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    Replacing PATA with SATA interface in a laptop

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by hendra, Jan 2, 2010.

  1. hendra

    hendra Notebook Virtuoso

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    My Sony FW190 laptop only has PATA interface for its optical drive. Is it possible to replace it with SATA interface without replacing the whole motherboard? It is weird that it uses PATA for optical drive because it uses SATA for hard drive.
     
    hendra, Jan 2, 2010
    #1
  2. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    moral hazard, Jan 2, 2010
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  3. flipfire

    flipfire Moderately Boss

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    A lot of notebooks for 07-08 still used PATA for the optical drive. I guess they didnt really think it was necessary extending the SATA bandwidth for the optical drive.
     
    flipfire, Jan 2, 2010
    #3
  4. hendra

    hendra Notebook Virtuoso

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    That is just sucks because I would be left behind when newer and faster drives arrive as all of them are now SATA. The industry has officially abandoned PATA and moved to SATA for optical drives http://www.digistor.com/pressreleases/Transition-to-Slimline-SATA.pdf
     
    hendra, Jan 7, 2010
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  5. weinter

    weinter /dev/null

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    You don't use the optical drive as frequently so this should be a non-issue.
     
    weinter, Jan 7, 2010
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  6. hendra

    hendra Notebook Virtuoso

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    Due to space constraint in my cramped living space, I can't place a TV or HDTV. So, it is a big issue for me as I rely on my laptop to watch DVD and Blu-ray.
     
    hendra, Jan 7, 2010
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  7. davepermen

    davepermen Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    and in both cases you don't need a fast drive. one that runs at 1x speed delivers exactly the speed needed for playback.
     
    davepermen, Jan 7, 2010
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  8. hendra

    hendra Notebook Virtuoso

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    You may not need a fast drive once the movie plays but a faster drive enables you to load the movie quicker. Very helpful especially with Blu-ray movies that have fancy BD-Java menu. Newer Disney Blu-ray is notorious for slow load time because of this issue.
     
    hendra, Jan 7, 2010
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  9. davepermen

    davepermen Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    sure, it can be nice. i just said not needed. not, not desired.. the drives will deliver the movies perfectly fine (and a tv + dvd/bluray player would not be faster btw).
     
    davepermen, Jan 7, 2010
    #9
  10. timesquaredesi

    timesquaredesi MagicPeople VooDooPeople

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    even if you get the mobo for $100, it'd be so much easier to get a new laptop. i hate being wasteful but killer machines are now around the $600 mark... if that laptop is a few years old and has served its purpose well, i personally would jump to a newer unit.
     
    timesquaredesi, Jan 7, 2010
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  11. sean473

    sean473 Notebook Prophet

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    u would need a new laptop... or motherboard but IMO just get a new laptop...
     
    sean473, Jan 7, 2010
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  12. D3X

    D3X the robo know it all

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    Not weird. PATA Optical drives are cheaper and more abundant, especially Slim 12.7mm or 9.5mm drives.


    I can understand getting another SATA harddrive or SSD in the optical bay.
    But why would you want to convert a PATA Optical Drive to a SATA Optical drive?

    DVD-RWs are very slow components and will never take advantage of the 133MB/sec PATA/IDE thoroughput. I'm not sure about Blu-Ray burners, but I would assume that it would be similar and you'll be better off using a ExpressCard/34 eSATA and a external desktop version BD-RW given the price of the slim versions.
     
    D3X, Jan 7, 2010
    #12
  13. hendra

    hendra Notebook Virtuoso

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    How about this? Currently, I have a PATA optical drive. If I buy a SATA optical drive, can I dissect both drives, detach the board with interface at the back of each drive and then swap them?
     
    hendra, Jan 8, 2010
    #13