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HD IDE Cable - New XPS Gen 3



 
 
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  #11  
Old November 20th 04, 07:22 PM
tellme
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I had the same problem with the 8400. I had a brand new IDE drive
waiting to install into the new computer when I got it. NO GO. I got
an external Maxtor and love it.

Recently my old computer went down. I reinstalled windows and had all
the docs backed up on the external drive along with other info that
was very pertinent. Hooked the drive to the USB port and restored it
all. Great way to go.


Thanks everyone for the valuable comments. My choices are clear:

1. Get an SATA to PATA adapter PCI board, or
2. Pick up a new SATA HDD drive (which includes the cable).

I believe choice # 2 is the way to go since a new HDD will increase the
overall storage I have on our home network. The IDE drive I wanted to
install in the new XPS Gen3 can just stay in my older Dimension 8250 since
it's on the network anyway. I really just need a second larger drive in the
XPS so I can get all my data off the primary partition (74GB WD HDD).
Drives are pretty cheap so adding more storage space is the right way to go
here.

Again, thanks for all the responses.

Doug

"Doug Miannay" wrote in message
...
Quick question... I just purchased a new XPS Gen 3 (3.6) with a single
74GB 10,000 RPM HD. I did not get a second drive since I already have
some large drives here that I planned to add. Problem is since I only
ordered the computer with one drive, the primary IDE cable for the HD only
has a single connector. Is this typical? Can I just pick up a standard
two-connector IDE cable in order to add the second drive?

TIA for your suggestions!

Doug



  #12  
Old November 20th 04, 08:41 PM
Timothy Daniels
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"Doug Miannay" wrote:
Thanks everyone for the valuable comments. My choices are clear:

1. Get an SATA to PATA adapter PCI board, or
2. Pick up a new SATA HDD drive (which includes the cable).



For the record, the SATA/PATA adapters are not necessarily
PCI boards (those contain the entire IDE controller), but rather
are cards measuring somewhere around 1 1/2 in. by 2 in.
and they plug directly into the PATA hard drive. Here is
one sold by Kingwin:
http://kingwin.com/pdut_detail.asp?L...teID=49&ID=218

Here are current prices for the unit:
http://www1.pricetool.com/xGS-Sata_C...kin_id-3064974

*TimDaniels*
  #13  
Old November 23rd 04, 12:39 AM
Doug Miannay
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I guess my biggest issue would be any performance degredation due to having
to go through an adapter. Is the performance degraded much? Would an
equivalently sized SATA drive connected directly to the MB perform better
than and IDE drive connected via an adapter?

Thanks again for all your help with this!

Doug

"Timothy Daniels" wrote in message
...
"Doug Miannay" wrote:
Thanks everyone for the valuable comments. My choices are clear:

1. Get an SATA to PATA adapter PCI board, or
2. Pick up a new SATA HDD drive (which includes the cable).



For the record, the SATA/PATA adapters are not necessarily
PCI boards (those contain the entire IDE controller), but rather
are cards measuring somewhere around 1 1/2 in. by 2 in.
and they plug directly into the PATA hard drive. Here is
one sold by Kingwin:
http://kingwin.com/pdut_detail.asp?L...teID=49&ID=218

Here are current prices for the unit:
http://www1.pricetool.com/xGS-Sata_C...kin_id-3064974

*TimDaniels*



  #14  
Old November 23rd 04, 03:00 AM
Timothy Daniels
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"Doug Miannay" wrote:
"Timothy Daniels" wrote
"Doug Miannay" wrote:
Thanks everyone for the valuable comments. My choices are clear:

1. Get an SATA to PATA adapter PCI board, or
2. Pick up a new SATA HDD drive (which includes the cable).



For the record, the SATA/PATA adapters are not necessarily
PCI boards (those contain the entire IDE controller), but rather
are cards measuring somewhere around 1 1/2 in. by 2 in.
and they plug directly into the PATA hard drive. Here is
one sold by Kingwin:
http://kingwin.com/pdut_detail.asp?L...teID=49&ID=218

Here are current prices for the unit:
http://www1.pricetool.com/xGS-Sata_C...kin_id-3064974



I guess my biggest issue would be any performance degredation due to having
to go through an adapter. Is the performance degraded much? Would an
equivalently sized SATA drive connected directly to the MB perform better
than and IDE drive connected via an adapter?


I'm not an electrical engineer, but my educated guess would be that
the speeds would be *virtually* identical for hard drives having the
same rated speed - not enough to justify a difference in cost. Of more
concern might be the increase in circuitry to go wrong and another
set of connectors to get corroded. If you want to use that PATA
hard drive in your new machine, the adapter would be a cheap
way to go. But if you have another use for it, and you can afford to
buy a SATA drive, go ahead and keep your new machine "clean" by
going with a SATA hard drive. For now, though, with the currently
available SATA drives, there is no real speed difference and no
performance "hit" by using a PATA drive with an adapter.

*TimDaniels*
  #15  
Old November 23rd 04, 11:37 PM
Doug Miannay
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Thanks folks! Excellent discussion and clear choices on which way to
proceed!

Thanks, and happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate!

Doug

"Doug Miannay" wrote in message
...
Quick question... I just purchased a new XPS Gen 3 (3.6) with a single
74GB 10,000 RPM HD. I did not get a second drive since I already have
some large drives here that I planned to add. Problem is since I only
ordered the computer with one drive, the primary IDE cable for the HD only
has a single connector. Is this typical? Can I just pick up a standard
two-connector IDE cable in order to add the second drive?

TIA for your suggestions!

Doug



  #16  
Old November 25th 04, 02:32 PM
Doug Miannay
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Oh, and the final follow-up. I purchased a Western Digital 120GB SATA drive
for the new Dell XPS Gen3 and when I went to install it I was stopped
because the new HD drive had the old style 4-pin power connector, which was
clearly not compatible with the new SATA-style 15 pin power connector cables
from the motherboard. I went to a local computer store to find an adapter
cable to go from the SATA power cable to the 4-pin HDD power connector but
couldn't find one with the proper male-female arrangement. I ended up
getting am=n ols style 4-pin "Y" splitter power cable and branched off the
DVD-RW 4-pin power connnector cable and now all is well.

You know, it really does pay to do the research BEFORE heading to the store!
I'm disappointed I didn't do more research first... ah, but you live and
learn!

Happy Thanksgiving again to all the USA readers!

Doug

"Doug Miannay" wrote in message
...
Thanks folks! Excellent discussion and clear choices on which way to
proceed!

Thanks, and happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate!

Doug

"Doug Miannay" wrote in message
...
Quick question... I just purchased a new XPS Gen 3 (3.6) with a single
74GB 10,000 RPM HD. I did not get a second drive since I already have
some large drives here that I planned to add. Problem is since I only
ordered the computer with one drive, the primary IDE cable for the HD
only has a single connector. Is this typical? Can I just pick up a
standard two-connector IDE cable in order to add the second drive?

TIA for your suggestions!

Doug





 




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