Hard drive question

[14k]

I'm thinking of getting a new SATA 250GB hdd (best price/performance at the moment?). Will it be compatible with my Asus A7V8X motherboard? I'm pretty sure it has SATA ability but I'm not sure it will handle the latest SATA drives as its quite an old board. Also does it mean I have to get rid of and stop using the 3 PATA(?) drives i've got in there at the moment? Or is it possible to use the SATA drive and maybe 2 other PATAs at the same time?

Also, I was going to get the Seagate 7200.8 250gb - is this one a good one to get at the moment? In a few months time I would like to move this to a new system with the addition of another 250GB SATA drive in RAID 0 configuration

Any help and suggestions most appreciated.

 

[alimoalem]

the 7200.8 is a good drive but it is slower than the 7200.7 in some statistics. all the major manufacterers make good SATA II drives though. the performance boost one has over another is usually very minimal so you won't really see a difference. i personally want to get the Western Digital 250 or 320 GB SATA II drive w/16mb cache. i hear the DiamondMax is good too. you can still have your PATA drives on a new mobo, just as long as you have enough cables. if SATA is compatible with your mobo but it's old, the SATA II drive will perform at SATA I speeds, meaning 1.5Gbps instead of 3.0Gbps. it's really a waste to get SATA II instead of SATA if you don't replace your motherboard

 

[phaxmohdem]

I was going to suggest the 7200.8 series. Or even 7200.9 series now if you have a couple extra bucks to spare. Teh concensus is that its worth it. I've also never had problems with Western Digital Dirves. You could probably pick up a WD2500 for a reasonable price. If you want to add another drive in the future, just make sure you pick one that will still be around in a few months so you have identical drives for RAID.

 

[14k]

If you want to add another drive in the future, just make sure you pick one that will still be around in a few months so you have identical drives for RAID.

Oh, so to have a RAID setup the 2 drives must be same size, make, and model?

 

[14k]

if SATA is compatible with your mobo but it's old, the SATA II drive will perform at SATA I speeds, meaning 1.5Gbps instead of 3.0Gbps. it's really a waste to get SATA II instead of SATA if you don't replace your motherboard

Thanks, I didn't know that. I might go with a new setup then. Keep my optical drives, ram maybe and get a new MB, CPU, HDD, Graphics Card.

... or I suppose I could run a SATA II hdd (all current SATA drives are now SATA II?) at 1.5gbps untill I can better afford a new system

 

[14k]

bump