#Tosh 3401 vs NEC CDR84
6 messages in this thread
I am considering purchasing my first CD-ROM and have been looking at the faster
drives such as the Toshiba 3401 and the NEC CDR84. I intend to purchase an
external drive so the drive can sit on the desk and the tower case sit on the
floor. I am currently using an Adaptec 1522 controller with a 520MB SCSI hard
drive.
Is there any reason to prefer the Toshiba 3401 over the CDR84, or vice versa??
Any information would be appreciated. Thanks, Lee B.
Lee,
I have both a internal Toshiba 3401 and a external NEC CDR-74 (the CDR-84 is
their internal model) hooked up to my machine.
I can't say there is really much difference. The Toshiba has a faster
access time (200ms compared to 280ms) and a faster transfer rate (330k/sec
compared to 300k/sec).
The NEC drives have a couple of versions floating around:
The old CDR-74 is a SCSI-1 device that is single session (Photo CD) capable
with a 64k cache.
The new CDR-74-1 is a SCSI-2 device that is multi session capable with a
256K cache.
The Toshiba 3401 has the same specifications as the CDR-74-1 excepts for its
faster access times and higher transfer rate.
The Toshiba is usually cheaper (but it can be hard to find).
The NEC has a nice fold down spring loaded entry slot whereas the Toshiba
has to be folded up by hand (nothing major but I like the NEC idea better).
I don't really think you will see much difference in a NEC CDR-74-1 and a
Toshiba 3401. I would personally take the Toshiba over a CDR-74 any day but
if you get a good price on the CDR-74-1 its harder to choose.
I presume you have the right CD ROM (although CorelSCSI which I use supports
both).
I started out with a NEC CDR-74 and decided to switch to a Toshiba 3401 for
a second drive. I got a much better price on the Toshiba than I did for my
original NEC drive and its faster as well.
NEC makes good products and has a BBS as well as 1-800 technical support. If
you need help sometimes this can be handy.
I kind of rambled but let me know if you what more information.
Jay Cahow
Cahow Consulting
Which Adapter are you using with your drives?
Bob
Robert,
I started out with NEC's 8 bit proprietary SCSI card then I wen big time and
switched over to a 16 bit DMA Busmastering SCSI controller by Procom. Its
called the "Xelerator" and its a real great controller card (I think its as
good or better than the Adaptec cards).
Its real fast and its easy to configure. It only comes in an ISA version
right now but other versions are in the works. It is NOT a caching controller
so you need a software cache to go with it.
I have a couple hard drives and well as a couple CD ROMs and a DAT drive on
mine with no problems. I get 3MB+ transfer rates on my Fast SCSI-2 drives
(which is pretty good for an ISA system, I would hope to see 7MB+ on an EISA
system someday).
Jay Cahow
Cahow Consulting
Jay, Thanks for the info on Toshiba 3401 vs NEC CDR-74.
I heard that the Toshiba requires that one purchase a driver separately, and
that the cost of a driver is about $55.
>I presume you have the right CD ROM (although CorelSCSI which I use >supports
both).
Something got lost here. I think you meant to say.. "I presume you have the
right CD ROM Driver." I am using an Adaptec 1522 card but I do not have the
Adaptec driver for CDROM. I understand that the Adaptec driver is buggy but
they are selling a new package (?) ASW500 that includes the Corel driver. The
area of drivers is where I really lack knowledge. I am not wedded to the
Adaptec card… I am planning on moving to a VL Bus system in the not to
distant future and would be willing to consider a VL Bus SCSI card. My hard
drive is a Fujitsu 2624F 520MB Fast SCSI-II drive.
Any suggestions on a reliable mail order source for the Tosh 3401?
Thanks again for all your help. Lee B.
Lee,
You are correct that I meant driver. You can pick up CorelSCSI through the
mail for $65. It will handle just about any CD ROM drive available today.
The best price I know of for it is $65 at ComputAbility at 1-800-554-9923.
Be aware that CorelSCSI is now up to version 1.2 which supposedly is the
first version to certify the 3401. I am using 1.1 with no problems and
Corel has a free update I should receive this week just to be save.
I got my Drives from a place that only sells wholesale. I bought the 3401
internal for $399 and the external is $499. I got a free copy of Kodak
Access (for Photo CD) as well (even though I already had a copy). I collect
hardware/software all the time which I never seem to use or need <g>. I
have not taken the big jump and started to sell to others on CIS (to many
payment hassles so I stick to people I know as its only a sideline).
This $399 price was for the bare drive (no drivers or adapter or cable) but
then I had all those extra pieces already. So I would guess thats about as
low as you will see it.
If you are looking for mail order places to buy heres a few although I have
not bought from most of them:
PC & Mac 1-800-392-5840 sells a complete 3401 kit (card, cable, drive, driver,
etc…) for $549 but I don't know if they sell the drive alone.
Dirt Cheap Drives 1-800-473-0962 offers the bare drive for $469.
ComputAbilty 1-800-554-9923 offers the bare drive for $489.
Just pick up a copy of PC Sources or Computer Shopper and look through the
index in the back. There are many Toshiba and NEC vendors listed. I have
been buying mail order for over 15 years and had very minimal problems. If
you are not really into nuts and bolts you might want to look for a place
that offers better service even if the price is higher. You can also always
leave a note in this forum or E-mail me a message if you have problems.
Let me know how it works out…..
Jay Cahow
Cahow Consulting