New System Build Question

[Spike]

This Christmas I will be finishing my new comp build. I have listed my specs with a ? following any item I don't have yet

Opteron 165
DFI Lanparty ultra-D ?
2x1GB OCZ Plat
7800GT/GTX/X1800XT ?
160GB Seagate ?
300GB Seagate ?
BenQ 1640
NEC 2410a
Antec P180 ?
Antec SP 500w
Mitsu 1.44 FDD w/ media readers

My question is this: will I see any noticable performance hit if I go for a IDE main drive ( 160 gb w/ two partitions for OS, Normal OS apps, and file storage) and get a SATA drive for my games and any power apps like photoshop? I don't like all the issues people are having with a bootable SATA drive and as most people are talking about how there is "no real difference" between current IDE and SATA drives speed wise this seemed like the best option. I am not worried about the cable size as a good round cable is almost as good as the SATA cables for air flow.

Thanks!

-spike

 

[Spike]

So no ideas? Gonna edit the title to make it a more desirable topic

 

[DragonReborn]

i don't think u will see a large performance decrease but why not just get two sata drives? the new seagate 7200.9 is a fine drive (quiet too). As long as u update ur bios before u install XP u might not even need to do anything special. At worst just make a little floppy with ur raid/sata drivers. or make a new winxp slimstreamed with the drivers already installed.

ur doing a fun upgrade...go with sata

 

[jondl]

Your upgrade is pretty good. I would just go with the SATA.. why get a top notch computer and use an old hard drive?

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: jondl
Your upgrade is pretty good. I would just go with the SATA.. why get a top notch computer and use an old hard drive?

But see, thats my question. All the recent posts and even articles have said the current SATA drives are still not faster than the SATA eqivalent in most real world applications. Also, I plan to use a SATA drive for my games and "power apps" in order to ensure the fastest possible speed but will windows benefit from that tiny increase in performance? I know that accessing my MP3's won't benefit at all.

Also, you can frequently get sligthy better deals on IDE drives than SATA. Recently I was PAID $65 to purchase a 160GB Seagate (coupon + $40 BB gift card + rebate + extra rebate that was a mistake = +$65).

-spike

 

[Spike]

I am actually thinking now that I might use my 160GB Seagate IDE that I currently have in my external enclosure as my main drive and then go for a SATA for my gaming drive. That way I can save some money and watch for another cheap IDE drive for the enclosure.

Anyone else have any suggestions/comments as to the performance difference between a SATA and IDE drive for windows? Thanks!

-spike

 

[Twsmit]

All the latest chipsets have zero issues with SATA. The nforce 4 supports native SATA, there is no difference between that and an old school IDE drive.

I would definately go with SATA, hell frequently more and more motherboard are only shipping with 1 IDE port anyways, where do you plan on connecting IDE drive 2-3 years from now?

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: Twsmit
All the latest chipsets have zero issues with SATA. The nforce 4 supports native SATA, there is no difference between that and an old school IDE drive.

I would definately go with SATA, hell frequently more and more motherboard are only shipping with 1 IDE port anyways, where do you plan on connecting IDE drive 2-3 years from now?

Thats what USB enclosures are for Besides, I upgrade entire computers at a time so I will get a new mobo + new hdd's on my next comp.

I guess I can jump on a SATA when a deal comes around, I just worry about all the annoyance people go through to get them to work and wonder if it is worth it at this time.

-spike

 

[Twsmit]

I think the annoyance was with the older mobo's, maybe 2-3 years ago. First generation SATA was running off the PCI bus. Now adays you should have no issues, they act just like IDE drives.

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: Twsmit
I think the annoyance was with the older mobo's, maybe 2-3 years ago. First generation SATA was running off the PCI bus. Now adays you should have no issues, they act just like IDE drives.

Cool, thanks for the info. I guess I will try it based on your reccomendations but if it screws up I am hunting you down

-spike