Why are IDE cables flat?

$$$$ Period.

Ribbon cables are much cheaper to make and terminate than round or twisted pairs, etc.

BW

the more I learn, the less I'm sure I know...  

You can get round cables go to coolerguys.com they have a selection of round cables...they are $$$ 19.95 for one cable!

!!Warning!! Some benchmarks are not VALID, depends on what side you are on!

At least a ribbon cable can be neatly folded over itself, a round cable long enough to reach the furthest drive from the MB in a full tower case, would create a mess in a desktop case.

ok thats what i figured

--- Not all idiots are stupid, some merely know <font color=red>no</font color=red><font color=orange>th</font color=orange><font color=blue>ing</font color=blue> ---

actually they can be moved around and it looks really nice...I have a mid tower and a server tower with round cables...It leave a lot of space for airflow.

!!Warning!! Some benchmarks are not VALID, depends on what side you are on!

More expensive, most likely. I'm not sure about slower. I get +37.3 meg/sec sequential reads off my 45 gig IBM drive, which is supposed to get 55 meg/sec according to IBM's website. I guess there's a little bit of performace hit =)

You can round ribbon cables yourself (successfully) with a box blade, scotch tape, and some patience. Electrician's tape looks better, but cherry tape would be more flexible.