SATA vs IDE - which?

[hockeymachine]

I am buying a new external enclosure for my laptop and was wondeirng if i should get a SATA/150 HD to put in it or an IDE harddrive.

PLEASE NEED OPINIONS

 

[PCcashCow]

SATA 's internal bust is faster than IDE. As long as your connecting to a usb 2.0 or firewire interface go with SATA. They even make SATA to SATA notebook cards. What did you have in mind for an enclosure?

 

[hockeymachine]

not sure do you have any recommendations?

 

[PCcashCow]

Well there is so much out there. What were you looking to spend?

 

[hockeymachine]

I am looking to spend around 50 or less for the enclosure itself, unless i can get a enclosure and HD for around 150. Im wanting at 16MB Cache, 7200rpm, firewire and usb2 enclosure, and im wanting the hd to be atleast 200gb but i dont need anything bigger than 350 really.

 

[biohazard420420]

In all honesty it doesn't really matter. You are going to be getting the same basic transfer speed either way. SATA has a higher data transfer rate (1.5GB/s or 3.0GB/s compared to IDE (aka PATA) 133MB/s (they masy be a little faster now), but you would be hard pressed to find a hard drive that can manage over 133MB/s transfer rate. So you won't see any apreciable speed difference between the two.

 

[hockeymachine]

thanks, do you know a good website to get enclosures and harddrives?
the specs im looking at wanting are:
250+gb hd 7200rpm w/ 16MB cache
enclosure: usb 2 & Firewire

unless you recommend something else?

 

[RichPLS]

You might get better feedback if you search for components yourself, then post link to your item you favor and your usage intent and system specs then request for comments or other choices based on your suggestions given...

 

[hockeymachine]

i'm looking at getting:
http://www.supergooddeal.com/Maxtor_DiamondMax_10_7200rpm_16MB_Cache_FDB_250GB_p/6l250r0.htm
and for enclosure either
http://www.supergooddeal.com/Metal_Gear_Box_USB_2_0_Firewire_Combo_3_5_inch_e_p/mgbu2f-bk.htm
or
http://www.supergooddeal.com/StorTecc_USB_2_0_Firewire_Dual_Fan_Aluminum_Exte_p/pm-350u2f-bk.htm

any opinions?

 

[xJedix]

Either enclosure looks fine. Though I'd just add that I have recently bought a 160 gig internal ide and a metal gear box. I'd suggest getting the metal gear box. I like mine a lot and have had no problems at all with it. Mine has pretty blue leds

 

[hockeymachine]

only reason i was thinking about not going with metal gear box is because it has no fans and i didnt know if the HD would overheat after long periods of use. Also, where did you get yours from?

 

[xJedix]

It does get a little warm, but hardly anything to worry about... especially since its normal for hdd to get a little warm. I leave mine on all the time and haven't had problems with it or with overheating.

I got mine from ebay. To be specific, this is the one I got

http://cgi.ebay.com/Metal-Gear-Box-II-USB-2-0-External-Enclosure-Red_W0QQitemZ150012676259QQihZ005QQcategoryZ41911QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Edit: Though, mine doesn't have firewire... Just USB 2.0, which is all I need

 

[The_Prophecy]

In all honesty it doesn't really matter. You are going to be getting the same basic transfer speed either way. SATA has a higher data transfer rate (1.5GB/s or 3.0GB/s compared to IDE (aka PATA) 133MB/s (they masy be a little faster now), but you would be hard pressed to find a hard drive that can manage over 133MB/s transfer rate. So you won't see any apreciable speed difference between the two.

Oh yes it matters. The interface speed may not make a difference because the actual data throughput doesn't match the interface speed. However, the throughput of a SATA drive is definitly higher than that of an IDE drive. Serial IS faster, I can say that from personal experience.

 

[alfor]

The first thing for everyone to do is get there terms correct before giving advice or opinions. The correct term is PATA not IDE. IDE refers to the controller integrated on the drive. PATA as well as SATA refers to a type of connection for the IDE controller.

 

[ZOldDude]

I am buying a new external enclosure for my laptop and was wondeirng if i should get a SATA/150 HD to put in it or an IDE harddrive.

PLEASE NEED OPINIONS

External boxs are $24 USD so look around....$50 is a rip off.
For the same price you can buy a sata/pata-to-usb cable and psu that will let you connect any HD.

If all your going to use it for is storrage that may be the way to go.

As for a HD it's self Frys has 300GB Maxtors on sale for $79 this week.

 

[b_diddy_t]

The first thing for everyone to do is get there terms correct before giving advice or opinions. The correct term is PATA not IDE. IDE refers to the controller integrated on the drive. PATA as well as SATA refers to a type of connection for the IDE controller.

I think that everyone here has a good grasp of the contextual meaning of IDE in this thread. The term IDE has been around for a lot longer than PATA, which was only introduced recently. IDE is definately still in common use, and I don't think anyone here is confused about which type of drive it refers to.

So why not come down from your high horse and try to add something useful to the discussion before bagging out those that are.

P.S. You've really impressed everyone. We marvel at your ability to read Wikipedia. (please note sarcasm)

 

[The_Prophecy]

The first thing for everyone to do is get there terms correct before giving advice or opinions. The correct term is PATA not IDE. IDE refers to the controller integrated on the drive. PATA as well as SATA refers to a type of connection for the IDE controller.

I am perfectly aware that SATA drives are still IDE, but I use IDE to refer to PATA drives because many people distinguish between PATA and SATA as IDE and SATA. I've asked a lot of people if they are using a PATA drive and they give me a blank stare. When I rephrase the question, this time using IDE, they know what i'm talking about.

 

[alfor]

Did not mean to hurt anyones feelings, I just feel that it is just as important to help people understand the terms they are using when asking for help. It will help them a lot more in the long run to know the right terms. We are only hurting them when we get that "blank stare" and except wrong as right in the name of expediency. Not suggesting you bore them with long drawn out explanations, just basic terminology.

As far as the “high horse comment” I never think I am above taking the extra time to explain to someone correct terminology in the process of helping them (I would hope for the same). I feel they have the ability and desire to know and learn it just like I did.


didn't read it on wikipedia. been in the industry since 94

 

[The_Prophecy]

I share your desire to help the average user learn the terminology, but I am one of those people who would rather have the client be comfortable and not feeling like i'm using a bunch of terms they don't understand. If someone knows a PATA hard drive as simply an IDE drive, then that's the term i'll use. If I feel the need to tell them the proper term, i'll do so as a footnote in the conversation.

 

[b_diddy_t]

I just think that this is probably the wrong audience to be explaining the difference to. Plus, the comment about learning the terminology before giving advice was uncalled for. A suggestion in order to clear up an issue, however, would have been far better received.

 

[alfor]

Considering my post was directed to those giving advice. I think this was the perfect place for it. I have seen many forums where people ask about something and get the terms wrong, but most of the time, those giving the advice use the correct terms when answering without any explanation being needed or the user feeling silly. The user asking the questions just figures it out. Remember this is a public forum and the people learning from your comments are not just the ones who made the initial post.