LinkBack URL
About LinkBacksIt has indeed.. I remember posting something about the HD always being the bottleneck if disk access is required (game/application loading among other things).
It has indeed.. I remember posting something about the HD always being the bottleneck if disk access is required (game/application loading among other things).
Do note that there is no difference in performance between a PATA and a SATA Samsung Spinpoint drive. The SATA model simply uses a SATA bridge chip to convert the internal PATA workings to a SATA signal. Thus, the only reason to go for SATA is thinner cables and the ability to hotswap. The latter is doubtful if you're going to be running the drives in a RAID configuration, and thin cables aren't worth the price premium in my opinion.
But the difference between SATA and IDE is worthwhile?
What eldren said about the chips is right, the SATA Samsung is just an IDE drive which has a chip converting it to SATA and therfore only has the speed of an IDE drive!
The only advantage therefore is thinner cables which in some people's oppinions is worth it but in others its not. You can always get rounded IDE cables too
PATA is Parallel ATA, with SATA being, of course, Serial ATA. Each is just a different technology for connecting an IDE (Integrated Device Electronics) harddrive to the motherboard. With PATA, bits are sent in parallel down the 40-pin cable along seperate wires, while with SATA, bits are sent in serial, one at a time along one wire (So to speak). The drive itself is, for the most part, the same.
The main difference is that, on true SATA drives, the burst speed (The speed of data leaving the drive's cache. Which is why having a 16MB drive is better than an 8MB drive is better than a 2MB drive - more cache results in longer bursts, improving performance slightly) can reach a maximum of 150MB/s, while on PATA drives, it will top out at between 100 and 133MB/s. Of course, this has absolutely no effect on the sustainable transfer speed - 7200rpm IDE drives, whether SATA or PATA, top out at between 50 and 60MB/s sustained transfer rate.
To explain burst speeds a bit better, when your computer reads the first part of a file and pauses, the harddrive makes estimates on whether or not it'll want the rest of the file. If it assumes that the computer does, it'll load part of the rest of the file into its cache. If your computer then requests the rest of the file, the harddrive will be able to immediately deliver the portion of the file in its cache at the full burst speed - once it gets to the end of the cache, it reverts back to the sustained transfer speed.
So, in the end, going SATA won't make very much difference to your system's performance, unless you're going to be running Raptors (Which are 10,000rpm drives, by the way).
Last edited by eldren; 19-11-2004 at 10:35 PM.
Ok, so
SATA = Only good with raptors and for smaller cables
Well, thats ok, thanks
everyone is saying that sata drives are only good for the burst speeds and thin cables, but this is not true.
They're also useful for when mobo makers start bringing out S-ATA only Mobos.
just a thought.
Also - Seagates are native S-ata.
Do you think when Jesus comes back..... he ever wants to see another cross.......? *{God bless you Bill}
.::HomeServer::.
#Dual 50W Xeons @2.5Ghz, 16GB, 34TB DrivePool, UPS#
#Plex on all the screens#
#Squeezeplay on all the Jogglers#
My Hexus Trust
My Items for sale
True, but I think that may still be a while, what with motherboards today still coming out with RS232 and LPT ports.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote