Am I reading this right? Is this ATA/66 ?

[Fatt]

Bought a used computer that supports Ultra ATA/66.
Bought a HD whose transfer rate specs are below.
Am I reading this correctly in that since my mobo supports ATA/66 that my HD will function at that level?

Transfer Rate (Buffer to Host)
66.6 MB/s (Mode 4 Ultra ATA)
33.3 MB/s (Mode 2 Ultra ATA)
16.6 MB/s (Mode 4 PIO)
16.6 MB/s (Mode 2 multi-word DMA)

 

[hominid skull]

That's right, it'll work at 66MB/s. Remeber that you need a 80 conductor IDE cable to transfer at ATA66 and above!

 

[Fatt]

At the risk of asking a dumb question....

Short of buying a new ribbon and reading the pack, how can I tell how many conductors are in a cable?

 

[CTho9305]

if there are a LOT and they're really small, 80. if there are a few and they're kinda big, 40

 

[Fatt]

Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of markings on the ribbon.

Are there any?

 

[Doh!]

Usually, the color of connectors will be different. With a 40-pin cable, both connectors will be usually grey or one color. With a 80-pin cable, one connector will be usually grey while the other will be blue or black. I only have used about a dozen of 80-pin cables so other companies may have same color connectors but hopefully you'll find the right one.

 

[Fatt]

Ahh, thank you. THAT was helpful.