StarTech ATA-100 cables any good?

[Will Dormann]

I need a 24" cable and I can get a StarTech round for a good price. Any
signal integrity issues with this brand (since they are so cheap)?

Round cables are a bad idea. Cables over 18" are also a bad idea.
Combine the two, and you're just asking for trouble.


-WD

 

[Timothy Daniels]

"Tony" asked:

Is there any definitive study out there between flat and round cables?

There can't be as there are no specifications written for round cables,
and the relative positioning of the individual wires (both data and ground)
shift with cable flexure. Absent standardization, how could one rate the
genre? But they do have advantages in allowing a more open air path
through the case and having lengths availbable that are shorter than 18
inches. In my PC, I've used various lengths of round cables, all shorter
than 18 inches, and I've had no *discernable* problems. (These are the
type with the aluminum braid acting as a shield.) They are available with
just a single connector at each end (which are great for putting a single HD
on a channel), the shorter lengths minimize the probability of signal cross-
talk, and the braid helps to shield from external noise. I use mostly the
10 inch and 12 inch sizes, but there are one or two sources on the Web
which sell these in lengths as short as 8 inches. And round cables really
do open up the air path through the case - handy if you have several
internal HDs and a couple optical drives in there. (I even have a round
cable for the floppy drive.) If you have a crowded case and have
enough IDE channels to allow one HD per cable and lengths are kept
to 18 inches or less, I'd recommend that you give them a try.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Timothy Daniels]

I need a 24" cable and I can get a StarTech round for a good price.
Any signal integrity issues with this brand (since they are so cheap)?

Most of the round cables seem to be made by two or three
manufacturers in China, so the retailer is probably not a factor in
quality. As for a 24" cable, it depends on the use. If it's for a
gaming system which can withstand occasional bit errors, go for
it, especially if you need the better cooling air flow through the case.
I'd also get the kind with the aluminum or copper braided shield
around the wires to maximize the immunity to noise from outside
the cable. For a combination of selection and price, check out

for 8" aluminum braided, single device:
<http://www.indypc.com/store.asp?menu=Drive_Cables&smenu=IDE_Cables>

for 10" aluminum braided, single device:
<http://www.svc.com/cables-ata-100-133-round-cables-10--single-device-ata-100-13
3-round-cables.html>

for 12" aluminum braided, single device:
<http://www.coolerexpress.com/12ideatrounc.html>

for 18" aluminum braided, dual device:
<http://www.svc.com/cables-ata-100-133-round-cables-18--dual-device-ata-100-133-
round-cables.html>

for 10" aluminum braided floppy:
<http://www.casecooler.com/flopcabriban.html>


*TimDaniels*

 

[Arno Wagner]

Tony wrote:

Round cables are a bad idea. Cables over 18" are also a bad idea.
Combine the two, and you're just asking for trouble.

Actyally it works well, as long as the devices attached to
UDMA CRC checking and you do not have too many errors on
the cable. In the second case you might exceed an OS or
device threshold and the device might get taken offline.

My experience is that up to 60cm works with HDDs, 90cm
does not work anymore (or fails after some minutes).

Arno

 

[Timothy Daniels]

Unfortunately, I do need one ATA-100 cable longer than 18 inches for my
configuration. The separation between the drives is greater than 6", and it
seems the first connector is always 12" away from the controller connector.
That's really the problem. If I could find an 18" cable where the spacing
from the controller to the first device was around 8-9 inches I'd be right
in there.

If you have a spare PCI slot, $40 will get you a controller card,
and there will be the opportunity to put each HD on its own channel,
and you can use a direct channel-to-HD cable (a "single device" cable)
instead of a dual cable. That should cut down the cable lengths.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Mr. Grinch]

I need a 24" cable and I can get a StarTech round for a good price. Any
signal integrity issues with this brand (since they are so cheap)?

I can't wait until SATA drives make this question obsolete. Apparently 1
metre (39 inches) is the max length.

Given how much round cables cost where I live, I might be able to get sata
-> ata drive adapters, then I'd just need a SATA card and cables. Probably
come out to 2x the price I guess so perhaps not cost effective, but could
be a cleaner solution with less worry of cable created data errors.

 

[Frank Jelenko]

You're clock's off. It's considered rude to post ahead.

 

[Rod Speed]

You're clock's off. It's considered rude to post ahead.

Only by fools. And that should be your, not you're.

 

[Frank Jelenko]

It's considered to be rude - only by fools?

Only by fools. And that should be your, not you're.

 

[Rod Speed]

It's considered to be rude - only by fools?

Clearly what I said.

 

[Yousuf Khan]

I need a 24" cable and I can get a StarTech round for a good price. Any
signal integrity issues with this brand (since they are so cheap)?

I use a rounded StarTech cable myself (though probably not that long),
and it seems to be just as good as any of the flat cables I've used in
the past. Afterall, the idea of going to the 80-wire UDMA cables was to
add 40 additional grounding wires to the cable; they probably even added
way too much in this case just to keep the wire count an even multiple
of 40. I'd say if you still have signal integrity problems with that
many grounding wires, then you should just give up.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Rod Speed]

Tony wrote:

I use a rounded StarTech cable myself (though probably not that long), and it
seems to be just as good as any of the flat cables I've used in the past.
Afterall, the idea of going to the 80-wire UDMA cables was to add 40
additional grounding wires to the cable; they probably even added way too much
in this case just to keep the wire count an even multiple of 40.

Nope, thats how that alternate ground system works.

I'd say if you still have signal integrity problems with that many grounding
wires, then you should just give up.

More fool you.

And it flouts the standard having them in a round format too.

 

[Tony]

I need a 24" cable and I can get a StarTech round for a good price. Any
signal integrity issues with this brand (since they are so cheap)?

 

[Tony]

Round cables are a bad idea. Cables over 18" are also a bad idea.
Combine the two, and you're just asking for trouble.

That's what I've seen in other posts. However, I've also seen posts where
people say they have used round cables successfully. Is there any definitive
study out there between flat and round cables?

 

[Tony]

"Tony" asked:


There can't be as there are no specifications written for round cables,
and the relative positioning of the individual wires (both data and ground)
shift with cable flexure. Absent standardization, how could one rate the
genre? But they do have advantages in allowing a more open air path
through the case and having lengths availbable that are shorter than 18
inches. In my PC, I've used various lengths of round cables, all shorter
than 18 inches, and I've had no *discernable* problems. (These are the
type with the aluminum braid acting as a shield.) They are available with
just a single connector at each end (which are great for putting a single HD
on a channel), the shorter lengths minimize the probability of signal cross-
talk, and the braid helps to shield from external noise. I use mostly the
10 inch and 12 inch sizes, but there are one or two sources on the Web
which sell these in lengths as short as 8 inches. And round cables really
do open up the air path through the case - handy if you have several
internal HDs and a couple optical drives in there. (I even have a round
cable for the floppy drive.) If you have a crowded case and have
enough IDE channels to allow one HD per cable and lengths are kept
to 18 inches or less, I'd recommend that you give them a try.

*TimDaniels*

Unfortunately, I do need one ATA-100 cable longer than 18 inches for my
configuration. The separation between the drives is greater than 6", and it
seems the first connector is always 12" away from the controller connector.
That's really the problem. If I could find an 18" cable where the spacing
from the controller to the first device was around 8-9 inches I'd be right
in there.