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From: madd@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP (Jim "Jack" Frost)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: hardcard , how is it ?
Message-ID: <962@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 18-May-87 16:24:45 EDT
Article-I.D.: bucsb.962
Posted: Mon May 18 16:24:45 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 19-May-87 04:47:42 EDT
References: <139@medivax.UUCP> <16800073@clio> <1104@osiris.UUCP>
Reply-To: madd@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP (Jim "Jack" Frost)
Organization: ODO (Organization for the Disorganization of Organization)
Lines: 56

In article <1104@osiris.UUCP> mjranum@osiris.UUCP (Marcus Ranum) writes:
>	Why should anyone want a hardcard ? One slot is used, but some of
>them use so mch space that the slot next to them is unusable, too. A regular
>hard disk controller can support 2 drives from one slot. More importantly,
>it costs a bit less to buy a WD controller and an ST drive than a hardcard.
>That way when your ST burns out you still have something you can use... ;-)
>
>	The idea of a peripheral slot as fragile and kludgy as a PC's
>supporting the weight of even a light drive gives me the willies, too.
>You're better off looking into 'regular' drives. They're easier to upgrade,
>maintain, and have more long term staying power. In two years, you won't be
>able to hook up a new drive to the controller of your hardcard. It'll be
>junk. When the price of drives comes down, I'll get another drive or two,
>and with a bit of cable swapping, I can backup one drive to my old 10meg
>drive. Do that with your hardcard.

Most of your arguments are great.  It's true that a separate drive is
a better idea, in general, but there may be other considerations.
Like:  Hardcard style drives usually use less power than a drive
controller/drive setup.  This is obvious -- you are powering a single
device rather than two; there are fewer cables between them to eat up
juice (usually negligible, but...); many components need appear only
once on a Hardcard, but must be duplicated on the drive controller and
drive.  The savings can actually add up to quite a bit if the Hardcard
was well designed.  This makes no difference at all on new XTs and
ATs, but if you have an old PC, you have to worry about every watt you
are eating up.

As for backing up drives, it's just as simple with a hardcard.  Or
maybe even more so.  The hardcards don't have power connections -- you
merely plug them in.  You could connect one on the outside of a PC by
jumpering the slot -- a task done in just a few minutes with a board,
some ribbon cable, and a connector.

A good hardcard is not flimsy, either.  They are supported on three
sides, remember -- bolted at the back, inserted in a slot at the
bottom, and slid into a slot on the front.  The board need only be
made on a good circuitboard to be pretty firm.  I have never had a
card fail because it cracked while in the slot.  But then again, I
never dropped my PC either.

Oh, I'm not saying you should use a hardcard.  I'd much rather use a
controller/drive combination than an all-in-one, but there may be
specific reasons to use one.  Keep in mind that not all hardcards are
created equal -- there are two or three good ones on the market (they
have low power consumption, high reliability, and a thin profile)
while there are many many poor ones.  Shop around if you really want
one.

>--mjr;

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          Jim Frost * The Madd Hacker | UUCP: ..!harvard!bu-cs!bucsf!madd
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