What's required to connect WD SATA to motherboard

[Why Not]

On my Asus P5PE VM motherboard I have what seems to be an SATA1
connector but I wish to buy a WD SATA2 drive (Western Digital Caviar
SE16 500GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM). I read something
about legacy power support. I have no idea if my system has it. I am
not sure if any connector comes with an OEM either.

I read this FAQ which confused the heck out of me:

" You'll need two cables. A 7 pin data cable, and a 15 pin power cable.
The data cable should come with your motherboard, or you can pick them
up at a local PC shop for next to nothing. Most SATA drives can take
either 4 pin legacy power or 15 pin SATA power. NEVER use both power
connectors. I speak from first hand experience in saying that you can
ruin a SATA hard drive this way. Some newer power supplies come with
SATA power leads. They are nice to have, but not necessary. If you want
to use a SATA power connector, but don't have a SATA power capable power
supply, you can buy a 4 pin legacy power to 15 pin SATA power adapter.
If you buy a Western Digital SATA drive, they come with a cable called
"Secure Connect". One end plugs in to your motherboard, the other
connects to the hard drive, covering both the data and power connections
on the drive. This does not provide power for your Western Digital
drive, it's for data transfer only. This serves two purposes: It covers
the SATA power connection on the drive, so you have to use a 4 pin
legacy connector. Secondly, it keeps the connection secure - early SATA
drives were notorious for loose connectors. "

What do I need to do to ensure this drive works fine either as a slave
or as the main drive?

Thanks

 

[Igor]

What do I need to do to ensure this drive works fine either as a slave
or as the main drive?

I was under the impression that SATA drives don't need to be
configured as master or slave.

 

[Rod Speed]

On my Asus P5PE VM motherboard I have what seems to be an SATA1
connector but I wish to buy a WD SATA2 drive (Western Digital Caviar
SE16 500GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM). I read
something about legacy power support. I have no idea if my system has it.

Yes it does, thats the flat 4 pin power connector used for the optical drives.

I am not sure if any connector comes with an OEM either.

Usually not.

I read this FAQ which confused the heck out of me:

" You'll need two cables. A 7 pin data cable, and a 15 pin power
cable. The data cable should come with your motherboard, or you can
pick them up at a local PC shop for next to nothing. Most SATA drives
can take either 4 pin legacy power or 15 pin SATA power. NEVER use
both power connectors. I speak from first hand experience in saying
that you can ruin a SATA hard drive this way. Some newer power
supplies come with SATA power leads. They are nice to have, but not
necessary. If you want to use a SATA power connector, but don't have
a SATA power capable power supply, you can buy a 4 pin legacy power
to 15 pin SATA power adapter. If you buy a Western Digital SATA
drive, they come with a cable called "Secure Connect". One end plugs
in to your motherboard, the other connects to the hard drive,
covering both the data and power connections on the drive. This does
not provide power for your Western Digital drive, it's for data
transfer only. This serves two purposes: It covers the SATA power
connection on the drive, so you have to use a 4 pin legacy connector.
Secondly, it keeps the connection secure - early SATA drives were
notorious for loose connectors. "

What do I need to do to ensure this drive works
fine either as a slave or as the main drive?

Nothing special, and sata drives dont have master and slave either.