SATA, worth the extra money?

[Deucer]

Ok, here we go....

I have the msi k7n2g-ilsr, which has an onboard SATA raid controller. I am replacing my harddrive and had originally thought about buying 2 matching SATA HDs and running a raid array. I have pretty much abandoned this idea, as it doesn't seem to me that 2 raided SATA drives provide much more overall system proformance in a normal desktop setting than a single HD. So, my question is, will buying a single SATA HD provine any benefit vs. simply buying a non SATA equivalent. I'm talking about any increase in system proformance in a desktop setting. My normal usage includes some video capture, not a lot of editing, some gaming.

In short, is getting an SATA HD worth the premium i will pay for it or should I just get a cheaper, bigger, ATA100 HD.

Deucer

 

[SocrPlyr]

There is no benefit other than the smaller cable...

Josh

 

[THUGSROOK]

Originally posted by: SocrPlyr
There is no benefit other than the smaller cable...

Josh

unless its a Raptor

 

[Mik3y]

well, you can always buy a smaller cable for the ide harddrive at newegg. the ones at newegg also are UV sensitive.

 

[iwantanewcomputer]

what speed does a ssata hd actually transfer data at? i heard that motherboards can't handle more than 133 with sata, but it could be that the hd is too slow to transfer data at 150 MB/s.

 

[NumbaJuan]

Originally posted by: THUGSROOK

Originally posted by: SocrPlyr
There is no benefit other than the smaller cable...

Josh

unless its a Raptor

The five year warranty is nice

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

It depends on the motherboard if the SATA controler runs through the PCI bus then it'll only get 133. Most IDE drives I see are 100 anyway... so it's still an improvement. It all doesn't really matter because harddrives don't use up that much bandwidth anyway. SATA cords > IDE round cables > IDE flat cables.

 

[Deucer]

Thanks for all the quick responses, I'm too poor to get a raptor and I need more space than that anyway. I already have round IDE cables, so the cable form factor doesn't mean that much to me. Looks like no SATA for me. Damn I was almmost looking forward to blowing more partypoker winnings on my rig......

Deucer

 

[airfoil]

Dont give up just yet! SATA is the way to go for just about any new HDD purchase when the mobo supports it.

This site may help you decide...

 

[Deucer]

The question I'm asking is, "Why is SATA the way to go?" What benifit does it offer the desktop user to justify it's price premium? I have read some of the stuff at storagereview, and I haven't really found anthing significant. I'm almost looking for a reason to pay the premium for the SATA HD but I just can't justify the expense. Someone please tell me why I should spend more.

 

[THUGSROOK]

there is no reason to get a SATA other then the 10k spindle speed of the Raptor.

 

[aboothman]

Did you read THIS page?

HERE is another article that tells about this drive.

It seems they are fast in benchmarks, and a lot of people have them. I hear they are even faster in RAID.

 

[KristopherKubicki]

The benifit is the smaller cable right now. Also hot-swap if youre into that.

The round IDE cables are *not* a good idea. Google around if you don't believe me. SATA is nice, but probably not worth the premium just yet.

On a separate note, SATA Optical drives are starting to hit the market. A great idea in my opinion. No large premium, no SATA bridge, (no real performance increase) but smaller cable at the same cosT!

Kristopher

 

[1sikbITCH]

Not sure what you guys mean by paying a premium.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=property&DEPA=1

The Sata drives are all under $130, and the IDE drives are as cheap as $110 or as much as $150.

I just picked 160gb drives because I knew the SATA's were definately reasonable. It can't be that much different for other size drives. Or I guess it could but I'm not really going to go see

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: KristopherKubicki
The benifit is the smaller cable right now. Also hot-swap if youre into that.

The round IDE cables are *not* a good idea. Google around if you don't believe me. SATA is nice, but probably not worth the premium just yet.

On a separate note, SATA Optical drives are starting to hit the market. A great idea in my opinion. No large premium, no SATA bridge, (no real performance increase) but smaller cable at the same cosT!

Kristopher

i was always curious if there was a problem with all the wires so close together.....

 

[KristopherKubicki]

Bob, which wires? on the rounded IDE cables? You bet, i think Lost Circuits wrote something about it once.

SATA's largest disadvantage is that whoever designed the connectors was an absolute moron. They do not stay "snug" most of the time and can fall out fairly easily.

Kristopher

 

[gsellis]

Originally posted by: KristopherKubicki

SATA's largest disadvantage is that whoever designed the connectors was an absolute moron. They do not stay "snug" most of the time and can fall out fairly easily.

Kristopher

Not disputing, adding... Kristopher already knows this

Western Digital does provide custom cables for their drives that lock. Only works on WD drives.


Remember that ATA-133 and SATA(150) are about the bandwidth available. The drives are still the same drive whether SATA or PATA. Therefore they will transfer data at about the same rates. If the Raptor came with an ATA-133 connection, it might still be as fast as the SATA version.

 

[miniMUNCH]

Originally posted by: gsellis

Originally posted by: KristopherKubicki

SATA's largest disadvantage is that whoever designed the connectors was an absolute moron. They do not stay "snug" most of the time and can fall out fairly easily.

Kristopher

Not disputing, adding... Kristopher already knows this

Western Digital does provide custom cables for their drives that lock. Only works on WD drives.


Remember that ATA-133 and SATA(150) are about the bandwidth available. The drives are still the same drive whether SATA or PATA. Therefore they will transfer data at about the same rates. If the Raptor came with an ATA-133 connection, it might still be as fast as the SATA version.

I just use a tab of electrical tape to keep the SATA snug.

 

[Slickone]

Couldn't a SATA cable be faster than a rounded PATA cable since with rounded cables, errors make some data have to be re-sent?

 

[Atrail]

It was worth the small premium to me. My cable fits good, Maxtor drive...

 

[Algere]

Originally posted by: SocrPlyr
There is no benefit other than the smaller cable...

Josh

and lower power consumption

 

[Cosmic_Horror]

when using multiply hard drives, is there any advantage to using them on SATA rather than in a master/ slave configuration on P-ATA (assuming the other ide controller has optival devces attached)?

 

[Mem]

Bob, which wires? on the rounded IDE cables? You bet, i think Lost Circuits wrote something about it once.

SATA's largest disadvantage is that whoever designed the connectors was an absolute moron. They do not stay "snug" most of the time and can fall out fairly easily.

Kristopher

I never had any problems with my round IDE cables in both my PCs,btw we`re talking over 3 years of use,I guess it really depends on the quality of the round cables in question,since just like PSUs,quality of round IDE cables do vary.

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Originally posted by: Mem

Bob, which wires? on the rounded IDE cables? You bet, i think Lost Circuits wrote something about it once.

SATA's largest disadvantage is that whoever designed the connectors was an absolute moron. They do not stay "snug" most of the time and can fall out fairly easily.

Kristopher

I never had any problems with my round IDE cables in both my PCs,btw we`re talking over 3 years of use,I guess it really depends on the quality of the round cables in question,since just like PSUs,quality of round IDE cables do vary.

same here ..2 + yrs..appears everywhere there are quality control issues.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: ScrapSilicon

Originally posted by: Mem

Bob, which wires? on the rounded IDE cables? You bet, i think Lost Circuits wrote something about it once.

SATA's largest disadvantage is that whoever designed the connectors was an absolute moron. They do not stay "snug" most of the time and can fall out fairly easily.

Kristopher

I never had any problems with my round IDE cables in both my PCs,btw we`re talking over 3 years of use,I guess it really depends on the quality of the round cables in question,since just like PSUs,quality of round IDE cables do vary.

same here ..2 + yrs..appears everywhere there are quality control issues.

What's the reason for using round IDE cables? I understand that they provide less resistance to air movement in the case, thus reducing the temperatures. However, in my experience they are significantly more expensive than ATA100 IDE flat cables, of which I have quite a few (and no round IDE cables). I have a number of 18", 24" and 36" cables. I manage to keep my cases' interiors cool enough by gathering cables together with long twist ties and installing nice quiet air-moving fans in the right places.