Author: Mirko Naumann
Only some time ago Amiga users complained that it's not worthwhile to install
modern E-IDE harddiscs in Amiga since the existing controllers are not able
to keep up with the capacity. Once I was of the same opinion and therefore
I installed expensive UW-SCSI and U160-SCSI harddiscs in both my Amigas.
Compared to my former IDE harddiscs this was clearly a step ahead but
unfortunately the capacity was really ridiculous considering how much I
had paid for discs.
Some time ago I read an article about IDE for SCSI bridge adapters and
I bought a couple of them instantly. It's the top model of 'ACARD Technology',
the AEC-7720UW (title link) which transforms UDMA 33/66/100 drives in
UW-SCSI models (40 MB/s). To make it worthwhile, I bought a 100 GB discdrive
for each of my Amigas from
Western Digital (Caviar WD1000BB).
The installation wasn't really difficult if you're good at English and if
you know a little about Jumper and IDs. As to the drives you have to be
careful not to overheat them. Therefore harddisc coolers are necessary
in any case.
When everything has been connected properly, you can use the harddiscs
for AmigaOS without any problems. They are recognised as if they were
UW discs. Since Westen Digital calculates 1 KB with 1000 instead of
1024 bytes, it's no surprise that only 93,1 GB are available. This is
to be expected. Formatted with PFS-3 V18.5, only 88,4 GB remain.
As to the speed: SysSpeed V2.6 calculated for CreateFile 25.93, WriteFile 32.74,
ReadFile 20.91 and RawRead 25.40 MB/s. Compared to my Quantum Atlas 10K and
Atlas V this is 2-3 times faster and the discs make hardly any noise.
Conclusion: I can recommend the adapter to anybody who wants capacity and
speed. And it's hardly possible to find a SCSI disc for a better price.
As to the price: The discs are available at 236,-EUR each, the adapters
for 92,- EUR and the disc cooler for 15,-EUR. That comes to 343,- EUR
for a 100 GB disc. In comparison: A 73,4 GB U160-SCSI disc costs 1089,- EUR
and isn't much faster.
Another tip: Don't take UDMA-133. Take UDMA-100. The adapter should be
available from any well-equipped Amiga dealer.
Have fun!
(ps) (Translation: sr)
[News message: 24. Feb. 2002, 03:22] [Comments: 0]
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