SATA, PATA, RAID...???

[Boom782]

Can someone summarize for a noob who has been out of touch with technology for awhile what exactly SATA, PATA, and RAID as well as other terms relating to storage devices mean? I have tried looking up deffinitions only to come across more technical jargon.

Also, for building a new PC what is reccomended lately? Im putting together an AMD 64bit system and am wondering if it would be worthwhile to upgrade my hardrives? I have an 80gig and 120gig both with speeds of 133 IIRC. Raptor drives seem to be popular now, nut they are also very expensive. Is the speed difference that much greater?

Thanks in advance.

 

[GrammatonJP]

http://www.maadiran.com/persian/IMAGES/sata-pata.jpg

You dont need to know about raid unless you're planning to invest some money

Regular SATA would do you fine for new pc..

raptor is fast but also a bit louder and cost a lot more..

 

[Zepper]

Check the Glossary on http://www.storagereview.com for not too jargoney definitions.

.bh.

 

[Boom782]

Thanks for the info