Serial ATA on P4P800E-Deluxe

[Lowel]

I have found that my 40 GB IDE drive is quickly becoming full. I have
seen some deals on both IDE and serial ATA drives. I know my
P4P800E-Deluxe motherboard will support serial ATA I but I read
somewhere that it is hard to set up with Windows XP. Is this true?

I picked up a 250 GB Western Digital IDE drive today for $159 with $90
is rebates from Circuit City but wondering if I should take it back
and get a 250 GB Serial ATA drive. They have a 250 GB Serial ATA
drive for $179 but I saw outpost.com had it for $154 with $50 in
rebates (which unfortunately ended today but they sometimes start up
again in a day or two).

Is the real world speed difference worth the extra money? I mean, am I
likely to see a difference in everyday tasks and not just benchmarks?
I didn't think so when it cost $179 serial ATA vs $69 IDE(with the
rebates) but when I saw Outpost.com had the serial ATA drive for $104
with rebates, now I am not so sure. Plus if it is a hassle to set up,
then I may be better off staying with the IDE drive. Any thoughts?

I tried to search for reviews of IDE vs Serial ATA but didn't find
much and those I did were 3 years old. Thanks.

 

[Paul]

I have found that my 40 GB IDE drive is quickly becoming full. I have
seen some deals on both IDE and serial ATA drives. I know my
P4P800E-Deluxe motherboard will support serial ATA I but I read
somewhere that it is hard to set up with Windows XP. Is this true?

I picked up a 250 GB Western Digital IDE drive today for $159 with $90
is rebates from Circuit City but wondering if I should take it back
and get a 250 GB Serial ATA drive. They have a 250 GB Serial ATA
drive for $179 but I saw outpost.com had it for $154 with $50 in
rebates (which unfortunately ended today but they sometimes start up
again in a day or two).

Is the real world speed difference worth the extra money? I mean, am I
likely to see a difference in everyday tasks and not just benchmarks?
I didn't think so when it cost $179 serial ATA vs $69 IDE(with the
rebates) but when I saw Outpost.com had the serial ATA drive for $104
with rebates, now I am not so sure. Plus if it is a hassle to set up,
then I may be better off staying with the IDE drive. Any thoughts?

I tried to search for reviews of IDE vs Serial ATA but didn't find
much and those I did were 3 years old. Thanks.

The best way to shop for drives, is to use this database.

http://www.storagereview.com/comparison.html

For a large drive, it will help to install at least SP1.
Once SP1 is installed, plug in your new data disk and
prep it. SP1 for WinXP is needed for 137GB or larger disks.

http://www.48bitlba.com/issues.htm
http://www.48bitlba.com/winxp.htm
(Note: You do _not_ need to buy a BIOS from this site.
Ignore their sales pitch. Just read the FAQs.)

You got a good deal on the drive. Why not just keep it ?

Paul

 

[MrGrumpy]

In the real world you are unlikely to see any performance increase.
No, they are not hard to set up.

 

[canuck]

both are easy to set up, sata will be more futureproof.
old ide connectors are much more durable and vibration resistant than
sata.

 

[Lowel]

Thanks guys. My version of WXP came with SP2 so I should be good to
go.

 

[Lowel]

Thnaks Paul. I forgot all about storagereview.com. Used to use them
years ago when updating drives but it has been awhile since I upgraded
anything. Excellent info there. I am going to go ahead and keep the
PATA drive. FOr $69 with rebates, I can't complain.