Minimum IDE cable Length? Myth or Fact?

[dejacky]

IDE cabling does not bear a resistance factor relative to the hardware, so I cannot imagine there's any truth whatsoever in the rumour you have heard about minimum length! The reverse is generally true in regards to data - too long and the signals weaken (however that's unlikely in the confines of a PC).

While I'd like to believe this and ditch my rounded cable that connect 2 hard drives on the same IDE channel for my Shuttle SN45G V1 XPC, I could have sworn I heard there was some important "defacto" standard about IDE cables needing to not be shorter than a certain length for optimum data performance/reliability? Does anyone know anything about this?

 

[imported_Kensai]

There's no minimum. There is a maximum though.

 

[saltedeggman]

in many cases, a maximum length is set for various kinds of cable due to signal degration

 

[nullshark]

Stick to 18" and under and you'll be fine for ATA/IDE cabling.

 

[JBT]

18" is suppose to be the max though I have seen many run 24" and be just fine. I persoanlly would stick below 18" though. There shouldn't be a minimum.

 

[Lalakai]

oops, twitchy fingers. sorry for double post

 

[Lalakai]

I agree with Kensai; no minimum, but after 18 inches you start getting signal interferance. Some people say that 18" should be the maximum. Cable shielding will help a little, but try and avoid the longer cables if at all possible. I'll see if i can find the backup report on cable length.

 

[nullshark]

18" isn't just what some people say the max should be... It's right in the specification (Even the new one, under proposal: Page 36 of the document. Longer than that and you run the risk of signals propegating unevenly, giving rise to data corruption. There have been thousands of people who've run longer cables with no perceivable drawbacks, of course.

 

[kobymu]

Originally posted by: Kensai
There's no minimum. There is a maximum though.

:thumbsup:

 

[kobymu]

very good source of information

/edit
look at "Serial ATA and the 7 Deadly Sins of Parallel ATA" and "Inside the ATA Ribbon Cable"

have a good read :beer:

 

[aGreenAgent]

I use a 24" cable because I have to, and there's no problem from my end.

The distance between the mobo and the slave drive needs to be bigger than it is on an 18" cable, so I had to go out of standard 😛

 

[nullshark]

Thanks for the link, kobymu! 🙂

 

[0roo0roo]

many companies build computers with short cables. heck..think laptops