ANDRE & TOM: Adaptec cards to copy from SCSI drives to Firewire drives with G4/HD?

[ragbor]

On my way to HD, and I'm seeing how some of my esteemed peers are having great success with Firewire PT sessions and in some cases, not using SCSI at all anymore.

My understanding is that you must use the Digi approved ATTO card to run a SCSI session in HD, but how about using the Adaptec 2940 and 3940 SCSI cards in a new G4 purely as a way to copy PT sessions to and from an external Firewire drive. And would other external SCSI devices work on the Adaptec? Like a CD burner, a DDS-2 data DAT?

What say you?

[Alécio Costa]

-6042 errors, too busy PCI will be bothering you all the time. However, to copy files, it has not been a problem to me, going from the IDE internal to the scsi 2940UW. But it is quite slow.... no comparison to the performance when the 2940uw was on a G3.

[andrej770]

You have to understand that Digi has a vested interest in promoting Atto. It is not to say that any other SCSI cards won't work. Adaptec is the SCSI king. Digi knows this, but apparently could not establish the kind of relationship they have with Atto. Most major server companies that need a faster sustained stream of data than audio go with Adaptec products. Why is that? Again, Adaptec is the best when it comes to SCSI cards. I use Atto cards in Studio A and Adaptec cards in Studio B and there is no difference in performance. Digi will tell you there is a huge performance difference. There just isn't. If you buy the high end Adaptec card that has the same features as the Atto, you might even get better results. If you remember, Digi was telling us not to use FW drives. Then out the blue they come out with their own. Because they deliberately move slow in testing new technologies does not mean you have to wait for them. Digi can dictate what the specs of their equipment are, but in real life, you can do what you want. Find what works for you and go with it.

Just my .02 cents. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[tnie]

Andre Jennings,

Man... you hit it right on the head!!!!!

What Adaptec card are you using for your HD? I been using Adaptec with FW for sometime and the Digi sales people always say they have no ties to ATTO but it's the only card that will work which is bull**** [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[tnie]

any word Andre ?? [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[ragbor]

Well taken, Andre. I have no quarrel with Digi for taking sides on the SCSI issue. With Adaptec having discontinued the cards they supported, it left them with the option of qualifying a new Adaptec card vs their ongoing development partner Atto. Same happened with the discontinued Miro DC30 vs Fuse card, and no corperate connection there that I know of.

Andre, are you using HD in your studios with the Adaptec card in one and Atto in the other? If so, are you using SCSI drives via the Adaptec for sessions as well as on the Atto? Good news if so if you experience no difference. Thanks for your insight.

Tom, I appreciate your response. I don't have HD yet, but was asking for info on others use of the Adaptec cards to see if I could go FW and dodge the Atto bill in the already big $ outlay for HD, utilizing my Adaptec 3940 dual channel card with it. Even if only for data transfer and storage/archiving if I base my sessions on Firewire.

[Seller]

Then out the blue they come out with their own

Yea you got it........the new adaptec are OSX upgradable the older ones are not

[andrej770]

Sorry for the delayed reaction. I have the 2940U2W. But I also have FW drives. I have much success with both. I do understand that Adaptec does not support some cards after a while (including this one 2940U2W). But how is that any different from any other product. All hardware and software companies do that. Digi could just as easily test and certify ATTO and Adaptec cards. But they choose to test and certify only ATTO. Hmmm, I smell a rat. Sounds more like Microsoft tactics. Next we'll hear is that they don't have the time to test so many configurations. uhmmm, one additional SCSI card added to your "one" certified SCSI card is not going to cause you any additional hassles. It will also let us customers know that you are not favoring one card over another for no real reason. Even MS acknowledges that Apple makes a good product and even supports it, but we are stuck with a single certification for SCSI. That is both wack and...did I say I smelled a rat! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Just my .02 cents.

[tnie]

As you can see Digi is no where in sight!!! [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]