New HD for old PC.. IDE or SATA?

[badgerade]

Hi,

I've a need for more storage in my approx 6 year old PC. There is no SATA available, only IDE. Due to kids running around etc I've ruled out the idea of an external HDD which I think leaves me with 2 options.. Either go with an IDE drive (which appear to be more expensive than their SATA equivalents), or stick in a SATA controller and buy a SATA HDD. A quick look on Scan.co.uk suggests that the price would work out about the same for either option.

What are peoples thoughts? It sounds like a straightforward choice, but I've never really messed around with controller cards etc and have no idea if the old motherboard would support this..

[RobDickinson]

6 year old motherboard should have PCI slots so a PCI controller card will work, an SATA one will see you ok if you upgrade later.

Controller cards can tho be fiddly with drivers etc.

[badgerade]

Yep, it's definitely got spare PCI slots, so something like this should work?

http://www.dabs.com/products/startech-com-4-port-p...

Are the power connectors on SATA drives different? I guess I might need an adapter or something?

Thanks

[bonsai]

badgerade said:

Are the power connectors on SATA drives different? I guess I might need an adapter or something?

Yes, if you go down the SATA route then you'll need a Molex to SATA adapter.

If I were you I'd just buy the IDE drive, that way you don't have to mess about with the controller card, and there won't be any noticeable performance increase with SATA.

[ErnestM]

I would also check your BIOS to see how easy it will be to boot from an add-in card (and to activate that feature if available)

[horton]

SATA, I wouldn't even consider looking at IDE.

Last time I looked, SATA are cheaper and when you buy a new PC (got to be on the cards soon) you can move the SATA drive over to the new PC.

An external is tiny, though - they can be hidden behind the case, screen - or wherever.

[TheD]

Get an IDE. The price difference isn't so great compared to a sata pci card and molex adapter. Then there is the hassle of installing the card then getting it to boot from it.
With an Ide it is 2 cables out - drive in - 2 cables in - done

[horton]

TheD said:

Get an IDE. The price difference isn't so great compared to a sata pci card and molex adapter. Then there is the hassle of installing the card then getting it to boot from it.
With an Ide it is 2 cables out - drive in - 2 cables in - done

yeah..and while you are at it, get a Pentium 1, a 128mb stick of ram and 4mb videocard.

Old technology is a waste of time and money.

[TheD]

horton said:

TheD said:

Get an IDE. The price difference isn't so great compared to a sata pci card and molex adapter. Then there is the hassle of installing the card then getting it to boot from it.
With an Ide it is 2 cables out - drive in - 2 cables in - done

yeah..and while you are at it, get a Pentium 1, a 128mb stick of ram and 4mb videocard.

Old technology is a waste of time and money.

Wooooooooo.....Plonker alert.....The guy has a 6 year old pc and needs a hard drive....read the post

[horton]

TheD said:

horton said:

TheD said:

Get an IDE. The price difference isn't so great compared to a sata pci card and molex adapter. Then there is the hassle of installing the card then getting it to boot from it.
With an Ide it is 2 cables out - drive in - 2 cables in - done

yeah..and while you are at it, get a Pentium 1, a 128mb stick of ram and 4mb videocard.

Old technology is a waste of time and money.

Wooooooooo.....Plonker alert.....The guy has a 6 year old pc and needs a hard drive....read the post

calm down.

He has a 6yr old PC, so there is a good chance he will be needing a new PC within the next couple of years, as I can't imagine a six year old PC running Vista/Windows 7 in a usable manner.

When he gets a new PC, it will have SATA support (and in a couple of years time, will you even be able to buy a motherboard that supports IDE?)

So instead of calling me a plonker, why don't you try to understand that buying IDE because it is easier, would be really gay in a year or two, when you have to throw it away due to it being obselete.

[TheD]

Using your own argument. SSD will be well in by then so Sata will be obsolete. Two years is a long time in IT.

[horton]

If I can buy a 2tb SSD in two years time for a reasonable price I will eat my own feet.

SSD is currently very expensive and will remain so for a few years.

SATA is cheaper than IDE, right now.

SSD is relevant for those who have money to burn, or for a drive solely used for an OS/apps - it isn't a storage solution.

[TheD]

I would start marinating those feet if I was you.

I've read a few articles recently about Ssd and they all believe by 2012 the drives should be about the same capacity and price as Sata today.

[horton]

I doubt they will be anywhere near the price/size of SATA by 2012, but for arguments sake if they are - SATA will have dropped in price by then and increased in size.

What seems like a suitable size for a drive now, will not be the same in 2012 - it took me months to fill up an 80gb HDD with downloads in 2002, with HD movies, 10gb+ games and a connection getting close to 150Mbps, I can fill up 80gb in an afternoon.

[spants]

How much more capacity do you need?

If its a small amount then just buy ide. In 2 years time drives will be so cheap anyway.
If you need 500gb then look at sata or a small external usb powered one and hide it behind the pc (or route the cable back into the pc and hide it inside).

I wouldnt worry about ide or sata for a 6 yo pc. Most motherboards still have ide so you can transfer it across later. If no ide connector (in the future machine), you can use an ide to sata converter......

Tony

[twister]

Not sure why there's such concern over whether the OP would be able to boot from a SATA drive via a PCI adapter, when the OP hasn't mentioned this as being a requirement... My vote goes to the SATA option too - bigger selection of drives and easier migration to a new PC as and when that becomes an option/necessity.

[Zod]

horton said:

TheD said:

horton said:

TheD said:

Get an IDE. The price difference isn't so great compared to a sata pci card and molex adapter. Then there is the hassle of installing the card then getting it to boot from it.
With an Ide it is 2 cables out - drive in - 2 cables in - done

yeah..and while you are at it, get a Pentium 1, a 128mb stick of ram and 4mb videocard.

Old technology is a waste of time and money.

Wooooooooo.....Plonker alert.....The guy has a 6 year old pc and needs a hard drive....read the post

calm down.

He has a 6yr old PC, so there is a good chance he will be needing a new PC within the next couple of years, as I can't imagine a six year old PC running Vista/Windows 7 in a usable manner.

When he gets a new PC, it will have SATA support (and in a couple of years time, will you even be able to buy a motherboard that supports IDE?)

So instead of calling me a plonker, why don't you try to understand that buying IDE because it is easier, would be really gay in a year or two, when you have to throw it away due to it being obselete.

with a Pentium 1, you'd be looking at 16 or 32MB of EDO RAM, not a single 128MB stick of SDRAM.

[horton]

Zod said:

with a Pentium 1, you'd be looking at 16 or 32MB of EDO RAM, not a single 128MB stick of SDRAM.

My experience of building PCs, does not go quite that far back.

[ymwoods]

I would go the IDE route for now. At the end of the day if you did go and buy a new pc in 2 years time, or even next week, a new SATA drive would be included and probably triple or more the size of your current storage.

With the SATA solution if your not too hot on messing about with the BIOS etc then potentially you could have a few headaches. Not saying you will as on the other hand you could plug it in, install, and away you go...but we all know from experience that its rarely the case, and with computers, the odds are even worse!

Just as you buy it be aware that your investing in old technology...but then you already knew that as your still using a 6 year old pc. If it aint broken, don't fix it!

[simba1]

horton said:

TheD said:

horton said:

TheD said:

Get an IDE. The price difference isn't so great compared to a sata pci card and molex adapter. Then there is the hassle of installing the card then getting it to boot from it.
With an Ide it is 2 cables out - drive in - 2 cables in - done

yeah..and while you are at it, get a Pentium 1, a 128mb stick of ram and 4mb videocard.

Old technology is a waste of time and money.

Wooooooooo.....Plonker alert.....The guy has a 6 year old pc and needs a hard drive....read the post

calm down.

He has a 6yr old PC, so there is a good chance he will be needing a new PC within the next couple of years, as I can't imagine a six year old PC running Vista/Windows 7 in a usable manner.

When he gets a new PC, it will have SATA support (and in a couple of years time, will you even be able to buy a motherboard that supports IDE?)

So instead of calling me a plonker, why don't you try to understand that buying IDE because it is easier, would be really gay in a year or two, when you have to throw it away due to it being obselete.

Why would IDE be obsolete in 2 years time? Most motherboards still have support for IDE drives for quite a few more years and even if they don't have, you just need to get an caddy and use it as an external drive.