Blue G3 Questions (also posted in MacOS troubleshooting)

[Disco_Doctor]

Just tryin' to figure out some stuff on these Blue G3's as it pertains to Digi hardware...if someone at Digi could give me a definitive True or False on these first few questions I'd really appreciate it.

1) If I order the "Ultra SCSI PCI card with 50 to 25 pin adapter" option, then I can hook up my various SCSI peripherals to that card (CDR, DDS3, external Zip, etc.)

2) If I order the above card with the Blue G3, I still have to buy an ATTO Fast/Wide card for my audio drives.

3) Would this work: Put my Adaptec 2940 with 4.1 firmware in the Blue G3, hook my audio drives up to the 2940 externally, and my narrow SCSI devices up to the 2940 internally.

4) Would doing #3 slow down the fast/wide buss on the 2940?

5) I order the internal modem port-to-serial port adapter device from Digi?

6) Is the timing latency on the modem port-to-serial port adapter greater than the latency on previous Beige G3 serial ports.

Other questions (just for the sake of knowing this stuff):

Perhaps for Steve Rosenthal:

I understand the reasoning with ordering the Blue G3 with an ATA drive. But, I'm confused about something: If you buy a Blue G3 with an ATA drive, does that G3 have a special "ATA buss" on the motherboard - and does a Blue G3 with the Ultra2 SCSI option not have that "ATA buss" on the motherboard? The point is - is there a way to add an ATA drive (which will work with Digi software keys) to a Blue G3 with the Ultra2 SCSI option?

Perhaps for Mike Rockwell:

Is is true that these Blue G3's aren't fully compliant with the PCI 2.1 spec? Is it true that an expansion chassis can't be used on fully compliant PCI 2.1 buss (ie-64 bit, 66MHz buss)? If either of those questions are true, does that mean that future Digi hardware may be incompatible with these Blue G3's? (The point of this line of questioning is to determine roughly how long the "life" of these Blue G3's will be for my Pro Tools hardware.)

I really want my next CPU to last as long as my PowerTower Pro has, so I'd like to make as informed of a purchase decision as possible. Your replies would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

[Disco_Doctor]

As always, thanks very much for such detailed answers Steve.

RE: question #1 - When you go to order a Blue on Apple's site, you get the options page for the G3 you are buying. The sixth option down from the top labeled "SCSI support" provides the option of adding this card that (if I understand correctly) basically adds a regular 25 pin SCSI connector to the Blue G3 (just like previous Mac SCSI). I'm assuming the purpose of this option is for adding "old school" SCSI devices (CDR's, tape drives, etc.)

I was unaware of the USB to SCSI choice. Wouldn't that buss be too slow for burning CDR's?

As far as Digi not supporting the Apple U2W card because of the length of the internal ribbon cable and the inability to turn off "Ultra" - I'll take your word on this - but I just have to mention again that I have been running the Adaptec 4.1 firmware with Ultra turned on for months without problems (on a PowerTower Pro with 2940UW) - and my SCSI chain is relatively lengthy. The reason I updated to the 4.1 firmware was to try that software RAID test with HDT 3.0 (remember?) - which didn't work out too well. I nuked the soft-RAID partitions but stuck with the 4.1 firmware and life has been just fine.

Anyway - If I buy a Blue G3, I'll go with the Atto card as you suggest.

Steve, is it possible you could ask Mike Rockwell (or anyone else who might know) to comment on the last part of my post. That is my only other real concern prior to making a purchase.

Thanks again!

[Steve Rosenthal]

Disco,

Glad to be of sevice.

RE: question #1 - When you go to order a Blue on Apple's site, you get the options page for the G3 you are buying. The sixth option down from the top labeled "SCSI support" provides the option of adding this card that (if I understand correctly) basically adds a regular 25 pin SCSI connector to the Blue G3 (just like previous Mac SCSI). I'm assuming the purpose of this option is for adding "old school" SCSI devices (CDR's, tape drives, etc.

Oh. I think I know what this is. Adaptec made a "legacy" SCSI card -- the 2906, I think. That's probably what this is. I'll take a look later.

I was unaware of the USB to SCSI choice. Wouldn't that buss be too slow for burning CDR's?

I talked to someone at the Second Wave booth at Macworld in September, and they said they were able to do 2x this way.

As far as Digi not supporting the Apple U2W card because of the length of the internal ribbon cable and the inability to turn off "Ultra" - I'll take your word on this - but I just have to mention again that I have been running the Adaptec 4.1 firmware with Ultra turned on for months without problems...

Just to clarify -- I'm talking about the U2B, which is the Apple OEM version. We're not ruling out support of other Adaptec cards, but we've had to wait for Open Firmware updates for the older cards, and some control panel issues. We are actively testing these things now.

As far as your luck with Ultra, well all I can say is can I give a hundred bucks to put down on red at a Vegas roulette wheel? We struggled with the U2B for weeks, but ran into all of the bad stuff I've told you happens when the Ultra bus is too long. Since things are working for you, stick with it. But at least you're forearmed with troubleshooting knowledge if and when you run into problems.

Anyway - If I buy a Blue G3, I'll go with the Atto card as you suggest.

It's a very good card, and ATTO's support is excellent.

Steve, is it possible you could ask Mike Rockwell (or anyone else who might know) to comment on the last part of my post. That is my only other real concern prior to making a purchase.

I think Mike's still not back from NAB, but if I see him around, I'll ask him to take a look.

--Steve Rosenthal, Digidesign ETS

[Disco_Doctor]

Thanks for the info Steve. Let me know what your final opinion is regarding going with the 2906 vs. a USB to SCSI card.

>all I can say is can I give a hundred bucks to put down on red at a Vegas roulette wheel

Steve, you weren't gambling away your life savings at NAB were you? Me, I bet straight up on the numbers - gimme $20 on double-ought baby! Woo-hoo!

[Steve Rosenthal]

Let me know what your final opinion is regarding going with the 2906 vs. a USB to SCSI card.

If I felt I could spare the slot, I'd probably go with the 2906. Not that I don't trust the USB to SCSI converter, but I have no real experience with it.

Steve, you weren't gambling away your life savings at NAB were you?

I wasn't at NAB, and for that, my wallet is thankful.

--Steve Rosenthal, Digidesign ETS