Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!gatech!udel!new
From: new@udel.EDU (Darren New)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Questions about Great Valley Products
Keywords: GVP HD Hard Drive IMPACT SQ44
Message-ID: <17104@louie.udel.EDU>
Date: 7 Jun 89 17:58:57 GMT
References: <1989Jun6.223506.9064@ziebmef.uucp>
Sender: usenet@udel.EDU
Reply-To: new@udel.EDU (Darren New)
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Delaware
Lines: 24

The SyQuest 44 MegaByte hard drive is very nice.
I bought it from GVP, but since they have no controllers for the A1000,
I've been trying to get my CLtd controller to work.
(Just got the software to recognise the card while my memory was
  plugged in.  The culprit: oxidized contacts!  ARGGG!!!)
Cartridges can be changed in about 30 seconds (spinup and spindown time).
It seems fast, but I dont have any diskperf stuff yet.
The drive itself does not include a cartrige (~$120, I think).
It includes a manual for describing the setting of the jumpers,
proper care, etc. It slips into an A2000 (Im told) just as you
would expect.  It has an IBM XT compatible power connector and
a 50-pin standard SCSI connector.

I have heard reviews from friends that the installation software 
that comes with GVP's controller is easy and works.
Their drive also recognises a cartridge change and issues DiskChange
commands for you, which is something that most other cards dont do.
The card itself is quite fast, with buffer ram on the card (8K, I think)
that allows burst transfers of some sort. 
(I think the card DMAs into this private memory and then block moves it
  to Amiga RAM, which allows 68020 boards and hi-res overscan without
  any problems.)
There is a review in a recent Sentry magazine (a few months back)
that said much nice stuff. -- Darren