in 2003, i had an Adaptec 29160 PCI-x card on a Tyan 2.4 GHz
motherboard. with a 36 GB U-160 Maxtor or Quantum, and
also a 100 GB WestDig PATA (2 MB cache) and a 120 GB Seagate
PATA (8 MB cache). with Windows 2000.
by comparison, 2 x 160 GB PATA drives in a Shuttle with a
3.06 P4 had markedly faster transfer rates. i was very surprised,
i had been carrying a torch for SCSI for a long time.
i also have a 120 GB SATA Seagate on a P4C, another computer
in the closet. faster than disk transfers on the Shuttle system.
in a backup system, i have a 74 GB Raptor SATA. love it.
that system has a dual core Opteron.
on my main system, i have a 320 GB Seagate SATA. it's
fast, also. maybe i just like the sound of the Raptors.
it is possible that i'm doing something wrong with the
SCSI drive, that some defrag-ing is in order, etc.
. . .
Is it worth it to sell my 36GB Raptor and subsidize it with a SCSI setup?
. . .
you get some SCSI experience with the SCSI, nothing wrong with
hands-on education.
if you really want it to be faster, you might need to go for the 15K
SCSI drive.