SCSI vs. IDE

["Eric M. Hopper" <hopper@omnifarious.mn.org>]

	What's this list's take on this issue?  I've heard from various
people that even though IDE technically has a higher bulk transfer rate
with ATA-66, SCSI still outperforms it when you're in a real-world
environment.

	Is this true?

	Also, if you have the typical two onboard IDE controllers, what
are the interactions?  Can the computer read from the slave CD-ROM drive
and then quickly write to the master hard-drive on the same controller?
How about if they're both the master on different controllers?  How much
does the CPU have to get involved?  Can you queue up reads and writes to
be handled by the controller via DMA?  Can the queued reads and writes
be to different devices?  Am I mistaken in thinking that SCSI can do
this?

	I'm curious because people often ask me to recommend system
configurations, and I'm wondering if my opinion of SCSI is outdated.
I'm also wondering how I should recommend they attach their IDE CD-ROM
and hard drives.

Thanks,
-- 
Its name is Public Opinion.  It is held in reverence. It settles everything.
Some think it is the voice of God.  Loyalty to petrified opinion never yet
broke a chain or freed a human soul.     ---Mark Twain
-- Eric Hopper (hopper@omnifarious.mn.org  http://omnifarious.mn.org/~hopper) --

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