Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!pt.cs.cmu.edu!sei!godot!eberger
From: eberger@godot.psc.edu (Ed Berger)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Amiga 500 hard drives (esp. Supra and GVP)
Summary: Who, What, Where, When, Why?
Message-ID: <704@godot.psc.edu>
Date: 27 Nov 89 18:06:26 GMT
References: <418@grape3.UUCP>
Reply-To: eberger@godot.UUCP (Ed Berger)
Organization: Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center
Lines: 53

In article <418@grape3.UUCP> king@cell.mot.COM (Steven King) writes:
>I'm looking for a good hard drive for my 500.  I've really got very simple
>requirments:
>
>     o MUST allow for memory expansion (either provide its own sockets or
>       pass the expansion bus through; preferably the former)
>     o MUST not be so honking big that it interferes with me hitting the
>       ESCape key, or anything else on the left side of the keyboard
>     o Auto-boot
>     o Ability to daisy-chain additional SCSI devices

Some Comments:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any SCSI interface that doesn't let you connect up additional SCSI devices
is Brain DEAD.

Memory expansion capability is important, each and every partition you setup
on your Hardrive eats your RAM, and you can easily be back to the 512K blues.
Now most external bus RAM upgrades are EXPENSIVE! (0K board for $300 ugh!)

Just how big is "honking big", and why would you want to escape? ;-)

>I've been looking at the GVP Impact 500 and Supra's hard drive for the 500
>and both seem to fit the bill.  My biggest question is about the Supra: will
>it interfere with the keyboard?  The picture shows it as a great whopping
>box, but it doesn't indicate how far back it sits.  (The GVP is also a great
>whopping box, but it's pictured connected to a 500 and sitting back out of
>the way.)

Ah the lure of magazine Ads....
The Supra Ads don't show the A500 controller at all.
They are showing the drive case, which doesn't even connect to your A500.
The Supra Controller is a case that has the front sloped to match the curve of
the A500 case.  No it won't get in your way. 
	-The A500 SCSI controller gets its power from the external drive
	 along with the SCSI through it's totally nonstandard 37pin D connector
	-The RAM card plugs into the SCSI controller, and eats up too much 
	 current for the A500's supply, so it needs the drive power supply.

I have the Supra with 2M/RAM.
The RAM works fine, but the controller seems defective, I'll have to call their
customer service, and arrange to send it back :-( .

The GVP (especially its new incarnation with autoboot standard, and up to 4M RAMlooks pretty nice. Their Ads also never show you something. They never show 
their power supply which has a case just like the A500s.

I have no idea of how the Trumpcard500, Synergy500 or Xetec Fastrack, compare.
I personally think the Commodore A590 would be the way to go, unless CMI's 
multiport board/SCSI for the A500 appears, or MASTs Infinity machine comes out
with support for a math coprocessor (Its not in their vapor-drawings).

-Ed Berger
eberger@b.psc.edu