of the price difference.
…Sean