Conference hydra::amiga_v1

    
    I am using the Amiga A2090 controller (supports two ST506 and 7
    scsi devices) with a Seagate ST251 (40+ mb drive).  I partioned
    it into three pieces two 20 megs and a 1.6 meg.
    
    I have seen the ST251 advertised for 375.00 in the computer shopper,
    that was a few months ago and am not sure what the current price
    is.
    
    Has anybody managed to get a hold of any of the CONNER 3 1/2 inch
    1/3 height 80 or 100 mb drives yet?  I would be curious to see what
    the performance for those drives is...
    
    brad

    I am also using the A2090 and the ST251, but I use only a single
    partition.  It normally runs just over 50% full, and takes 18 floppies
    to back up.
        John Sauter

    
    I have the C. Ltd.  SCSI controller and a Seagate ST277N (SCSI)
    drive of 65 MByte capacity and 38 mSec average seek time.
    
    The combined cost was $800.
    
    The C. Ltd. controller board is designed to accept an OMTI controller
    card that allows you to use an ST-506 type drive.  The OMTI card
    has it's own 8K buffer on board, and actually performs a little
    faster than the pure SCSI setup.  
                                      
    The C. Ltd. board also allows up to 7 SCSI devices.
    
    ED.
    

    I have a 2090 controller and a NEC 5 1/4" half-height 42Mbyte.

    DAVE,
    
      I can't find you in ELF or the DEC Telephone Directory.
    What is your mailstop?

    Okay gang.  Please forgive any redundancies here but I'd like some
    answers.  It seems entirely possible that I'll soon be parting with
    my A1000 and taking up with an A2000.  Buying the 2000 itself doesn't
    scare me much, but buying the hard disk, strikes fear into my heart.
    There seems to be an overwhelmingly intimidating number of controllers,
    and drives.  I'm not locked into any particular flavor of drive
    just so long as it's hard and has a capacity somewhere near 40M.
    
    I'm confused a tad about Commodore's 2090.  I gather that it will
    support FFS, but will it auto boot under 1.3?  If not, can someone
    provide me a few examples of controllers that will?  I seem to recall
    that the OS imposes a limit of ~50M.  Is this per device?
    
    Okay now keeping in mind that I'm an Amiga veteran, and a programmer
    of many years, but that I panic when faced with having to plug cards
    into slots and afix IC's to boards.  Is it tough to install a drive?
    Or rather, is it any tougher than installing drives in PClones?
    (Which I've managed to do.)
    
    Any information, consoling words, etc, that you folks might have
    for me would be much appreciated.
    
    Also, while I'm thinking about it.  Would you new A2000 owners tell
    me where you bought your machines and about how much they ran you?
    I've heard a ballpark figure of $1600.  I suspect that Abel's price
    is even lower than that, but I'd prefer to order from someone who
    actually has them in stock. :-( 
    
        
    THANKS!
    
    Gary_who_has_heretofore_been_largely_ignoring_the_2000_talk_
    since_he_didn't_think_he_was_going_to_buy_one

    The A2090 controller will support FFS but will not autoboot.  There
    is a rumored A2090A that will autoboot, but nobody seems to have
    seen one.
    
    The current file system imposes a limit of around 40 to 50 MB per
    partition.  You can divide a large disk into several partitions.
    I have been told that this limit has been removed in the fast file
    system.
    
    I also don't like plugging cards into my own equipment, so I took
    a straightforward approach: I developed a relationship with a dealer
    (The Memory Location, in Wellesley, MA) and asked his advice about
    which disk to use.  He gave me a list of disks, which I narrowed
    down to the ST251: it's not very fast, but it holds 40 MB and occcupies
    one of the ST506 ports on the A2090.  If the future is all SCSI
    (which seems likely) then my ST506 ports will be unused, so it seemed
    like a good idea to go ST506 while the drives are still available.
    The store installed the card and disk for me, since I purchased
    it from them.
    
    The disadvantage of my procedure is that I end up paying close to
    list price.  If you don't want to do that, you won't get as much
    service.  However, since you've successfully installed drives in
    PC clones, perhaps you don't need this much service.
    
    I'm no longer a "new" A2000 owner, so the price I paid for my system
    is probably no longer interesting.  (Though, if you wish to examine
    it, the list is in the "survey" topic.)
    
    Good luck on your new Amiga, and give my best to Tracey.
        John Sauter

    re: .6
    
    I'm also hunting for a harddrive for my A2000.  With 1.3 available
    "sometime soon", I've noticed that the ads mentioning autobooting
    with 1.3 mention a socket for the autoboot ROM.  Note they don't say when
    the ROM will be available or how much it will cost.  If the controller
    board manufacturer is still in business by the time 1.3 ships, you
    still have the problem of single source for that ROM (price determined
    by how many boards they have sold)
    
    Also you will need to buy a KS 1.3 ROM to get the autoboot feature.
    
    On the other hand, why buy a controller that doesn't at least offer
    the hope of autobooting at some future date.
    
    The "safe" method is to wait for the A2090A.  It should be FFS and
    autoboot compatible.
    
    I'm considering buying a hardcard, or a bridgeboard & ibmpc hardcard,
    since it seems a waste of space to put the harddrive in one of
    the bays.
    
    -Dave

    Quiver, quiver, quake, quake!  Just when I was getting my courage
    up, I've had it shot down.  I hadn't considered the 3rd party autoboot
    ROM angle.  `Twould be a real problem to buy a 3rd party card and
    then not be able to auto boot, because the company flew by night.
    Sigh!  
    
    Can you Mass. residents answer a question for me?  I saw a rather
    exciting ad in the Sept AmigaWorld for a mail order place called The
    Software Shop, in Worchester.  Are they reputable?  (I promise to
    do a "DIR/TIT=" as soon as I finish this note.)  They want $1599 for
    the A2000 and have a delicious looking array of bundled drives and
    controllers for hardware wimps like me.  They range in price from $599
    for a 20M w. C Ltd controller, to $889 for a 28ms 48M drive with a
    Great Valley Products SCSI controller/2M memory card.  There are also a
    few slower, but higher capacity drives on the list.  To those who're
    better versed in the subject: How much noticable difference is there
    between a 28ms drive and a 40ms drive?  When looking at a tradeoff
    between higher speeds and higher capacities, I lean towards higher
    capacities, however if there is a particularly good reason to choose
    the higher speed I'm open to it.  Do you experienced HD owners have any
    opinions? The Software Shop is offering a 65M 40ms 5.25" drive with the
    C Ltd controller for $699 that looks almost too good to pass up.  I
    have no plans to add PeeSea stuff to the brute so I'm not worried about
    using up the 5.25" bay. 
    
    
    Thanks for your help and sympathies,
    Gary
    
    Re: .7
    I'll pass along your greeting to Trace.

    
    I think that ED should answer that one right Ed?  I seem to recall
    him almost completely supporting the Software Shop with purchases
    or so I exaggerate a little maybe....
    
    I live in Worcester (for the last 4 years, has it really been that
    long) and have bought many things there.  Moe, the prop., is a good
    person to deal with, however, I have noticed that their prices are
    a tad on the high side compared to most mail order places, but then
    I don't mind since I can walk in and buy something for less than
    at a true retail store.
    
    re:  the 65m 40ms Drive,
    
    	Sounds like the Seagate ST277N drive.  NB, that the C Ltd
    controller is non-DMA...Ie: the 68000 is responsible for moving
    the data from the disk controller to your buffers.
    
    brad
    	

    Re: The ST277N drive.
    
    So because the C Ltd controller is non DMA and the drive itself
    is "slow" by today's standards, it might not be the best route to
    take.  That just might be the killing blow.  Can someone (Ed, do
    I recall that you have the C Ltd controller?) assure me that the
    performance of this controller is acceptable, and that I should
    continue to consider it?  I'm willing to keep my mind open since
    it looks like such a good deal.
    
    Thanks,
    Gary

    The Fast File System (FFS) promises to improve the operating system's
    hard disk performance, so comparisons of performance between non-DMA
    controllers and DMA controllers may be rendered meaningless when
    FSS comes out.  That is, it may be that the inefficiences inherent
    in a non-DMA controller are currently swamped by inefficiencies
    in the file system, but the advent of FFS may cause DMA controllers
    to perform significantly better than non-DMA controllers.
    
    Note that FFS was designed for Commodore's A2090, which is a DMA
    controller.  If I were designing software I would try to optimize
    it for my company's hardware.  It seems reasonable that Commodore
    has done the same.
        John Sauter

    
    
    	I just bought a new 65MB drive and controller from the software
    shop. They are a great bunch of people. The drive is a ST277 ( a
    good drive ). I also got the GVP controller/RAM card. The GVP
    controller is well worth the extra $$$. It has sockets for 1.3
    autoboot ROMS. The software shop was runnig it with a GAMMA version
    of 1.3 and the new FFS. And it has place for memory. There are
    two versions one for 256K chips and one for 1M chips. Both version
    can be purchased with 0 memory and upgraded later. This controller
    is the fastest controller on the market. One big plus is the board
    comes with programming examples of how to send RAW SCSI commands
    to the controller so you can write your own driver for NON-disks.
    	The software includes a ICON installation procedure that will
    hardware format the drive, AMIGA format the drive, copy over a
    base version of AMIGA DOS and create a BOOT floppy for you. This
    installation is very good. This controller is also much cheaper
    than the AMIGA 2090.
    
    		Steve Peters
    

    I bought my Amiga 2000 from the Software Shop ($1599 and no tax).
    I am using a NEC 42Mbyte drive ST506-type. I've been very pleased
    with it. Oh, A2090 controller too. Also using NEC 3.5" floppy drives
    (2) which are much quieter than most any other 3.5" floppy drive
    for the Amy.

    Also bought Professional Page there and some other stuff like a
    Micron 2Mbyte memory board. BTW, Micron is Made in the USA. Support
    American made DRAMs!
    
    Paul

    
    Gary, I am using the C Ltd controller with a Seagate St277N.  The
    performance seems pretty good to me, especially with my bootleg
    version of FFS.  I haven't played around with interleave factors,
    since that needs to be done at the deep format level.
    
    I spoke with Ed Lippert of C Lyd recently, and he claimed that their
    new SCSI.device driver would offer around 350 KBytes/sec throughput
    under FFS.
    
    My gut feeling would be to go with factory equipment, but as mentioned
    here, it would be wiser to wait for the 2090A controller.
                                                         
    Re: The Software Shop...
    
    Yes, I do most of my business with them.  Moe will configure your
    machine for you, including installation and formatting of the hard
    drive.  Moe seems to take care of DEC people pretty well, since
    he is aware of NOTES and that both good and bad comments will be
    seen by lots of prospective customers.
    
    Ed.
    

I too buy everything for my Amiga from the Software Shop (I live about
20 minutes from Worcestor) - everything but my amiga itself, and that's
because I didn't know about them when I bought it (you should have seen
the bruise on my a** after I kicked it!)

They are a great bunch of people and the prices blow away any walk in retail
place (obviously)...


John

    
    re: .13
    
    A friend of mine has this same setup.  GVP controller/ST277 (65Mb).
    He's had it for several months (right when GVP came out with the
    board) and has been very happy with it.  He halved it into two
    partitions and is still using one to backup the other.
        
    He had a lot of problems with a C Ltd controller and this drive
    and finally decided to trade it in for a GVP.  I understand a
    lot of people have had success with C Ltd, I just thought I should
    mention it.
    
    - steve (who still has an A1000 with no HD)

    How much is the GVP controller with 0k ram?	Thanks,  John.  By the
    way I'm still interested in buying a used scsi host adapter.

    
    	The GVP SCSI controller cost $275.00 for 0K memory ( max 1MByte
    using 256K chips ). There is a version that uses 1Mb chips that
    holds 2MByte and costs a little more. Moe offers a 65 MByte SCSI
    disk for $550 ( ST277 ).
    
    	Steve Peters
    

    Thanks.  That's Moe's price I assume.  Can anyone supply LOTS of
    detail on the hardware design and features, and the same for the
    supplied driver?  John

    re .20
    
   GVP controller specifics
    
    Hardware
    	The SCSI controller is based on a WD33C93 chip. The board
    has a 4KByte buffer on board ( static ram ). It has sockets
    for two "Boot ROMS" and 32 sockets for the 256K RAM chips.
    There are connectors for both "Mac compatible" 25 pin and 50
    pin SCSI standard. There is one jumper to control if RAM is
    installed or not.
    
    
    Software
    	The controller is always SCSI unit 7. The installation program
    expects the disks to start at unit 0. The mountlist can override
    this. They also include the source for the low level format program.
    
    	Below is the include file supplied with the controller. If you
    need more detail send me mail.
    
    		Steve Peters
    
    
    --------------------------------------------------------------------
    --------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    
    	/*
	 * Copyright c 1987 Lee C. Erickson.  All rights reserved.
	 */

/* scsidev.h -- scsi device */

#ifndef SCSIDEV_H
#define SCSIDEV_H
#ifndef EXEC_TYPES_H
#include <exec/types.h>
#endif
#ifndef EXEC_NODES_H
#include <exec/nodes.h>
#endif
#ifndef EXEC_RESIDENT_H
#include <exec/resident.h>
#endif
#ifndef EXEC_LIBRARIES_H
#include <exec/libraries.h>
#endif
#ifndef EXEC_DEVICES_H
#include <exec/devices.h>
#endif
#ifndef EXEC_IO_H
#include <exec/io.h>
#endif

#define MYPRI   10
#define MYNAME	"scsidev.device"
#define MYID	"scsidev 1.1.3(20 Apr 1988)\r\n"
#define MY_SCSI_ID	7	/* This is SCSI unit 7			*/
typedef LONG (*PFL)();		/* pointer to function returning 32-bit int*/
#define NUM_OF_PARTITIONS 7	/* Maximum number of partitions auto-mounted*/

/* Device initialization table, used for AUTOINIT devices	      */
struct InitTable {
	ULONG	it_DataSize;	/* library data space size	      */
	PFL	*it_FuncTable;	/* table of entry points 	      */
	APTR	it_DataInit;	/* table of data initializers	      */
	PFL	it_InitFunc;	/* initialization function to run     */
};

struct partition_data
{
	ULONG	unit;			/* AmigaDOS Unit #		*/
	ULONG	flags;			/* Driver flags, see below	*/
	ULONG	tablesize;		/* # of longwords to follow, 11	*/
	ULONG	blocksize;		/* Longwords in a block (512/4)	*/
	ULONG	sector_org;		/* Not used. "0"		*/
	ULONG	number_heads;		/* # of surfaces. For SCSI, "1"	*/
	ULONG	sectors_per_block;	/* Sectors per block. "1"	*/
	ULONG	reserved_blocks;	/* Reserved blocks. "2"		*/
	ULONG	prefac;			/* Unused			*/
	ULONG	interleave;		/* Interleave. "0"		*/
	ULONG	low_cylinder;		/* 1st cylinder in partition	*/
	ULONG	upper_cylinder;		/* Last cylinder in partition	*/
	ULONG	number_of_buffers;	/* # of buffers. Default 20.	*/
	ULONG	BufMemType;		/* BufMemType. "0" for Fast	*/
	char	partition_name[10];	/* Partition name, eg. "DH0"	*/
					/* If 0, this partition not used*/
	char	boot_priority;		/* BOOT priority		*/
};

struct boot_block
{
	ULONG	magic;			/* "0x2BADBABE" show good block	*/
	ULONG	num_partitions;		/* How many partitions exist	*/
	struct partition_data partitions[NUM_OF_PARTITIONS];
};

#define SD_MOTOR        (CMD_NONSTD+0)  /* NO-OP			*/
#define SD_SEEK         (CMD_NONSTD+1)  /* explicit seek (for testing)	*/
#define SD_FORMAT       (CMD_NONSTD+2)  /* format disk			*/
#define SD_REMOVE       (CMD_NONSTD+3)  /* NO-OP			*/
#define SD_CHANGENUM    (CMD_NONSTD+4)  /* NO-OP			*/
#define SD_CHANGESTATE  (CMD_NONSTD+5)  /* Drive ready?			*/
#define SD_PROTSTATUS   (CMD_NONSTD+6)  /* is the disk write protected?	*/
#define SD_RAWREAD      (CMD_NONSTD+7)  /* Illegal			*/
#define SD_RAWWRITE     (CMD_NONSTD+8)  /* Illegal			*/
#define SD_GETDRIVETYPE (CMD_NONSTD+9)  /* Illegal			*/
#define SD_GETNUMTRACKS (CMD_NONSTD+10) /* # of tracks for this type drive */
#define SD_ADDCHANGEINT (CMD_NONSTD+11) /* NO-OP			*/
#define SD_REMCHANGEINT (CMD_NONSTD+12) /* NO-OP			*/
/* 12 - 17 left incase others expand	*/
#define	SD_SCSI		(CMD_NONSTD+18)	/* Execute supplied SCSI command*/
#define SD_TEST_RDY	(CMD_NONSTD+19)	/* SCSI TEST UNIT READY command	*/
#define SD_START_UNIT	(CMD_NONSTD+20)	/* SCSI START UNIT command	*/
#define SD_SCSI_RESET	(CMD_NONSTD+21)	/* Reset SCSI bus		*/
#define SD_REQ_SENSE	(CMD_NONSTD+22)	/* Internal REQUEST SENSE cmd	*/
#define SD_REASSIGN_BLK	(CMD_NONSTD+23)	/* Internal REASSIGN BLOCKS cmd	*/
#define SD_LASTCOMM     (CMD_NONSTD+24)

/*
 *	IOStdReq format for explicit SCSI commands:
 *
 *	io_Command	-> SD_SCSI
 *	io_Flags(0)	-> Bit 0(high order) high means SEND data to SCSI device
 *	io_Flags(1:3)	<- SCSI LUN bits 1 thru 3
 *	io_Error	<- SCSI STATUS
 *	io_Actual	<- Number of bytes successfully transferred
 *	io_Length	-> Length of data to send/receive
 *	io_Data		-> Points to sent/received data
 *	io_Offset	-> Points to SCSI command block
 */

#define	SCSI_SEND		0x80
#define SDERR_NotSpecified      20      /* general catchall */
#define SDERR_NoSecHdr          21      /* couldn't even find a sector */
#define SDERR_BadSecPreamble    22      /* sector looked wrong */
#define SDERR_BadSecID          23      /* ditto */
#define SDERR_BadHdrSum         24      /* header had incorrect checksum */
#define SDERR_BadSecSum         25      /* data had incorrect checksum */
#define SDERR_BadSecHdr         27      /* another "sector looked wrong" */
#define SDERR_WriteProt         28      /* can't write to a protected disk */
#define SDERR_DiskChanged       29      /* no disk in the drive */
#define SDERR_SeekError         30      /* couldn't find track 0 */
#define SDERR_NoMem             31      /* ran out of memory */
#define SDERR_BadUnitNum        32      /* asked for a unit > NUMUNITS */
#define SDERR_BadDriveType      33      /* not a drive that trackdisk groks */
#define SDERR_Timeout		80	/* SCSI device didn't respond	*/
					/* 	in time			*/

#endif

    Re Many:
    
    Thanks to all who responded!  I've about decided to go for the 1M
    GVP Impact controller.  I'm wavering between the ST277N and the
    ~40M drive that Moe is advertising.  Does anyone know whether this
    is the SCSI version of the Seagate ST251?  Also, are there any special
    speed requirements for the 256K parts used on the GVP controller?
    
    Gary

    
    In a manner of fashion the ST277 is related to the ST251.  First
    off the N means that the drive has a SCSI interface rather than
    ST506.  The ST277 is a 65 MB drive whereas the ST251 is 42 MB.
    Seagate accomplishes this by using a different on Media format
    called RLL to achieve a higher density on the disk...There is a
    discussion of this in one of the previous hard disk notes.  The
    main difference though is that the ST277N is a 65 MB SCSI drive rather
    than the 40 MB drive...
    
    hope this helps
    
    brad
    

I believe SCSI implies RLL encoding to meet the SCSI transfer rates
off the media (>10Mbites/sec)

ST-506 implies MFM encoding (5Mbits/sec)

John

That's the first I ever heard that.

The Adaptek 4000 SCSI to ST506 adaptor is NOT RLL.

    There appears to be plenty of room between the two floppy drives
    and the power supply cage to mount another 3.5" hard drive with
    an appropriate mounting bracket. Has anyone tried this yet?

Re: .24

Naw.  There are some SCSI drives that aren't RLL.  There are some SCSI
devices that aren't even drives but slow printers!

The SCSI max. speed of the SCSI interface has nothing to do the actual
speed the physical device.  I wish SCSI devices did run at the rated
speed of the interface!

re .25:

That's because the Adaptec is only an interface converter. The *drive* is
ST-506 - MFM.

With ST-506, you're gauranteed to have MFM, with SCSI *DISK* I'd say
the majority use RLL since it allows the bit density needed to get higher
transfer rates - that's not to say some vendors don't use something else, 
But a disk that does is probably *old*. Most use RLL 2 of 7 code.


re .27:

>The SCSI max. speed of the SCSI interface has nothing to do the actual
>speed the physical device.  I wish SCSI devices did run at the rated
>speed of the interface!

No, but one can limit the other (and does). 

I agree! 2 Mbytes/second would be nice!


John

Re: .28

>With ST-506, you're gauranteed to have MFM, ...

The recording method used by the drive is orthogonal to whether it is
ST-506.  Your should match the recording type to the type of the controller
but since ST-506 drives use the ST-506 interface, you can mismatch
controller and drive and it will work (after a fashion).

You can use an ST-506 RLL disk with an ST-506 MFM controller, but you've
wasted money on a better disk than needed.

You can use as ST-506 MFM disk with an ST-506 RLL controller, but eventually
the disk will corrupt your files because it cannot maintain the higher
bit density.

The situation is sort of like using low/high density floppy disks in
high/low density floppy disk drives.

	I'm planning on buying a second hard disk for my 2000.  I currently have a
A2091 and a Quantum 40S, and its worked flawlessly since I've had. Because of this
I'm considering getting a Quantum 105 mg through mailorder, the price being $419.

	However, another mailorder company is offering a 209mg conner (15 ms) drive for $369.
 I don't know much about this conner drive, is it any good?  Does it have autopark like the
quantum drives? I think I read that conner makes our (DEC) rz22 and rz23.  Does
anyone have one of these drives?

	Thanks in Advance

									Jeff

    If the drive is a conner cp3200, I used own one.  It is a great drive. 
    It is quiet and fast.  I didn't have any problems with it except that it 
    was a bit "too small" for my needs.  I traded it, plus some other goodies,
    for the conner cp3300(this is the rz55-316meg).  I haven't had a
    problem with it either.  The conner autoparks.
    
    mark

	The Conner 209 MB disk is the same as a DEC RZ24.

			Steve P

So now the question is, where do I call to order one of those 
Conner's?  That seems like a very good deal...  Is it a reconditioned
unit, or brand new?

Steve

    re:.30
    
    if it is anything like at the last pc clone show in Woburn, those
    209 meg drives disappeared fast.  And they were $425 for used drives.
    
    If you do call them, make sure to ask about the warranty.  At that
    price I suspect they won't be new drives.  I got one of the drives
    mentioned above, nice drive, great price.  My experience with used
    drives is that if it is going to die, it will do it within the 90 day 
    warranty period, it usually happens within a month.  But it's worth 
    the risk if you can find a local dealer (makes it easier to return it).
    
    Dave
    

The 209 mg conner drive is advertised for $369 in the April 1991
issue of AmigaWorld, page 103.  The company is called
"The Software Shop, Inc.", phone number 1-800-752-0050.  However,
I now STRONGLY suspect that this price is a typo in the ad. (sounds
to good to be true, probably should be $869).  I'll call today and post
the results.

	The Quantum 105mg drive for $419 is offered by ComputAbility,
same magazine, page 76, phone 800-558-0003. I bought a Quantum 40S drive
from them about a year ago with no problems.

>                     <<< Note 1565.35 by CIM::OSCAR::JEFF >>>
>                 -< Mail order number, but I suspect its a typo >-
> 
> The 209 mg conner drive is advertised for $369 in the April 1991
> issue of AmigaWorld, page 103.  The company is called
> "The Software Shop, Inc.", phone number 1-800-752-0050.  However,
> I now STRONGLY suspect that this price is a typo in the ad. (sounds
> to good to be true, probably should be $869).  I'll call today and post
> the results.
> 

The Software Shop? That sounds like the one in Worcestor, MA. I would bet
that price is for the 20MB drive :-) Remember this is Moe we're dealing with
here :-) :-)

john

	I just called "The Software Shop, Inc.".  It is a typo in
the ad. The price is $799 for the 209mg conner drive. Oh well.

re  the last few...

	There was an article in EDN recently (Feb or March) on 3 1/2 
inch drives.  Expect even sharper price drops, higher capacities and 
higher reliability (comparable to the 5 1/4 drives of last year).

WARNING:  Free advice (worth every penny) follows-

	If you can get by with what you have for a while, do so.
If you rush out and buy  NOW  you'll probably regret it at the next 
price drop.  Unless you can convince yourself that owning it for 3 - 6 
months was worth more than the price drop.

	"Buyer's remorse, investments in depreciating assets", etc. 

	Reg

	{But I feel the same way about accelerator cards.... }