Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!ucsfcgl!cca.ucsf.edu!wet!logic
From: logic@wet.UUCP (Henry Kwan)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Hard Drive Speeds
Message-ID: <399@wet.UUCP>
Date: 11 Aug 89 02:48:40 GMT
References: <1275@blackbird.afit.af.mil> <29194@pbhya.PacBell.COM>
Reply-To: logic@wet.UUCP (Henry Kwan)
Organization: Wetware Diversions, San Francisco
Lines: 48

In article <29194@pbhya.PacBell.COM> dbsuther@PacBell.COM (Daniel B. Suthers) writes:

>
>The faster drives are noticeably faster.  If you are useing file based
>based utilities such as arc, a compiler, MTC (a multi tasking shell), or
>Minix you will notice a VAST improvement ( about 4 times faster ).  Many 
>graphics programs also write to the disk often.
>

I would have to say that a drive's transfer rate make more of a difference
than the average access time.  Unless you are doing intensive database work
which requires a lot of seeks or you have a badly fragged hard disk, the
transfer rate will make more of a difference.  Compare a ST506/412's
5Mbit/sec to something like an Imprimis 94181-702M's 15-24Mbit/sec (ain't
sure on this one but it's somewhere in that neighborhood).  The Imprimis
will just blow your socks off.
 
>
>The FROG drive appears to be based on the Syquest drives.  I have used their
>10 meg disks, and find them to be usable, but pretty fragile.  You can lose
>a disk by dropping it 2 feet onto a desk.  The ones I used were also VERY
>susceptible to power hits.  A 1 second outage was guaranteed to cause data
>corruption.  A suprising feature was that the drives also are sensitive 
>about their orientation.  They don't work well on their sides.
>

I have not used the SyQuest 10MB cartridge drives but I have used the 44MB
cartridge drives and find them to be quite reliable.  Sure, you wouldn't
want to risk a cartridge by dropping it two feet but then again, would you
do the same to your fixed hard disk?  The SyQuest 44MB drives are
auto-parking so power failures have little effect.  They also work well on
their sides.  Look at PLI's 44MB drive.  They are suppose to work on their
sides!

>
> [stuff deleted]
>
>Dan Suthers
>uucp: ... ihnp4!pacbell!pbeos!dbsuther

I am putting together a 44MB drive for a friend this weekend.  Will report
on how it runs on the ST.  Should be fairly decent in any event.

-- 
           Henry Kwan - FWB, Inc.         |  "Experience varies directly
     claris!wet!logic@ames.arc.nasa.gov   |    with equipment ruined."
    cca.ucsf.edu!wet!logic@cgl.ucsf.edu   |
  {claris,ucsfcca,hoptoad,lamc}!wet!logic |              -- Tech Support