The TX2000 PCI ultra looks like it would do the job, set for RAID 0, or
striping. For best results the drives should be identical.
HH

"Euclid" wrote in message
ink.net...
OK, but there are several different kinds and I wouldn't know which one to
buy, that would work with my Compaq S4020WM. So I'm back to square one
with technical problems beyond my capability preventing any progress!? For
example:
http://www.superwarehouse.com/Promis...s/b/333/c/2332
-E

"HH" wrote in message
...
Unfortunately, no. A regular IDE controller won't do it. A RAID
controller will. Promise is probably the largest manufacturer of the
cards.
HH

"Euclid" wrote in message
nk.net...
Too much to swallow with just a sip of water, I presume...
-E

"Euclid" wrote in message
ink.net...

"HH" wrote in message
...

Quick questions. What, if anything, is runing in the background when
you try to run the database?
Closing down my anti-virus and firewall have no effect on this problem,
and there's nothing else significant running in the background. Note
that my chess analysis engine software normally runs with 100%
processor usage. That's the software which accesses the Tablebases, so
it's necessary.

If anything, have you disabled same before starting?
N/A

Do you have MS Office installed?
No.

If so is Findfast enabled?
N/A

Is indexing enabled for the drive/volume?
No.

The drive is NTFS, correct?
Yes.

Defrag regularly?
Yes.

Delete temp internet files regularly?
Yes. They are deleted automatically when I exit IE.

Have you thought about installing an IDE Raid controller card and
setting up a 2-drive for performance?
Duh...no...and have no idea what's involved.
I have a Maxtor Ultra ATA/133 PCI Adapter Card on my shelf, if that
would do it? I used it in a former computer, but haven't had any reason
to put it in this Compaq S4020WM.

My only "Lone Ranger hunch" is that Compaq may have disabled the DDR
feature of RAM on this S4020WM. It has DDR RAM installed, however the
benchmarks (with Everest) show it as a speed typical of ordinary PC
(non-DDR) RAM. So I guess the problem could be RAM speed, at least
partly. At the same time Compaq hid all of those kinds of special
settings in the BIOS setup utility, so there's apparently no way to
tweak it back to DDR speed.
-E

"Euclid" wrote in message
ink.net...
Well, I have a "home use" that my 7200rpm drive can't handle
properly... It's a 7GB chess endgame database of 290 files ranging up
in size to about 150kb. The drive can't keep up with the software as
this database is accessed, so it slows down things greatly. So the
hard drive light remains on constantly, while the processor is
running at 100% capacity constantly - for many hours, constantly.

As a little background...
The game of chess has now been solved for all combinations of 5
pieces remaining on the chessboard. These perfect & complete
solutions go into the 7GB database in a format known as Nalimov EGTB
Tablebases. As the end of a game of chess approaches, chess analysis
engines will begin to access these Tablebases, which is a lot faster
and more reliable than the engine calculating all of those
possibilities again. That would be wasted effort, because they have
already been calculated - i.e. they constitute the Tablebase data.

How many Tablebase accesses are involved per second? A lot! A lot
more than 7,200 rpm IDE drives can handle. The experts say that
15,000 rpm SCSI drives can keep up with the access demand OK, but
nothing else can.

Now, the 6-piece chess endgames are in process of being solved
completely too, so the chess endgame Tablebases are increasing
towards the order of a terrabyte of data when that task is completed
(probably within a year or two). That makes the little 7GB Tablebases
look puny by comparison, and the problems involved in accessing them
will be correspondingly enormous.
-E

"HH" wrote in message
...
Hmmmm. I cannot think of any home use a good 7.2K ATA 100 drive
cannot handle, especially one with an 8MB cache. You are right SCSI
priced itself right out of the consumer market at the same time IDE
drives got faster and more reliable.
HH

"Euclid" wrote in message
nk.net...
I sorta figured that out after a little googling, but thanks for
confirmation of my suspicions. If I decide to buy a special adapter
card and cables, I might as well get a SCSI anyway...or so my mind
works. After doing some reading, I'd really prefer a 15K rpm hd,
which only comes in SCSI. Of course you'd have to be a university
professor to afford one, I suppose. (I'm not.)
-E

"HH" wrote in message
...
You would likely have to buy a PCI SATA controller card, since
your Presario onboard controller is an IDE controller. The SATA
cable is round and uses a much smaller connector. New Egg has the
controller cards and cables, too. Try he

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...124-101&depa=1

HH

"Euclid" wrote in message
nk.net...
Thanks. It looks like only Western Digital makes the 10K IDE
drives, and calls them Raptors...
Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model
WD740GD, OEM Drive Only
Specifications:
Capacity: 74GB
Average Seek Time: 4.5 ms
Buffer: 8MB
Rotational Speed: 10000 RPM
Interface: Serial ATA
Features: High Performance SATA Interface
Packaging: OEM Drive Only

Reading the reviews brings up several possible technical
problems. For example a SATA cable is required. I have no idea
what that means, nor how it will modify my computer. At present I
have a cable which has a middle connector for the slave drive,
and would want the same. They also talk about needing different
drivers, and that the SATA drive won't work with some
motherboards or will require a special BIOS. That creates another
big research project, I suppose, which may put it beyond my
capability or interest. I'd like to have the speed, but can't
stomach too many technical uncertainties out of the gate...
-E


"HH" wrote in message
...
Try he

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...roperty&DEPA=1

HH

"Euclid" wrote in message
ink.net...

If you need real speed, get a 10,000 RPM IDE drive and put it
on a separate
controller Better yet, get a SATA controller and 10K drive.

I've looked but can't find anyplace to order 10K IDE drives. I
see them mentioned in reviews only, so they must be very new.
Got any links to retail suppliers?
-E