Adaptec 2940

[Steven A. Duchene]

 A question was asked earlier on the list:
> > I just installed Slackware 3.0 from the latest InfoMagic release, and
> > noticed the support for the Adaptec 2940.  I am considering
> > "upgrading" my 1542, and wanted to solicit opinions on it before I
> > waste my time/money. Any relevant personal experiences or anecdotes
> > would be most appreciated.
V replied with:
> Well, I recently got linux up and running on group of seven Pentium 90s
> with those exact cards installed. The performance is pretty damn good. I
> have an Adaptex 15XX at home and its much much slower. However, even with
> the speed increase, I can't justify paying $300+ for this card right now.
> Unless you are doing lots of swapping or compiling very large programs, its
> just not worth it.
> 
	I had responded privately to this but perhaps I should include
	my responce to the list as a whole in case anyone else is wondering
	the same thing. As V has stated there is a vast speed difference
	available when converting from a 1542 card to the 2940 one. However
	this is proably mostly due to the difference in bandwidth on a ISA
	type card (the 1542) verses a PCI card (the 2940) and the busmastering
	capabilities of a PCI based card. My suggestion involved using the
	NCR PCI SCSI-2 cards since instead of $300+ for the Adaptec as they
	cost $80 to $140 (depending on regular Fast SCSI-2 verses Fast Wide
	SCSI-2, with or without BIOS on the card, and etc).
	The one I have in my system was purchased at a local vendor for
	$80 and is supported in the 1.2.X & 1.3.X kernels. The driver is
	continually evolving and the main developer is a very capable &
	enthusiastic support source (as in he actually listens & responds
	to bug reports). I have been using mine since Sept. and am quite happy
	with the performance & reliability. If anyone is interested I will
	have my system at the geek off and will gladly answer questions.

--
Steve DuChene              sad at hpuerca.atl.hp.com               1-800-633-3600

	       The HP North American Response Center, Atlanta
		   X/Vue/xterminal/graphics support team
    		    I am an employee of Hewlett-Packard.