Going SATA, what do I need?

[Blurry]

I'm about to take the plunge and get a WD Raptor for my pc this weekend. Unfortunately, I haven't been following much of the news with SATA drives so I need to know what other stuff I need like controller cards, etc. Thanks

 

[Tostada]

Just to clarify, you're adding SATA to your current board, right? So you'll be getting what, a Promise SATA card or a Promise FastTrack SATA RAID card?

 

[oldfart]

For one, get a Secure Connect cable to go with it. The normal SATA connection on the drive is very fragile.

 

[Blurry]

I think most likely a regular sata card because I won't be using RAID on this computer. Since I have never used an SATA drive before, how fragile are the cables?

 

[oldfart]

Its not the cable. Its the SATA connector on the drive that is easily broken.

 

[ts3433]

I hear that the SATA data cables are very fragile. You also need to make sure you have a SATA power connector on your power supply; if not, then you need a Molex 4pin-to-SATA adapter.

 

[Trey22]

Originally posted by: oldfart
Its not the cable. Its the SATA connector on the drive that is easily broken.

Or one of those little gremlins inside your PC yanks it off your hard drive, then you have a heart attack the next you power up and your PC won't boot.

These SATA connectors have a bad habit of dislodging themselves with the slightest of movement.

 

[oldfart]

Originally posted by: ts3433
I hear that the SATA data cables are very fragile. You also need to make sure you have a SATA power connector on your power supply; if not, then you need a Molex 4pin-to-SATA adapter.

The Raptor uses a standard power connector.

 

[AristoV300]

Originally posted by: ts3433
I hear that the SATA data cables are very fragile. You also need to make sure you have a SATA power connector on your power supply; if not, then you need a Molex 4pin-to-SATA adapter.

The Raptor takes either the SATA power connector or the 4 pin, so it is not necessary.