Okay, so I bought a SCSI hard drive for an old system, I got it, and it turned out not to be Ultra Wide like they said it would be, but it was Ultra 160LVD. Now, this isn't a problem, because I've got a terminator and everything to make it work with my Ultra Wide system, but here's the kicker:

It's actually really nice for what it is-- it's a 10000RPM Ultra 160 drive, so it's bound to be pretty fast. I'm thinking of instead of dropping it in my old box, I can actually use this as a boot volume for my drive. But, the problem is, my old system has an Ultra Wide card, but my new system doesn't have an Ultra160 controller.

I've been eBaying, Googling, Froogling, and Newegging it, and I'm finding a couple of things. Firstly, Ultra160 adapters are most commonly 64-bit PCI cards. I've found some that say 64/32-bit, and one or two that are just 32-bit PCI cards. My question is this: Can I plug a 64-bit card into a 32-bit slot and have it work? The interface on the cards look like they'd fit, with the exception of the extra row of connectors on the back that would fit in a 64-bit slot.

Now, there's an additional part to this, too: I've found a 32-bit Ultra160 card that's reasonably priced, and I'm thinking of getting it. Can anybody estimate what kind of speed impact I can expect, if any, by not running a 64-bit card in a 64-bit slot?

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I think they are backwards compatible, but do not hold me to that. But if you put a 32-bit card into a 64-bit slot, it will only have a 32-bit Bus.

Okay, I found it out.

If you look at a 64-bit PCI card, it's keyed up front like a 32-bit card. If you plug a 64-bit card into a 32-bit slot, it should just run at 32-bit.

/me runs off to get a less expensive SCSI card!

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