For the SCSI Controllers /GVP (Great Valley Products): A500 HD+ (A500 HD8+)

[xboxown]

I have one question to ask. Is there any adapter out there and possible ROM upgrade kit that will convert it from SCSI to normal IDE support and we see partition size of 500 GB+ using PFS3 file system?

Thanks in advance.

[Jope]

ACARD SCSIDE adapters can still be found occasionally, they cost a lot these days.

Over 500GB partitions are currently very experimental in PFS3 on any controller, there is not very much information or real world experience on those, so you might be the first to attempt it on a GVP Series II controller. I would personally approach that particular problem with an experimental mindset and would also brace myself for the possibility of an eventual disappointment.

[xboxown]

Originally Posted by Jope

ACARD SCSIDE adapters can still be found occasionally, they cost a lot these days.

Over 500GB partitions are currently very experimental in PFS3 on any controller, there is not very much information or real world experience on those, so you might be the first to attempt it on a GVP Series II controller. I would personally approach that particular problem with an experimental mindset and would also brace myself for the possibility of an eventual disappointment.

You mean this adapter: https://www.amazon.ca/ACARD-AEC-7722.../dp/B0026F17QS

As for the rest. Thank you.

[Jope]

http://www.acard.com/index.files/Page737.htm the AEC-7720 would probably be a better match for the old GVP, but with availability being what it is, you take what you can get. I have successfully run AEC-7722 adapters on narrow buses, so it should work. I never tried a wide one with the GVP though.

[Ami_GFX]

I've successfully used an IDE to SD adapter connected to an Acard ARS-2000LFS 68 pin SCSI to IDE converter connected to a 68 to 50 pin adapter with termination with a GVP SCSI controller. It's a waste speed wise as the GVP controller maxes out at around 1.6 mb/s. It's also a bit touchy with termination and where it is on a SCSI chain. It only works as the first device on the chain with active termination on the last device. The 7772 adapters are designed for Atapi optical driver and might not work with hard drives. I had a 50 pin AEC-7722 that I couldn't get to work with any hard drives I tried. It didn't have the right firmware revision as I remember. There might be a similar issue with the cheap 68 pin AEC-7722.

[Jope]

Ah yes, good point. Some of these ACards are CD-ROM only. There were instructions on a1k.org for changing the personality of another ACard optical model to support hard disks, but I couldn't get that to work yet on mine.

[nogginthenog]

You would probably be better off with a SD card adapter like a ZuluSCSI or BlueSCSI.

I'm using a BlueSCSI in my A4000. It's confirmed working with a GVP HD8.

[Jope]

I'm moving towards those as well, they seem to be less trouble than the ACards these days.

[xboxown]

I will stick with IDE without a case.

[Ami_GFX]

The main advantage of the Acard adapters is speed. The 68 pin adapters are rated at up to 160 mb/s in LVD mode and 80 mb/s in SE mode. Zulu SCSI and SCSI2SD can go from 2 mb/s to 10 mb/s depending on the model. For most Amiga use, that's acceptable. The fastest drive speed I've gotten on an Amiga with SD and CF adapters is about 20 mb/s read. That was with Cyberstorm 68 pin SCSI connected to an ARS-2000LFS 68 pin SCSI to IDE adapter connected to an IDE to SD adapter in synchronous mode. I could probably get faster speeds with an 80 pin SCSI drive with an 80 pin to 68 pin adapter but I prefer the convenience of SD cards. For GVP controllers, the speed is around 1.6 mb/s and Zulu SCSI is fine. That's what I use in my A2500.

[xboxown]

Originally Posted by Ami_GFX

The main advantage of the Acard adapters is speed. The 68 pin adapters are rated at up to 160 mb/s in LVD mode and 80 mb/s in SE mode. Zulu SCSI and SCSI2SD can go from 2 mb/s to 10 mb/s depending on the model. For most Amiga use, that's acceptable. The fastest drive speed I've gotten on an Amiga with SD and CF adapters is about 20 mb/s read. That was with Cyberstorm 68 pin SCSI connected to an ARS-2000LFS 68 pin SCSI to IDE adapter connected to an IDE to SD adapter in synchronous mode. I could probably get faster speeds with an 80 pin SCSI drive with an 80 pin to 68 pin adapter but I prefer the convenience of SD cards. For GVP controllers, the speed is around 1.6 mb/s and Zulu SCSI is fine. That's what I use in my A2500.

Honestly that is great for native Amiga games or applications or transferring data back and forth. Not useful to watching movies or listening to mp3 through it.

[Ami_GFX]

Originally Posted by xboxown

Honestly that is great for native Amiga games or applications or transferring data back and forth. Not useful to watching movies or listening to mp3 through it.

For real time applications that write directly to the hard disk a constant stream of multi track audio or video, Zulu and SCSI2SD aren't quite fast enough but for anything else they are fine. For the Amiga, that would be the Flyer video drives on a Toaster Flyer system. I really can't think of anything else. Read speeds on SD cards tend to be a lot faster than write speeds so the faster Zulu and SCSI2SD drives should be enough to do at least SD video playback.

The newer Zulu SCSI RP drives have speeds that are on the borderline for Flyer drives. Unfortunately, my A4000T Toaster/Flyer system isn't working right now or I'd test one on it.

[xboxown]

I am an Amiga 500 user only. If it doesn't apply to this machine then I don't care for the other machine settings. That being said. I am content. Once I receive the PSU from mail, I will have a total of 830 GB hard drive space for my Amiga 500. I don't think I need more than that.