XF551 vs. The One

[KG7PFS]

I've been wondering about this for a long time, but never remembered to ask about it when I'm here. The XF vs. Indus thread reminded me. (If only my memory was as reliable as a worn out cassette.)

 

I know the Astra "Big D" supposed to be the same as "The One" but with a second drive. Other than the parralell port, what are the differences between the XF551 and the Astra drives?

[Nezgar]

Astra drives are actually Percom derivatives with a prettier face. ROM dumps revealed the code is almost identical to Percom code with some minor alterations.

 

As for comparing to an XF551, Percom/Astra drives can't handle "Dual" aka "Enhanced" density format, and also have no highspeed SIO option like an XF551.

[+SoulBuster]

I have to agree, the XF551 IMO is the best physical drive, if you are going to have only one physical drive. It is the most versatile, even on 720K 3.5 disks. It even has a modern MB replacement, if you can get one.

 

Otherwise the world is your oyster.

 

I love to play with original hardware. If you have a chance any of the discussed hardware, then, yes, go for it.

[KG7PFS]

15 hours ago, Nezgar said:

As for comparing to an XF551, Percom/Astra drives can't handle "Dual" aka "Enhanced" density format, and also have no highspeed SIO option like an XF551.

So are they or are they not 360k?

[Nezgar]

8 minutes ago, KG7PFS said:

So are they or are they not 360k?

XF551 can do SSDD 90K, SSED 130K, SSDD 180K, DSDD 360K

 

Astra's are various combos depending on the mech in each model.. Single sided they can do SSSD or SSDD, not SSED. Double sided adds DSDD. I can't remember if they could technically do single density double sided, that would be silly though heh.

 

Looks like Astra 1620 and 2001 had 2x single sided mechs. Astra "Big D" was 2x double sided mechs.