SATA Drives

MacAttack

Member
Nov 12, 2003
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I know I need to do some more researach, but I need a quick answer. In my rebuild of my system, it appears my HDDs have gone too. My 40G is completely gone and unrecoverable. My 80G drive is very flaky. Low level format has not gotten either working stablely. Now that I need to get new HDDs, I am trying to figure out what to get. Should I get IDE or Sata? My mobo has onboard sata, so that is not a problem.

For SATA drives, do they have to be paired if not in a RAID config?
Is there an advantage with SATA over IDE?
What is a good brand for SATA drives (I can get Seagate 120G for $95)?

Thanks for any quick information. I am off to do research on the i-net.
 

AndyHui

Administrator Emeritus<br>Elite Member<br>AT FAQ M
Oct 9, 1999
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For SATA drives, do they have to be paired if not in a RAID config?
Depends on the controller. Generally, most controllers allow single drive operation, ie doesn't need to be part of a RAID array. In and of themselves, SATA drives do not need to run in pairs.
Is there an advantage with SATA over IDE?
Just the general advantages...slim cables, hot pluggable (with the correct OS and power cabling support), no fiddling around with jumpers. Speed is not a consideration with current models though.
What is a good brand for SATA drives
The big 3 manufacturers, WD, Maxtor and Seagate are all good choices.
 

Tsaico

Platinum Member
Oct 21, 2000
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Good stuff too for me, I was thinking of doing the same thing... Primarily to handle RAID though for my file server...