PCI Controller vs. MaxBlast2 - which is best?

[NightOwll]

Hello,
I just bought a Maxtor 120GB 7200 hard drive for an older (PIII 800E)computer; i440BX chipset. {I have not installed it yet}.

[No BIOS upgrade is or ever will be available]

I was going to buy a PCI Controller card with it but the guy behind the customer service counter at Best Buy said:
"You don't need that, just use the overlay software that comes with the drive. It's faster than the controller card cuz it bypasses the BIOS and the PCI bus."
I asked if there were any software conflicts/problems with using the overlay app and he said, "No".

Is this information correct?

I want to get the most speed, stability, and efficiency out of this drive that is possible.
Is using a controller card better (preferred by those who know)?
I am leaning towards buying an ATA Controller card unless I am advised against it or am told it isn't necessary for a faster , more stable PC.

Also, are there known heat problems with these larger drives? (My case temp is usually around 90° F already).

Thank you for your advice,
NightOwll

 

[garebo]

I am not the most knowledgeable person on this subject but I have used overlay software, maxtor and others, and I have and am using a pci controller card.
I prefer the controller card because it is more of a hardware solution than the pure software solution of overlay. I believe overlay tends to "unravel", that is the word I remember hearing. All I know from my xperience is that sooner or later problems develop that dont develop on hard drives not using overlay s\ware.
So I stick with pci controller cards and advise my customers to do the same and reluctantly go with overlay if thats what they want.
I would also like to hear what others have to say on this subject.
I am sure that you are correct but a part of me wonders what mobo you have and if possibly there might be a bios upgrade somewhere? Have you tried wim's bios? wimsbios.com I believe.

 

[Enkrypted]

That all depends really...your motherboard may have an IDE controller on it that has the same capabilities of the controller card <being able to transfer data at 66/100/133 Mhz>. If so, then you would really not need the controller card, unless you plan on having more than 4 IDE devices. Not only that, but a controller card was also take up an additional IRQ on your system for that device. Don't get me wrong...I'm not knocking controller cards<I have one in my system>, I'm just making sure that your not spending money on something that you may not need in the first place. You should check your motherboard manual to see if it's capable of handling data transfers at those speeds. As for controller card vs. overlay...I'd take the controller card any day... Enkrypted
A+
Let others know how much help they are by marking the helpful posts.

 

[tep0583]

If you have the free resources, I would go with the controller card. I HATE maxblast. I have seen many strange problems with it in the past, includeing problems with multiple hard drives......

 

[TyrantSSV]

NightOwll

i440BX chipet have an integrated PCI IDE controller with no more than UDMA33 support. The native BIOS have HDD size limit at 32 GB, after upgrading the BIOS the limit will be 137 GB (may be; if you will found the new BIOS image).

If the BIOS will be reflased you will be able to use new HDD 120 GB directly on your IDE interface but at speed 33 MB/s only.

&quot;It's faster than the controller card cuz it bypasses the BIOS and the PCI bus&quot;. How can the software bypass the PCI bus? It is not correct.

Purchasing the PCI-IDE controller allows to use new large HDDs without any additional software, at high speed (UDMA66/100/133) and allows to avoid the potentially dangerous BIOS reflashing procedure.
Use controller.

 

[ceh4702]

If you use the overlay method with Max Blast or ez max or whatever it is called, if there is an option to back up the fat table or the Master Boot Record(MBR) of the hard drive make sure to make at least 1 backup before you start and one backup when you have it set up and running.

I think the hardware method is probably best for the Drive. A lot depends on your pocketbook. I say if you are going to buy a 120G drive you can afford to buy the controller card. Otherwise you may up running the hard drive slower than it is able to go.

If you dont have ATA100 support on your motherboard, it will go faster with the controller card. It will make a difference to bo from ATA66 TO ATA100. If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[garebo]

and if you go to buy a controller card and the price difference between 66 and 100 is too big, then just go for the 66, the difference in speed isnt as much as it sounds like. the big difference is going from less than 33 or 33, to 100 or 133, not that much from 66 to 100, say. So just go with your budget mainly.