80 pin IDE cables

Bojangles139

Senior member
Jan 6, 2003
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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

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2001
4,867
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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

Golden Member
Oct 11, 1999
1,054
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The other 40 wires are to prevent crosstalk and interference between the 40 wires with pins.

Super6
 

John

Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
33,944
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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

Lifer
Jul 17, 2003
13,199
1
81
Cliff's notes: 80 wire cables allow faster transfers and decrease the chances of data being corrupted while being transmitted.