To test the effectiveness of the jump from UW-SCSI (40MBs/sec) to the new U2W SCSI (80MB/sec) format we ran the Cheetah LP drive through the benchmarks again at a handicapped speed of just 40MBs per second.
Not surprisingly the Cheetah only performed about 5% worse than when set to operate at the full 80MBs per second of U2W-SCSI.
This is due to the fact that the Cheetah LP isn't pushing past 40MBs per second in its external transfer rates so it doesn't need the extra bandwidth that the U2W SCSI channel affords. It's hard to guess when the large 80MBs per second throughput of U2W-SCSI will be tested or even explored by Hard Drives. The technology is evolving quickly, but you'll likely not need the true benefits of U2W-SCSI until the successful launch of Windows2000 (NT 5.0) and the newer drives that will be due to hit the market around that time (mid-1999).
The Tekram DC-390U2W is a wonderful addition for anyone looking to make the move to the bliss that is UW-SCSI or U2W-SCSI. It installed easily, it performed without a single hiccup, and it blazed to new performance highs in all of our tests. Throw in the extremely low cost for a product of this type and that makes it a total winner in our book.
- Low Price
- 4 distinct ports for connection of a variety of different SCSI peripherals
- Painless installation and operation
- Cost of U2W hard drives still out of this world
If you have any questions for us regarding the DC-390U2W or any other hardware related item, please post them to the SharkyExtreme Discussion Board.
Craig Campanaro
Hardware Director
