Ribbon IDE cable, or Round IDE Cable?

[Lab371]

Question: Would it be better, the same, or worse to use Round IDE cables, in lieu of the good ole ribbon cables? Pros and Cons? Thanks in advance!!

 

[Oracle]

The only advantage of using round cable is better air flow in the case. This could be a good option if you're system is a furnace and you need efficient cooling and air flow. Otherwise, I haven't seen any performance change when I tried round cables.


<font color=red>Do ya feel lucky, Punk? Well...? Do ya?
Then go ahead and buy that C3 CPU!</font color=red>

 

[lhgpoobaa]

i prefer rounded cables to ribbon ones...
a. they look good
b. they take up less room
c. you can twist and bend them alot without worrying about damaging the cable
d. certain varieties come with a metal mesh cover, protection against electromagnetic interferance.

the only real downsides are the price of them, and that many come in lengths that are longer than the reccomended max length.
Get cables that are 18" (45cm long) and u should be right

<b>Trust Me, Trust Yourself, Trust the Hamster. Anyone else - Shoot Them. </b> This sig was proudly brought to you by <i>Hammie</i>

 

[del_35]

Yeah i Agree exactly with the above. Be carefull with some suppliers when u ask for ATA133 as they sometime give you ATA100 instead. If you got a window on your case they look much neater - a sure sign of a goos builder is neatness.

<font color=purple> "After great thought, things are always bought from the lowest bider"</font color=purple>

 

[buddry]

Round for better looks, easier to work around, and better airflow.

<font color=blue>Unofficial Forum Cop</font color=blue>

 

[ejsmith2]

"when u ask for ATA133 as they sometime give you ATA100 instead"

Hmmmmmm.

P@ll4dium f0r L1f3!

 

[HammerBot]

when u ask for ATA133 as they sometime give you ATA100 instead.

ATA100 and ATA133 cables are identical (well at least they should be). 80 wire cables were introduced with ATA66 and anything after that should be 80 wire cables.

80 wire cables contain 40 extra ground wires interleaved with the original 40 wires of the ATA33 cable. These were introduced to reduce crosstalk between the wires that otherwise were located next to eachother. In addition to that, the 80 wire cable also has a special provisions for making it possible for the mobo to detect whether an 80 wire or an 40 wire cable is used.

Round cables somewhat defeats the attempt to limit crosstalk by crowding all wires close to each other. The extra length of some of these cables makes it even worse. The best way to make round cable, IMO, is to to make them out of 40 pcs. two wire cables where one is connected to ground. I dont know if round cable are constructed this way, but it is logical to assume they are. Further I have never heard of any which had problems caused by round cables.

Personally I use 80 wire flat cables, and I have been able to push tham away from the airflow in may cabinet. So unless its really difficult for you to route the cables nicely, I see no advantage of round cables.