A Hard Disk In A PCI Slot? The Upgradeware HD25-I/IS

HD25-I: UltraATA/100

The HD25-I is the UltraATA variation of the Upgradeware adapter. It is so simple that we thought the asking price of $25 dollars was too much, even with an 80-wire ATA cable included in the package. In the end, the adapter only serves the purpose of physical installation and power supply via PCI, which, in light of the low power consumption of 2.5" hard disks - usually just a few watts - shouldn't pose any problems.

The hard disk is simply placed on the board before the interface pins are connected with the matching baseboard. The hard disk should then be secured with at least one screw on the back of the board, because the interface itself doesn't offer sufficient stability should the computer ever be moved.

Our performance measurements led to the exact same results as those for a hard disk used in direct operation via a conventional adapter.