witting@topaz.rutgers.edu (Paul K Willing) (03/02/89)
NOTE: The following is a summary of replies concerning my future
purchase of an Amiga 2000. I want a Hard Disk, and was inquireing
into advantages/disadvantages of the different cards, esp in ref to
the new Amiga 2000HD, which came with a CBM 2090A cantroller and HD
The 2000HD will sell about $100 less than a system built with
third party components. Of course, shop around to find the price
diff you will actually be working with.
BTW, tech note. SCSI interface transmits 1 byte at a time, ST506
1 bit at a time. ST506 is the IBM standard, SCSI looks to be the
new standard.
2000HD- Basic a 2000 with a CBM 2090A Hard Disk Controller and a
40meg HD connected through a ST506 interface, leaving one more ST506
and 6 SCSI connectors open. The 2090A uses a DMA to controll the
hard disk, leaving the processor free to do other things.
The GVP HardCard is heavily recommended, clearly the best of the
established third Party cards. It has been around a while, so all
the bugs are gone, but it supposedly relies upon the processor to do
a lot of the work. The Quantum Drives are supposedly the Best on
the market, and is available in 28ms and 11ms types. Expect it
to last twice as long as typical drives. May require EEPROMS to
Autoboot.
The Microbotics card is impressive, claiming to transfer data at bus
speeds (as fast as the Amiga can handle it, not 65mph hiway, 15 mph
city ;) It uses a DMA to controll the drives, leaving the processor
free like the 2090A. It is a half sized card, so it can used in
expansion boxes, has power hookups for a card mounted drive, and
several extra SCSI interfaces.
There are a few other points to consider:
1. The CBM card has its own processor, the GVP can bog the
processor down if you are working processor intensive tasks, otherwise
the GVP is faster. The microbotic is like the CBM card in that it
doesnt harass the processor, and is the fastest and newest design of
the three.
2. The CBM comes pre-installed. The cards should not be hard
install, but I understand dammage done by improperly installed cards
is not covered by warrantee. But the 3rd party warrantees are
tiypically longer, CBM offers only a 90 dayer. This does not apply if
you already own an Amiga, but having an authorize service rep install
it should keep warranty problems away. It can also put you out another
60 or 70 bucks.
3. The CBM must boot to the old file system, not the newer
fast filing system. While this only affects a small section of the
Disk (The rest can be configured fast filing) The others don't have
this weakness. K1.3 was designed for autobooting to HD's but some GVP
cards may still require additional PROMS.
Personally, I'd like the microbotics with the Quantum 11ms, but 1st I
gotta check prices. I also want to investigate the possible bug. *I
have heard from a few people who own the microbotics, and so far they
are extremely happy with them*
apologies for repitions, this has been modified to be posted and
keep up with current information. Anybody who disagrees or has
additions to make is welcome to respond via e-mail. If enough new
info of significance is recieved I will post corrections.
a soon to be Amiga owner...
paul
--
"Run, Run, as fast as you can, you cant catch me, Im the gingerbread man"
"Lets do some crimes. Yeah, lets get sushi and not pay"
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Witting@topaz.rutgers.edu `--'