Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!aplcen!samsung!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!deejay!gear!allan!bob From: bob@allan.sublink.org (sysop ) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: '386 Questions Keywords: IDE Message-ID: Date: 20 May 90 01:30:57 GMT References: <2316@zipeecs.umich.edu> Distribution: all Organization: Allan's: where felines dance Lines: 31 > As for IDE drives, ESDI is definity faster than IDE drives (athough IDE > drives are fast in themselves). For example, our Conner 100 Meg IDE drive > gets about 775 kb/sec, and II believe someone's ESDI drive gets somewhere > between 800-900 kb/sec. Speed difference is not great, but if speed is the > way to go, get ESDI. From my experience, IDE drive perform almost as well, > but not quite as well as ESDI drives. Are you really sure? I've just purchased a 177Mb Imprimis IDE and CoreTest reports: Avg. access time: 15.5 m/sec. Track to track : 3.6 m/sec. Transfer rate : 830 Kb/sec. My machine is a 386sx running at 16 Mhz. It's VERY important to optimize the computer set-up. A faster bus clock dropped performance to a mere 560 Kb/sec. BTW not all SCSI performed well. I've seen a combination of Seagate hard disk & controller (ST02 + ST251N) do a 390 Kb/sec. on a 12 Mhz 286. On the same machine a "vulgaris" MFM controller with a ST124 perform better at 430 Kb/sec. Same peripherals on my 386sx get a 460 Kb/sec. Of course avg. access time remain the same... Don't forget the money! IDE drives are more cheaper than ESDI. If you aren't a professional doing BIG disk intensive tasks you may choice the bucks vs. speed. Bye from Italy. Lanfranco ** allan ** Lanfranco Albani Calderara di Reno (BO) tel +39 51 727372 UUCP: bob@allan.sublink.org "Anche i bancari hanno un'anima"