2007-03-01, 07:53 PM
I wonder if that will slow down the system, running the OS on an IDE hard drive... what do you guys think?
No, not at all. It wouldn't be hitting that drive much at all after booting up and applications started, unless its swapping out memory in which case your system performance would be hosed, anyway.
And if it were hitting the drive, whether it's SATA or IDE wouldn't make that much of a difference.
<Soapbox Rant>BTW, Don't get too caught up in the SATA vs. IDE speed thing. IDE is plenty fast for most normal usage scenarios, even a HTPC. The theoretical max. speeds for drives is rarely realized due to the fact that in a multi-stream HTPC environment, the data transfer rate is limited by the drive head seeking around the drive for the files, so the faster theoretical transfer speed offered by SATA doesn't come into play that often. An IDE drive can safely handle 3 or 4 simultaneous High-def read/writes. </Soapbox Rant>
Of course, there are good reasons to get SATA, such as easier cabling in a cramped box, and the fact that many newer, faster disks come only with SATA interface. But, in my lowly opinion, transfer speed for a fairly regular usage system should not be a deciding factor in getting SATA. For my system, I used an IDE drive simply because I could get a larger capacity drive for a few bucks less than a comparable SATA drive, and it's plenty fast for my single ATSC capture card with playback. Could easily handle one or two more HD capture cards as well.
No, not at all. It wouldn't be hitting that drive much at all after booting up and applications started, unless its swapping out memory in which case your system performance would be hosed, anyway.
And if it were hitting the drive, whether it's SATA or IDE wouldn't make that much of a difference.
<Soapbox Rant>BTW, Don't get too caught up in the SATA vs. IDE speed thing. IDE is plenty fast for most normal usage scenarios, even a HTPC. The theoretical max. speeds for drives is rarely realized due to the fact that in a multi-stream HTPC environment, the data transfer rate is limited by the drive head seeking around the drive for the files, so the faster theoretical transfer speed offered by SATA doesn't come into play that often. An IDE drive can safely handle 3 or 4 simultaneous High-def read/writes. </Soapbox Rant>
Of course, there are good reasons to get SATA, such as easier cabling in a cramped box, and the fact that many newer, faster disks come only with SATA interface. But, in my lowly opinion, transfer speed for a fairly regular usage system should not be a deciding factor in getting SATA. For my system, I used an IDE drive simply because I could get a larger capacity drive for a few bucks less than a comparable SATA drive, and it's plenty fast for my single ATSC capture card with playback. Could easily handle one or two more HD capture cards as well.