And plenty have just one, which can be a real
problem if you have to use that for the boot drive.
Add just one DVD burner and all your PATA channels are gone.
yep, or go the stupid route and argue that it's better to
not use features so you have them available in case you ever
need to use them, but of course you can't THEN use them
because you wouldn't later have them available to, err, use.
He clearly wants to use it on the new system.
Yes and you completely missed the point, that if adding a
new 160GB drive does he need the OLD DRIVES ON THE OLD
SYSTEM anymore.
Did he claim to have a NAS or other mass storage backup
method? Hopefully, but if not, you'd be a fool to think old
drives won't fail. Their lifespan is about 1/3rd of a
decent fan which you feel is a reasonable risk.
Depending on how backup is done, that may
actually be the most demanding use of the drive.
Do you sit and watch your backup being made? Most people
would get on with other things I suspect. Therefore, no
realtime need for higher performance, the level of demand
involved is irrelevant so long as it doesn't take multiple
times as long.
Actually most either backs up very few files, is to a
removable media slower than the HDD, or uses compression...
any of which make the HDD I/O of less consequence.
Irrelevant as long as those that are SATA are the same value.
As relevant as relevant gets, it was a direct response to
the posed guess.
Or when external enclosures are better value than
SATA PCI cards and you dont care about thruput.
They are _NEVER_ a better value IF you don't need an
external enclosure. Maybe one exception would be a
temporary pricing error on a website or some large rebate
being involved in the price, but we can as easily assume
same scenario would apply to SATA PCI cards as well. Even
then, external enclosure is still inferior for the purpose
of drive cooling (best of either implementation), shock
preventions, power supply.
He isnt prepared to use ebay to get the best prices on PCI SATA cards.
Not a matter of prepared, most people aren't stupid enough
to risk ebay on dozen-dollar items. ebay is great for rare,
or substantially discounted parts where the risk is offset
by the savings. That just isn't the case with a mere PCI
SATA card.
He clearly said he wants to use a bargain hard drive.
Yes, but if I didn't clarify then trolls like Rod would feel
they had even more to nitpick.
He clearly said he wants to use a bargain hard drive.
See above.
So it was pointless considering this alternative.
No, obviously it still has a gain, and it would have been
better to replace the system already even if NOT considering
this new HDD. Recall the mobo has the problematic via
southbridge and no USB2 or firewire unless he'd added a card
for that.
Nope, you limit your choices of a new system too much.
What a fool you must be to think that when new systems DO
have PATA. The only limit is your grasp of basic facts.
Even if the new system did NOT have PATA he'd still be
better off opting for a PCI card later rather than now
because the new system certainly won't have the old via
southbridge on it.
And if its only got one, its full straight away.
Nope, at most it has one drive on it. SATA optical drives
are coming soon too, major manufacturers have announced
them. That'll be two PATA positions you'd waste for no good
reason.
Makes a lot more sense to have bought SATA instead.
Makes no sense at all to not buy what the system already
supports because the next system which also supports it,
won't have free channels AFTER supporting it, channels that
would never be used otherwise because of an aversion to
using them.
You havent established that with a PCI SATA card.
yes I have, your lack of knowledge simply interfered with
understanding it. Given same (grade, performance tier of)
budget drive it is a certainty. Unlike the fairy tales you
paint, we have the benefit of retrospect, and benchmarks
still available online for that southbridge's PCI w/drive
controllers.
