SATA -- Lemme make sure I got this right

[racketboy]

Just want to make sure I understand something right.

Right now I have this IDE setup

DVD Reader & DVD Burner on one IDE channel

1 HD on the second IDE channel.

Now for maximum performance I would want to get a SATA HD for a second drive so that I wouldn't potentially have two HDs on the same IDE channel or have my DVD drives on the same channel as a HD. Correct? Each of my SATA connections on my mobo would acts sort of like another separate IDE channel???

 

[IceDigger]

Yes, a sata controller onboard the motherboard adds 2 extra hard drives. I have it built onto my IS7-G P4 computer.

 

[RitualOfTheTrout]

Yes im pretty sure that SATA connections allow read and write commands at the same time also while good ol IDE as im sure u know only can do one or the other at any given time.

SATA drives might have higher RPMs too.. like 10,000 but i may be confusing that with somehing else.

 

[racketboy]

yes there is a 10,000RPM drive (Raptor series), but most are still 7200RPM.

But my main selling point for the SATA drives right now is so I don't have to clog up my IDE channels.

 

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

and that's why I have a pci ide card in my pc.

 

[racketboy]

but those cost money and I already have SATA ports on my mobo so

how much did you pay for yours?

I realized SATA costs more -- especially if you need a power adapter, but I need to decide which would be a better option.

 

[Curtis]

The "power adaptor" is not very expensive. A couple of $$'s at most.

SATA drives are generally $10-$20 (australian) more expensive than their IDE counterparts, but as you say, you get the advantage of not clogging up your IDE channels.

 

[Alexvrb]

You can get the fastest 7200RPM 160GB SATA drive now for $135 including shipping at newegg (the Hitachi HDS7225 series). The Raptors are nice, but a bit pricey and louder/hotter (though not by a ton). They also don't have as much capacity with 36/72GB models. If $135 is too much, you can get an 80GB version for $81.

I wish drives were that cheap when I bought my 120GB, but I'll probably replace my 40GB WD with something soon. It has developed an annoying whine.

 

[Pearl Jammzz]

The Hitachi ones are nice, I have a 120gig. Runs quiet, cool, and fast. I like it a lot 🙂.

 

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

I've heard some not so great things about hitachi drives....

 

[Pearl Jammzz]

I am not talkin about Hitachi drives as a whole...but on various review sites I looked at the new darkstar(I think) SATA models were one of the best SATA drives on the market.

 

[MasterAkumaMatata]

Originally posted by Pearl Jammzz@Feb 13, 2004 @ 10:52 PM

The Hitachi ones are nice, I have a 120gig. Runs quiet, cool, and fast. I like it a lot 🙂.

I have two 160GB Hitachi SATA drives 😛, bought from newegg when it was $136 each about a month ago 🙂

 

[Curtis]

Hitachi's are one of the few drives that currently support Automatic Acoustic Management - the nifty bit of technology that can drasticly reduce the amount of noise your HD makes when it is seeking. Samgsung drives also support this feature.

 

[mal]

Has anyone heard good or bad things about the Seagate SATA drives?

 

[Pearl Jammzz]

I have heard they are alright......not ta lot of good but not rlly that much bad either. About a 70/30 good/bad ratio on those.

 

[Curtis]

Yeah...I've got a Segate SATA 80Gig. It's fine, for the most part. It idles quietly, seeks are a little noisy, but could be worse. One thing to watch out for - they run hot. In a standard PC case with minimal ventilation, expect temps to be 48 degrees +.

Or you could use my HD mounting technique (here) and sit in on the bottom of your case. With this, and a low speed fan, I easily get temps of < 35 degrees.

 

[Alexvrb]

The new 200GB Seagate is decent, quiet and cool. However, despite the 100GB per platter, it still isn't a top performer like the Hitachi models.

Curtis: With modern drives (read: he's buying a new one), you really shouldn't have to resort to that. Maybe if you're using a fast SCSI drive, but if you've got that kind of money you can probably afford a cooler/silencer mount for it.

MasterAkumaMatata: Bastage. You run those in a RAID config?

 

[Curtis]

Well, all I can say is that from direct experience, the Segate drives are hot devices. I'm not comfortable with a drive that will peak at over 50 degrees on a hot day.

 

[racketboy]

I'll be having a fan on them.

I laready have 2 Seagates, so I'm used to it

 

[Alexvrb]

Originally posted by Curtis@Feb 15, 2004 @ 01:52 AM

Well, all I can say is that from direct experience, the Segate drives are hot devices. I'm not comfortable with a drive that will peak at over 50 degrees on a hot day.

That's a bit outdated, though. The newer models are actually quite cool. Note that they didn't call their newest 200GB model a different name, even though it has a higher density and better speed than the old ones, and still runs very cool. The new Seagate has the highest raw transfer speeds of the 7200 RPM drives, but falls short in a lot of other categories. So if you want speed+capacity while still being good on temp and noise, I've got to recommend the 7K250. It has good random access, decent transfer rates - basically it is very balanced.

Also, I don't know how you're taking your measurements, there are a lot of drives that get over 50 degrees during use. Cooling obviously changes things, if you're including that. For those that don't know, the top part of the drive isn't the hottest... its the sides...