Whats the different between Serial ATA and IDE ULTRA ATA100?

[mcjimbo]

Hi guys,

Spec'ing out a HD for my new system. I like the Seagate stuff. I know I want to get an 8mb buffer, and special edition. But whats the difference between Serial ATA and IDE ULTRA ATA100 interfaces?

I want a quick drive for my money, looking to spend $100-150 and I want to get as much speed/storage as possible.

Thanks

James

P.S. Would it be worth running RAID5 on a desktop environment? I want outright speed... a little latency when accessing my HD.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Speed is the same (given 7200 RPM and the same amount of cache), cables are different.

Best price/storage is probably a 200-250 GB Hot Deal from Outpost.com (after rebate, which can take 2-3 months).

RAID1 and RAID5 costs an extra drive, so if your budget is $150 total you won't get much storage. RAID5 also requires an expensive controller card.

 

[stevty2889]

At this pont there is no differance speed wise. The SATA has a smaller cable, but depending on your motherboard, may take more effort to get windows installed on. For most desktop uses, raid does not give a speed advantage, you are better off using a large single drive.