Date: Sun, 14 Dec 1997 21:04:28 +0100 (MET) From: Oliver Fromme <olli@dorifer.heim3.tu-clausthal.de> To: freebsd-hardware@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: SCSI card to choose Message-ID: <199712142004.VAA28683@dorifer.heim3.tu-clausthal.de>
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Nate Williams <nate@mt.sri.com> wrote in list.freebsd-hardware: > [...] > > My Adaptecs (1542, 2940) came with those drivers (HD, CD-ROM, > > even for removable media such as MO drives) and a bunch of > > tools for partitioning, formatting and verifying drives, a > > simple CD audio player, and other stuff I never needed. > > Mind didn't. Which version did you buy, cause the 1542B did *NOT* come > with them by default, since you had to buy EZ-SCSI separately. :( I bought the 1542C and the 2940. > > Of course, the bulk versions of the adapters don't come with > > those drivers -- that's why they're called "bulk". > > This wasn't a 'bulk driver', but the 'standard' retail package for the > card that I bought. You *can* buy the card with drivers, but as stated > Adaptec charges more for the card with the drivers than w/out, hence > proving the original assertion that Adaptec does indeed charge for their > drivers. Yes, but that's normal. Adaptec's SCSI adapters have always been available as "bulk" and "kit" versions. The kits come with a bunch of manuals, drivers and cables. By the way, other vendors do the same. It is especially common for network interface cards, but also soundcards and controllers are often available both as "bulk" and "kit". IMHO this is a good thing, because you pay only for what you actually need. For example, if you have to equip a pool with cards, you don't need 50 copies of the manuals and driver CDs -- so why pay for them 50 times? It's similar to many commercial software packages: You can chose between online manuals on the CD and printed manuals. If you don't need the printed ones, you can save a considerable amount of money. Nevertheless, I agree that Adaptec's SCSI adapters are over- priced (at least the "consumer line", i.e. 1542, 2840, 2940), no matter whether manuals/drivers are included. Their only advantage (again: IMHO) is their on-board BIOS and their great configurability. I wouldn't want to miss Adaptec's set-up and configuration firmware. Regards Oliver -- Oliver Fromme, Leibnizstr. 18-61, 38678 Clausthal, Germany (Info: finger userinfo:olli@dorifer.heim3.tu-clausthal.de)
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