Prices of Peripherals

On top of the overhead price that we just discussed regarding setting up a SCSI system, also realize that SCSI devices typically cost more than IDE devices. There are a few reasons for the higher cost of SCSI components over IDE components.

First, SCSI devices are targeted to a smaller niche market, which is mainly the higher-end market for power users or servers ad workstations. Because of the nature of the market, SCSI components command a premium in price due to this. While this is really only marketing and has very little to do with the actual technology, the world we live in functions as such.

However, because SCSI devices are marketed as being the "higher technology" solutions, SCSI devices are quicker to implement newer technology. For example, in the hard drive market we see SCSI drives being ahead of IDE drives by as much as several months when larger capacities become available. Even now, the largest capacity hard drives that are feasible for home use are SCSI interface drives.

In summary, these points just go back to the original targeting of SCSI as the higher-end of the interfaces. Because of this designation, SCSI devices are the first to have more advanced technology, but they are also more expensive as a result.

Price of cabling

Cabling doesn't seem like it should play a role in the pricing, but it does! SCSI cabling is quite expensive. SCSI cabling is quite specialized, and as a result costs a bit. Even the length matters, due to the sensitive electrical signal. The different SCSI protocols have specifications for minimum and maximum lengths for the cables. The longer the cable, the more expensive it is!

You've been terminated

On top of the cost that cables require, the SCSI bus also requires that both ends of the SCSI cabling be terminated. Termination stops the electrical signal at either end of the SCSI bus from "bouncing" back. A typical SCSI setup has the host adapter on one end, and usually these are terminated. The other end, then, also requires termination. So this adds the relatively smaller cost of the terminator. Still, the cost of cabling and a terminator can add up to be quite substantial should you require a good length of cable.