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    whats the difference between SATA Hard Drive and EIDE Hard Drive?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by umhaha, Mar 10, 2008.

  1. umhaha

    umhaha Notebook Consultant

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    what is the difference? and which one is better? which one should i choose? (they are both spinning at 5400 rpm). also, can you feel the difference between a HDD with 5400rpm and a HDD with 7200rpm?
     
    umhaha, Mar 10, 2008
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  2. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    The big difference is the type of connector, so you need to check what your computer has. You can work this out by looking up the specs of your existing HDD. SATA is newer and theoretically faster, but it also uses more power.

    As for the difference between 5400rpm and 7200rpm, you need to factor in the generation and capacity. 7200rpm will always have the shorter access time, but the current highest capacity 5400rpm HDDs (320GB) have data transfer rates that are in the same range as the current highest capacity (200GB) 7200rpm HDDs. If you get smaller capacity HDDs these may either be versions of the latest models with the highest data densities (good) or older models with lower data densities (not so good).

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Mar 10, 2008
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  3. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    EIDE means that the harddrive uses an ata interface. Your harddrive will have 39 pins sticking out of it if it is an eide harddrive. sata harddrives have a plastic shroud covering the seven metal transfer pins. SATA harddrives are mainstream in laptops which are less than 2 years old. ATA harddrives are used on laptops 2 years and older.
    SATA harddrives are slightly faster than ATA harddrives because SATA harddrives suport new laptop technology. The fastest ata laptop harddrive is tied between the Hitachi 7K100 and the WD 250gb scorpio 5400rpm.

    A high density 5400rpm harddrive 250Gb or greater will run about the same speed as any standard 7200rpm harddrive.
    Actually the Samsung 320Gb 5400rpm notebook harddrive is the same speed as the Hitachi 7k200, the fastest 7200rpm drive

    You can only get a harddrive with the same interface as your laptop.

    If you post what laptop it is, we can tell you if it uses ata or sata harddrives

    Keep in mind that eide = ata, which = pata.

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Mar 10, 2008
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  4. THAANSA3

    THAANSA3 Exit Stage Left

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    Most newer desktops and laptops have SATA drives.
     
    THAANSA3, Mar 12, 2008
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  5. Commander Wolf

    Commander Wolf can i haz broadwell?

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    SATA uses a different power and signal connector, it has much higher bandwidth than IDE, it supports hot-swapping (though that's not very helpful in a laptop), you can't string multiple SATA drives on a single SATA port, etc.

    But yeah, the most relevant difference for most people is just the type of connector.
     
    Commander Wolf, Mar 12, 2008
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