I have finally come to my senses!

[felix726]

I’m finally going to listen to all of the knowledgeable people here at SysOpt and build myself an Athlon system.

I had been planning to buy from Dell and finally you guys were able to talk some sense in to me, THANK YOU! I talked to my dad today and he agreed to loan me the cash until I graduate and get that big signing bonus from whatever software company hires me http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif. I have to be honest, this is going to be my first complete build and I’m a bit nervous that I might screw it up. I’d like to believe that I can handle the situation, I mean it’s not like I’ve never cracked open a case before, but I don’t want to spend 2 or 3 thousand dollars on a bunch of nice hardware that I can’t get to function properly (now that I think about it has anyone ever actually gotten all of their hardware to function properly all at the same time http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif). I have a general idea of what I want in my case but I need some suggestions from all you smart people who know better than I.

General system description:
AMD Athlon 700 or 750
Mobo? (which one is the best?)
192MB PC100 (Corsair probably)
CL Annihilator Pro
CL Sound Blaster Live! Value

Now here is where I REALLY need your help!
I want an SCSI setup for my hard drive(s), CD-RW, and CD-ROM
First I need to know which controller to buy, I was thinking about an Adaptec 2940 but which one? Do I get an ultra? An ultra wide? An ultra wide 2?
I’ve heard that it is better to get several small hard drives and chain them together (is this right?) if so what protocol should I get for the drives? U, UW, UW2? How small should they be?
Which CD-RW should I get (I think I want a Plextor but which one?)

I don’t know a ton about SCSI yet so please help me out. How hard is an SCSI system to set up?

I hate to bombard you guys like this but I’m a little giddy about this whole prospect and I’m ready to get started http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif Thanks in advance for any suggestions and help!
-felix

[scotter]

well the first thing is dont get PC-100 for the little bit more money get PC-133 it will last a lot longer http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif
the mobo your gona want the ASUS K7M it is the best right now
as for setting it up AMD has a web page that walks you through the whole thing http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif
NOTE: go to AMD's web site and check there list of Power supplys to use with the Athlon if you use one not on there list I believe it will void your warranty could be wrong but better safe than sorry http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

as for SCSI thats for some one else becouse I NO NOTHING LOL http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif
good luck and have fun http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[scotter]

well I been serfin all night and found this you might find cool http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif every thing you never wanted to know about scuzzy as in SCSI http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif
or every thing you really want to know as the case may be. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif http://arstechnica.com/paedia/s/scsi.html

[BEOR999]

Right! where do I start.

1.Controller Card.

Get a Bios Controlled SCSI Interface Card
Many options can be set through BIOS including support for as many as eight SCSI disk drives or support for optical SCSI devices. BIOS is required on the controller card to have a SCSI boot drive. BIOS is not required for a non-boot SCSI hard drive. So if you want a Full SCSI system, which I would suggest you do, (I hate mixing it with IDE) then that is your first consideration http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

Today, most SCSI controllers are configured by software. The software program automatically sets the interrupts, I/O addresses and termination for the controller, so you should have no problem there.
As to which one to buy, well as you will see, the size of your wallet will determine what you go for.

2.Termination.

The SCSI bus must be properly terminated at BOTH ends so that data and commands can be transmitted to and from all devices. This is the same as sending vibrations back and forth over the length of a string which is firmly secured at both ends, such as on a guitar,
If you were to hold the string in the middle, the vibrations could not be transmitted. The same concept holds true for data and commands on a SCSI bus. Termination must only happen on the first and last device, or some devices on the bus will not be seen.

3.SCSI IDs

The SCSI bus also includes a requirement that each device on the SCSI bus have a unique identification number. This number is called a SCSI ID. SCSI IDs are used to identify each device on the SCSI bus so that when a command is sent across the bus, it can be sent to the correct device.
Recommended SCSI IDs:
0 : Boot Drive
1 : 2nd Hard Drive
2 : 3rd Hard Drive
3 : CD Drive
4 : CD Drive
5 : Tape Drive, MO Drive
6 : Tape Drive, MO Drive
7 : SCSI controller card
and remember most SCSI controllers are configured by software. So life could be made simple.

NEXT,
4.SCSI Terms....


SCSI-1 Transfer Rate 5mb-ps Bus Width 8-bit

SCSI-2/Fast SCSI/Narrow SCSI-2 Transfer Rate 10mb-ps Bus Width 8-bit

SCSI-2/Wide SCSI Transfer Rate 10mb-ps Bus Width 16-bit

SCSI-2/Fast Wide SCSI Transfer Rate 20mb-ps Bus Width 16-bit
(a WIDE bus alows 15 devices, narrow, only seven)

Then, just when you thought that it was safe to tinker with SCSI-1 and 2. Along comes SCSI-3 or Ultra SCSI which in itself has
Ultra SCSI, Ultra Wide SCSI, Ultra2 SCSI and Ultra2 Wide SCSI. Some are 8-bit, the others 16-bit and have transfer rates from 20mb-ps to 80mb-ps

5.The Set Up.

Installing and configuring the Adaptec 2940 is very simple, since it is software controlled. Just put the Adaptec 2940 into a 32-bit PCI expansion slot.....
Plug in the SCSI cables....
Install SCSI devices.....
The I/O and interrupt are set by the PCI bus, termination and SCSI ID's are set automatically to defaults (2940 defaults to a SCSI ID of 7)
**If a cable is detected on the external connector OR the internal connector, but not both**
Then the Adaptec 2940 enables its terminators to meet the requirement that both ends of the SCSI bus be terminated. Since there are only SCSI devices on one side of the SCSI card, it must be terminated.

**If a cable is detected on both the external connector and the internal connector**
Then the Adaptec 2940 disables its terminators to meet the requirement that both ends of the SCSI bus be terminated. Since there are SCSI devices on both sides of the SCSI card, it must not be terminated since it is not on the end of the bus.

This termination is *automatic at boot* so if a device is removed, the card Will adjust.
So a very good reason for choosing that card, me-thinks http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif
Note, you can override these settings, if you like to play with fire http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

I think that should be enough for now, mainly because my two finger typing method causes cramp....! Buy if you need more, just ask, I am sure every-one here will help.

PS Happy Holliday's to you all

[mattheadfat]

how much extra performance do you get out of scsi?? do you guy think that it's cost effective?? how much does a new scsi hard drives go for these days??

[KillerBug]

Get a K7 1.04, get a 500mhz Athlon and an Alpha P3-125 and overclock to 750, or a 750 with Alpha and overclock to 1gh. Get PC133 memory, it is not much more, and it is worth it to lower the Cas latency. I would not sugjest the CL, it is the worst card basedon the chipset there is. get one that at least has s-video out, s-video in, and composit out. get a 400W power supply, and a full tower case. In case you are wondering, it is quite possible not only to hold an Alpha P3-125 to an Athlon CPU, but the way you hook it up (with screws) alows you to plug the power connector into the motherboard under the heatsink. get a decent DVD_ROM drive, audio is on the motherboard, and overclock it like hell! Oh, and get a 20gb ATA/66 Drive from IBM, they are the best. (make sure it is a 2mb cache+7200+RPM version.)

[Todd Beck]

Yeah, get a better sound card. Aureal cards with Vortex2 chips should sound great, and they're less expensive than other vendors' cards like my Montego II.

And, um, I know the do-it-yourselfers are going to give me flack for this, but if you want to choose all your own components for your system AND you want someone to put it together, test, and burn it in for you, www.mwave.com (http://www.mwave.com) will do it. Assembly fee is $50, component prices are great, they don't screw you on shipping, and they didn't take very long on my system. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

I know, it's the easy way out, but hey, it's a $2,000 expenditure. Ya wanna make sure it works, don'tcha? http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[OuTpaTienT]

Hey Felix, check this link out and I don't think you'll ever second guess your decision to ditch Intel, MUSHKIN RAMBUS memory. (http://www.mushkin.com/cgi-bin/Mushkin.filereader?3866474e13438ede273fcdaa9b0206a a+EN/products/990459)
MUSHKIN - RAMBUS Memory
128 MB SAMSUNG RAMBUS
**ONLY $999.00**

LOL. (Bite me Intel.)

[felix726]

LMAO http://www.sysopt.com/forum/biggrin.gif

lets just chalk that whole ugly episode up to temporary insanity!
-felix