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Looking to get a 250gh hd

D

dregs

Junior Member
Hi guys. I have a few questions about 250gb. I have a non serial ata motherboard. I just want to go into Best Buy and pick up a hd. Questions

- Do I go for the serial ata drive?
- If yes, can you buy a serial ata card? Can you boot off this card? Is it worth getting the serial ata drive over the ata?
- Are 250gb drives dependable?
- What model should I get?

Any help would be fantastic guys. Thanks for listening
 
1) If you want to, there's no really big reason to do so
2a) Yes
2b) Yes
2c) Depends whether or not you like skinny cables or saving a couple bucks (you may also need a power adapter for a SATA drive). There's no real performance difference between the two.
3) Why wouldn't they be?
4) Whatever's the cheapest (just make sure it has fluid bearings)
 
in your situation, i say no for the following reasons

its marginally more expensive
sata is not native to your mobo, so you will need a pci expansion card to even connect the drive
you likely dont have the right power connector (need a simple adapter)
they arent any faster than their non-serial counterparts

i am not sure if the pci card and power adapter are included in current retail packages

250 are very reliable and no brand is significantly better than the other (regardless of what people try to convince you of)
 
I would go ATA rather than dealing with the extra hassle of the add-on PCI card. Personally, I'd stay away from Maxtor drives. Of course someone has had a bad experience with every brand, but the only 2 drives I've ever had fail have been maxtor's, and they are quite a bit louder than most other drives out there as well.
 
If yes, can you buy a serial ata card? Can you boot off this card?
Click to expand...

That depends on the card and your motherboard. Chances are, if you can, you will need to disconnect any other HD's during the install, or it will install windows on E: or F: drive, which is irritating...
 
Get Seagate's Barracuda series, if you want SATA. But if you don't have an SATA-capable motherboard, it might not be worth the hassle.
 
All drives will be about the same quality wise, therefore look to get one that has a longer warrantee. Seagate carries a long 5 year one. Of course price should be the main factor on deciding.
 
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