SATA and PATA on same computer?

[henryay]

I haven't found info on this yet (maybe i didn't search enough), but can I hook a regular PATA and a SATA (Serial ATA) on the same motherbaord? I think I read somewhere that you can ONLY have SATA and no Parallel on a motherboard. Is this true? Or maybe I can just get a SATA adapter for my PATA sometime in the future? (I have a S/ATA capable motherboard)

The reason I ask this is because I want to get a 120GB P/ATA drive now, because it seems that SATA won't be widely avaible for a 1 or 2 and SATA is probably going to be a little more expensive ($50+)

I WANT to get a DiamondMax Plus 9 SATA, but I think I'm going to settle with the DiamondMax Plus 9 8MB P/ATA if SATA won't be out soon.

I'm stuck with a Maxtor 30GB right now. (LoL)

--> Also, what is a RAID configuration? Is it having 2 drives look like one?

Thank you for your answer!

 

[Bovinicus]

There may be something that doesn't allow the two subsystems to operate in tandem; however, as long as the controllers are not a single 2in1 controller (If such a thing exists), and there is a separate physical PATA and SATA controller, you should be able to utilize both. You may want to contact the manufacturer directly with a question like that. You had better be sure before you go buying two different kinds of HDDs.

Or maybe I can just get a SATA adapter for my PATA sometime in the future? (I have a S/ATA capable motherboard)

You can definitely get one of these, but they are somewhat expensive. Somewhere around $30 if I remember correctly.

--> Also, what is a RAID configuration? Is it having 2 drives look like one?

That is one capability of a RAID controller; that is called a JBOD (Just a Bunch Of Disks). However, you can also make a RAID 0, 1, 0+1, or 5 array depending on the controller.

RAID 0 is striping. Data is written and read simultaneously to both drives. It theoretically doubles both the read and write performance. However, make sure you use two drives that are very similar (Preferrably exactly the same). If you don't you will have a weak link in performance, so buying a faster drive does nothing. Also, if one drive is bigger, you lose the excess space. For example, if you have a 30GB HDD and a 40GB HDD in a RAID 1 array, it will only make 60GB.

RAID 1 is mirroring. It just clones a HDD in real time. That way, if it fails, it will automatically switch to the backup drive.

RAID 0+1 requires four HDDs. It backs up both of the drives in a RAID 1 array. It is the best way to go, but it's damned costly. Plus, I highly doubt you have anything you really need to backup which can't be done on a CD-RW.

RAID 5 is somewhat like RAID 0+1, but more versatile and complex. It requires 3 drives. Stripes of data are written next to parity information. So, in the event of a drive crashing, the system can "reconstruct" the missing information. However, performance is severely degraded when this has to happen. Also, a good bit of space is wasted with parity information.

 

[henryay]

Hm.. I think I'll just get a regular Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 120GB 8MB since SATA just tacks on another $30-$40 (compared to Seagate)
I'll probably get it during spring break (cheaper)
and it looks like SATA would be out in April. and from what I see, SATA doesn't offer that much performance difference.

 

[corkyg]

From what I can find in BIOS, my P4PE mobo will allow both SATA and IDE drives at the same time. There is also a RAID port.

 

[TimeKeeper]

I think I read somewhere that you can ONLY have SATA and no Parallel on a motherboard. Is this true?

Absolutely NOT true. Whoever wrote such thing should be shot... j/k

Anyhow, I have MSI KT4 Ultra w/ onboard SATA that I am running my primary drive pair w/ PATA Data Drive and CDRW.
I also has ABIT BD7 w/ SIIG SATA Card running primary drive pair w/ PATA CDRW/DVD.