80 pin IDE cables

[Bojangles139]

are there more then one type of parrallel IDE cables? i know ther are 80pin's, but whats less then that? also, what are the differences? i ask cause i just replaced the ones i had with 80 pin because on every boot up, i would get no 80 pin IDE cable's present. whats the real difference?

brandon

 

[WobbleWobble]

There are 40 pin cables.

Connector wise, they're the same.

80 pins are essentially just 40 pin cables plus another 40 pins for grounding.

 

[Super6]

The other 40 wires are to prevent crosstalk and interference between the 40 wires with pins.

Super6

 

[John]

A standard 40-wire IDE cable will work with ATA-33, ATA-66, ATA-100 or ATA-133 drives but it will only allow 33MB/s performance. However, it is recommended that you use an Ultra ATA 80-wire/40-pin cable no matter what your drive rating for several reasons:

[*]80-wire/40-pin cables offer improved data reliability and signal integrity by adding 40 more ground wires than standard 40-wire/40-pin IDE cables. The extra 40 strands in an 80-wire cable act as insulators between the 40 signaling strands to prevent and reduce crosstalk.
[*]Using an 80-wire cable allows for the use of ATA/66/100/133 modes with drives and systems that support these rates. If you have an ATA/133/100/66 drive without the 80-wire cable, the drive will only run at 33MB/sec.
[*]You can use an ATA/33 drive on the same cable as an ATA/100 drive, and with a current controller that provides independent device timing, it will not affect the operation of an ATA/66 or ATA/100 drive. This is not possible with a standard 40-wire IDE cable.

 

[MDE]

Cliff's notes: 80 wire cables allow faster transfers and decrease the chances of data being corrupted while being transmitted.

 

[Bojangles139]

thx guys.

brandon