cache was normal on scsi controllers, and is to this day on SAS/RAID ones

Cache is always good. But with new hardware or CF cards you already reach the transfer limit. So cache won't speed up anything. But you really should test for your self.

There were also ISA cards from Promise with cache. I have one but haven't really done any tests with it yet... maybe in the next days. ISA will get to the trasfer limit faster then VLB.

I used one back in the DOS days and I have a few now. The cache acts as a buffer, the more you have the better off you are. You saved main memory that nonmally would have been used with smartdrive. And you have the added benefit of using larger HDs then what some of the MB BIOS could deal with.

Cache matters on even new SATA drives which is why they keep putting more on them.

You're probably referring to this thread:
VLB IDE cache controllers, benchmark

The conclusion here was that the onboard CPU on the cache controller can't keep up if the drive is too modern, and works as a bottleneck.

I'd say only use it for fluff if you have an older drive in your system 😀

Also, could you check if your controller have the LBA option in the BIOS? It was an upgrade option back in the day, but was not available to download: http://web.archive.org/web/19980505172403/htt … t/LBA-BIOS.html

vetz wrote on 2019-09-06, 19:12:

You're probably referring to this thread: VLB IDE cache controllers, benchmark […]
Show full quote

You're probably referring to this thread:
VLB IDE cache controllers, benchmark

The conclusion here was that the onboard CPU on the cache controller can't keep up if the drive is too modern, and works as a bottleneck.

I'd say only use it for fluff if you have an older drive in your system 😀

Also, could you check if your controller have the LBA option in the BIOS? It was an upgrade option back in the day, but was not available to download: http://web.archive.org/web/19980505172403/htt … t/LBA-BIOS.html

Check out this thread. I'm pretty sure the Longshine firmware posted there will work with the Promise controller, as they are identical. I havn't tried it yet because I don't have EPROMS at the moment, but I will soon.
Re: LCS-6941 - BIOS upgrade

I made some tests today, and I can confirm that LCS-6941 firmware/bios works fine on DC-4030VL-2 and adds LBA support.

Also Gitz in this thread: Promise DC4030VL-2 bios files needed has slightly more recent firmware/bios on his controller and access to eprom programer, so maybe he will be able to dump it.