Plextor 40X SCSI question regarding pin count

Slugbait · Post by **Slugbait** » Mon Nov 19, 2001 1:58 pm

1. As I understand it, there is a 50-pin version of this drive and a 68-pin version of this drive, correct?
2. If question 1 is correct, will I see better performance from the 68-pin version than with the 50-pin model? (I have a P2B-LS, so I could go either 50 or 68).

Thx

chottoED · Post by **chottoED** » Mon Nov 19, 2001 2:34 pm

i don't think there's a performance difference...

nexus_7 · Post by **nexus_7** » Mon Nov 19, 2001 2:39 pm

no probormance differance. but on another note I have had 3 of the 50 pin ines DIE/act Crappy while all the 68 pin ones are flawless.

Greg

Slugbait · Post by **Slugbait** » Mon Nov 19, 2001 6:49 pm

Which leads me to my next question:

If I attach a 68-pin Plextor to the same cable my LVD hard drive is connected to, will I see a degradation of performance on my hard drive, or any decrease in throughput? (I realize this can be an issue with IDE...dunno about SCSI).

nexus_7 · Post by **nexus_7** » Mon Nov 19, 2001 6:54 pm

it isnt suposed 2 but some times it does knock th hd rated speef. nothing you really notice though.

Greg

Jim Z · Post by **Jim Z** » Mon Nov 19, 2001 8:38 pm

Yes, there are 50 and 68-pin versions, the standard UltraPlex 40x is 50 pin and the Ultraplex 40x Wide is 68-pin. If you connect it to the LVD segment of your card, it will drop the speed of the segment to 40 MB/s whenever it is active. If you have Disconnect/Reconnect enabled for that drive then the LVD segment will run at full speed when the CD-ROM isn't doing anything.

Personally I would just go with the 50-pin, I don't see much probability of a CD-ROM maxing out Ultra SCSI (20 MB/s). I have the 50-pin Ultraplex and it's plenty fast.

Coca-cola Bear · Post by **Coca-cola Bear** » Tue Nov 20, 2001 12:27 am

I'm not sure about this but, I've heard that if you can get a later revision of the 50 pin plextor drive it is actually faster. I think it was rev 1.2 or something. They improved digital audio extraction. I've heard that the earlier one can not flash up to this revision. I've also heard that the 68 pin version doesn't flash up as well. Again I remember hearing this but, it was a while ago so, I could be wrong.

DocSilly · Post by **DocSilly** » Tue Nov 20, 2001 8:13 pm

I suggest the 50-pin, cause the 68-pin won't give you any performance increase but might give ya some headaches when you only have LVD ... the HDD's will run 40MB/s as long as the drive is physically attached to the bus, no matter if it disconnects or not, AFAIK.
I'm also quite sure that the 50-pin got more frequent firmware upgrades.
And the 50-pin is cheaper (ok ok, only 10 bucks, but come on, it's 10% of the price).

Slugbait · Post by **Slugbait** » Wed Nov 21, 2001 10:44 pm

Thanks, Doc. Wuz wonderin' when you were going to answer

I figured the throughput might be an issue, but even if it's not, I feel safer going with a 50-pin. Now I've just got to find one at a reasonable price...eBay seems to always go a bit above the actual values on these drives...