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PCI IDE controller that works with optical burners

PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2003 4:41 am
by Halc
Is anybody using a PCI-slot IDE controller successfully with CD or DVD burners?

I've read so many horror stories about Highpoint and Promise cards not supporting burners properly.

I'm really interested in reports of successful use of dvd/cd burners on any available PCI IDE cards, namely:

- what is the cpu utilisation when burning (with bad cards this can often be 50-70%)?
- does the card limit the maximum burn speed (with bad cards max burn speed can often be limited to 16x CDR)?

Any suggestions for a reliable and working PCI IDE card for burners?

regards,
Halcy

PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2003 2:21 pm
by CDRecorder
I have a Lite-On LTR-32123S working fine on a CompUSA brand ATA133 card. This card uses the Silicon Image 0680 chipset. I think SIIG sells some cards based on a Silicon Image chipset, too.

The drive is running in Multi-Word DMA 2 (no performance decrease from UDMA 2). The only problem is that I can't use KProbe with the drive.

I also have a Promise Ultra133TX2 (in a nearly identical computer to the one with the CompUSA card), and it doesn't work well for optical drives.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2003 3:53 pm
by Halc
Thank you very much CDRecorder! Your comments are very useful.

I have just ordered a Sil0680 based non-raid card, based on other comments. Kprobe limitation is a big one, but I can live with it, if I can use PlextoolsPro with Premium on that drive. Then I can keep my LiteOns on my motherboard controller.

Do you have normal cpu utilisatoin % when burning on that drive which is connected to your CompUSA ATA133 card (normal is max. 10% or so on a modern cpu at highest speed)?

Does that card at all limit your maximum burn speed?

regards,
Halc

PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2003 4:44 pm
by CDRecorder
CPU Utilization is about the same as it is when that drive is hooked up the motherboard's onboard IDE controller. The CPU utilization is pretty high, but that computer is a Celeron 366. :o

I can burn at the burner's max speed; the controller doesn't appear to limit it. Basically, when the drive is connected to the CompUSA controller, it works as well as it did when it was connected to the motherboard except that KProbe won't work with it.

I hope your new card works well for you! :D BTW, what card did you get?

PostPosted: Tue Aug 12, 2003 3:04 am
by Halc
Thanks for the additional information! It seems that Sil0680 based non-raid controllers are my best bet.

I'm still a little disappointed that KProbe doesn't work and that flashing firmwares probably won't work either (have you tried the latter yourself?).

I'm getting Q-Tec 330D UDMA133 IDE PCI Card. This is the only one available locally (Finland) that I could find with the Sil0680 chip.

I can't order from United States either, because NewEgg, TigerDirect, BestBuy, etc. will NOT ship outside USA. Only really expensive companies that charge an arm and a leg for postage as well will ship outside USA.

I'll report back when I have had the ability to test how this works. It'll be a while before I get that card though.

cheers,
Halc

PostPosted: Tue Aug 12, 2003 3:27 am
by dodecahedron
Halc wrote:I can't order from United States either, because NewEgg, TigerDirect, BestBuy, etc. will NOT ship outside USA. Only really expensive companies that charge an arm and a leg for postage as well will ship outside USA.

check out www.outpost.com
also look here:
http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=11467

PostPosted: Tue Aug 12, 2003 8:54 am
by Halc
Thanks a lot dodeca!

cheers,
Halc

compusa silicon image 0680 works for me

PostPosted: Tue Aug 12, 2003 10:18 am
by wicked1
I bought this card(sil 680) as I have 9 ide devices in my current system. It works fine with the liteon drive and the sony dru 500. What is weird is I also have a Maxtor controller card and it wont work with my maxtor hard drives very well. It wont recognize the 120 gig and the 160's are just slow.

PostPosted: Tue Aug 12, 2003 11:12 am
by CDRecorder
Halc: Actually, flashing firmware does work when my LTR-32123S is attached to my Sil0680 card, at least with Karr's LtnFlash! :D I haven't tried using Lite-On's official flasher, though.

Wicked1: I have the Maxtor ATA133 card, too (in a different computer than the Sil0680 card). Mine is actually a Promise Ultra133TX2. It works well with my Maxtor 60GB hard drive, but it doesn't seem to work well with CD-RW drives. :(

PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2003 2:29 pm
by UALOneKPlus
CDRecorder - how are your IDE devices set up?

Are you primary on-board IDE slots used up for optical drives?

Mine are, and I use a RocketRaid IDE controller card for my hard drives.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2003 4:14 pm
by CDRecorder
In that system, I don't have anything attached to the motherboard's onboard IDE channels. The PCI IDE controller is set up like this:

Primary Master: HDD
Primary Slave: Nothing
Secondary Master: LTR-32123S
Secondary Slave: Nothing

The reason that I don't have anything on the onboard IDE channels is that there is a bug with Win98 and/or my motherboard. That bug makes it so that the transfer rates to or from the CD-RW are limited to 20X if the CD-RW is attached to the onboard IDE controller and the hard drive is attached to the PCI card. This doesn't happen if both the hard drive and CD-RW drive are attached to the same controller (i.e. onboard or PCI), and it doesn't happen in WinXP. However, I don't want to spend the money on another copy of WinXP, so I am forced to continue with 98. I have tried this with two identical motherboards, at least 4 different optical drives, two PCI IDE controller cards (different manufacturer and chipset), and many different hard drives, and the problem is very consistent.

Edit: The reason I have to have everything on the IDE card in the first place is that my motherboard doesn't support my hard drive due to its size, and there is no official BIOS update for this motherboard that supports hard drives that large. There is a "patched" BIOS available, but it didn't work for me.

PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 5:18 pm
by blafarm
I just found this thread and I'm hoping someone can advise me.

I'd like to make a rather large DAE "Ripping Computer" (using EAC software) and was wondering if there was an non-RAID IDE controller that would work with a large number of LiteOn LTD 163 drives. I've learned in this post about the Silicon Image chipset, and have heard that some people put their hard drives on the PCI IDE controller - and their opticals on the Motherboard controller.

Four Questions:

Is is possible to put all of the LiteOn drives on the PCI controller, leaving the motherboard controller for the boot drive and maybe additional LiteOn drives?

Is it unreasonable for me to expect to connect 8-optical drives to one or two PCI-based IDE controllers within the same PC?

I can't find the Silicon Image-based CompUSA product, can someone steer me in the right direction? Is it a 2 port or 4 port product and can you tell me the name of the manufacturer? Here is compUSA page I found, I think I'm in the right place (see bottom or page).
http://www.compusa.com/products/product ... page_num=1

Finally, I've searched the SIIG website but they don't seem to mention Silicon Image or Sil0680 anywhere and they have no phone support. Does anyone know the specific model that has this chipset.

Thanks very much for your response.

PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 5:29 pm
by CDRecorder
Here is the link to the CompUSA card; however, CompUSA doesn't seem to be using the Silicon Image chipset any more. :(

I bought this SIIG card, and it does have the Silicon Image chipset. It seems slightly nicer than the CompUSA one, and it has a longer warranty. SIIG's support web site does say that versions 2.0 and 3.0 of this card use the Silicon Image chipset. I think that I have the 2.0 version of this card.

PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 5:32 pm
by cfitz
blafarm wrote:Finally, I've searched the SIIG website but they don't seem to mention Silicon Image or Sil0680 anywhere and they have no phone support. Does anyone know the specific model that has this chipset.

Version 2.0 of the UltraATA 133 PCI IDE adapter (part # SC-PE4B12) uses the SiI 0680 chipset, while version 3.0 uses the SiI 0680a chipset:

http://www.siig.com/drivers/ide_pc_pci_ ... river.html

cfitz

<edit>
Drat that CDRecorder! :x He beat me to the punch by this much... :wink: :D
</edit>

PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 5:33 pm
by CDRecorder
It is possible to put your Lite-On drives on the PCI controller and leave the motherboard controller for the HDD, but I would recommend using the motherboard's onboard controllers for optical drives if you can. Optical drives usually work better on the motherboard's onboard controllers, although the Silicon Image chipset seems to work well with my Lite-On drives.

I don't think that it is unreasonable to connect 8 optical drives, but you'd have to have two PCI IDE cards in the computer.

Edit: I just noticed your post, Cfitz! :P :lol:

PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 5:57 pm
by blafarm
Thanks guys! That's what I call a quick response. Great board!

I just placed the order for two-SIIG SC-PE4B12 V3 with the SiI 0680a chipset.

Now I just need to find a computer case manufacturer that offers a box that has 8 - 5.25 front slots for these drives. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again.

PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 6:09 pm
by CDRecorder
I don't know if Antec or Chieftec offers cases with 8 bays, but I have two Antec cases (made by Chieftec), and they are great (good quality, solid, no sharp edges).

PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 7:31 pm
by cfitz
Cases with that many external 5.25" bays seem to mostly be specialized cases designed just to hold drives:

http://shop.ily.com/c_28.htm

I did see a few rack mount cases that might fill the bill:

http://www.33comix.com/rackmount/rm508-1&2.html
http://www.gogobow.com/new%20bow/produc ... /D-499.htm
http://www.directron.com/s30.html

cfitz

PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 8:16 pm
by blafarm
Thanks again guys. Great suggestions!

I did some searching also and found this:
http://www.calpc.com/catalog/full_tower.html
After calling the company I found out that they also sell a 14 drive bay version for $120 (unloading discontinued product) which is not on the website.

I am attracted to the rackmount option that cfitz provided...I think I'll give them a call.

Thanks again everyone for your help.

PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 9:20 pm
by cfitz
You're welcome.

cfitz

PostPosted: Fri Oct 03, 2003 10:21 pm
by VEFF
I have a Promise Ultra100 in one PC and an Ultra 100 TX2 in my other PC.
Both support optical drives pretty well.