New Computer/Keeping Old Data

[Koolguy]

I'm sure many of you have heard about the Data Safe program that Dell is now offering. Currently I am considering building or buying a new computer. My issue is I already have a slave IDE hard drive that holds over 60GB of media and files that I need. My primary (IDE) recently crashed, and I need to buy a new one. If I must do that, I would like to start purchasing towards my new computer (SATA drives). I dont want to waste my money on old technology and replace with another IDE, but I dont want to spend loads of money on pieces of a new computer when im not sure when i can afford the whole thing.

Is there any other cheap option out there for me to move all this info? I like Dell, but I would rather build my own PC, than buy a manufactured one.

 

[BowRiver]

External USB hard drive enclosure.

Mediasonic (Canada)
Kingwin

 

[Koolguy]

Oh I guess I forgot to mention. I have an outdated computer

IDE Drives
Rambus Ram
USB 1.1
AGP 4x

 

[desolationw]

I would just go straight out and build a new computer now. It is fair to say your computer isn't new and it will be worth getting a new one. You will be able to hook up your old hdd as a 2nd hdd if you get a new comp.

What all do you use your computer for?(basic internet, gaming, video encoding, CAD etc)

 

[Milbo183]

What you said.Doesn´t get much cheaper.OP can get a cheap USB 2.0 add-on card also.

 

[Koolguy]

I currently use it for internet, lots of media, and software hookups for my friends. I would game more, but my system wont support the cool stuff. I plan to get into web design eventually, and video editing once i get enough money for a camera.

I am looking to build pretty similar to this guys setup:
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/Build-Opinions-ftopict218823.html

 

[blue68f100]

Most externals HD use the cheaper IDE interface. But if your MB will allow it to boot from a external source, good, but will be slow. With a OS on it other systems may not like it.

You need a HD that is going to be bootable on your system. If your MB does not support SATA, you will be better off buy a cheap IDE HD. I've seen some 120gig advertised for around $60 from time to time. But the better buys cost/gig is in the 300gig range.

 

[zjohnr]

I dont want to waste my money on old technology and replace with another IDE, but I dont want to spend loads of money on pieces of a new computer when im not sure when i can afford the whole thing.

I am looking to build pretty similar to this guy's setup:
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/Build-Opinions-ftopict218823.html

OK, OTOH, you're not sure you can afford it. But OTOH, you indicate you're considering getting a ~$2,200 system. Hard to tell from these two conflicting extremes just what sort of solutions are appropriate to suggest for you at this time.

My primary (IDE) recently crashed, and I need to buy a new one. If I must do that, I would like to start purchasing towards my new computer (SATA drives).

If you want to use a SATA drive on a PATA only system then I'd suggest adding a SATA controller PCI card. My recommendation would be to get one of the basic (non-RAID) Promise controller cards from ebay. Alternately you could get one from an on-line retailer like newegg.com. Here's a link to a newegg.com search.

You'll notice the Promise cards are expensive (which is why I suggested ebay ). Can't tell you whether they are worth it or not and there are certainly other SATA PCI cards available for less. I recommend the Promise cards for these reasons. I've used them myself. I know they come with a BIOS so you should be able to boot Windows from a drive attached to one of these cards. Finally, it's relatively easy to get driver and BIOS updates for their cards from the Promise website.

If you get a SATA drive one other thing to consider is how to power it. SATA drives use a power connector which your older system probably doesn't supply. You can get an adapter which converts a 4 pin Molex power connector to a SATA connector. If you want to look/buy forward, you could also update your power supply at this time. Any new PSU worth getting would include SATA power connectors.

-john, the essentially clueless redundant legacy dinosaur

 

[Koolguy]

Ok, so maybe 4GB or RAM, a tv tuner, and a $400 motherboard arent in my sights, but the processor and hard drive setup is what im looking for for my next system. By the way, what is OTOH?

 

[zjohnr]

By the way, what is OTOH?

Context sensitive short hand for either "On The One Hand" or "On The Other Hand".

FWIW, if you're really thinking of springing for an E6600 then be aware that the price is expected to drop by nearly $100 sometime in May of this year. My current plan is to get a system based around an E4300 when they are available for around $163. (I'm hoping this happens no later than early February).

That should tide me through just fine until the hoped for May-June price-cuts arrive. (It won't take a lot to look good compared to my current sys ). At that time I can look around and see if I still really think I need to move to an E6600. And if I do decide to get an E6600 I'm hoping I could still sell the E4300 for at least 60% of what I paid for it.

-john

 

[dokk]

I'm sure many of you have heard about the Data Safe program that Dell is now offering. Currently I am considering building or buying a new computer. My issue is I already have a slave IDE hard drive that holds over 60GB of media and files that I need. My primary (IDE) recently crashed, and I need to buy a new one. If I must do that, I would like to start purchasing towards my new computer (SATA drives). I dont want to waste my money on old technology and replace with another IDE, but I dont want to spend loads of money on pieces of a new computer when im not sure when i can afford the whole thing.

Is there any other cheap option out there for me to move all this info? I like Dell, but I would rather build my own PC, than buy a manufactured one.

Went thru the same rigamarole myself got several hdds with stuff on them too big for one dvd,don't want to write dual's so when I upgraded I went with removable drive caddies...
To whit :: I have one hdd for the net this one and,one for gaming,and an 80g and a 120g for storage and file transfer with a few selected friendz..Workz like a charm.

 

[Koolguy]

Quick question guys. If I get a SATA 3.0 drive , with an adapter/converter that plugs into my IDE slot on my motherboard, will it still run as fast as SATA 3.0?

 

[zjohnr]

Quick question guys. If I get a SATA 3.0 drive , with an adapter/converter that plugs into my IDE slot on my motherboard, will it still run as fast as SATA 3.0?

Well, the answer is both "yes" and "no", isn't it?

No, it will not run at the SATA maximum of 3.0Gb/sec (~300-400MB/sec?) because it will be limited by the max speed of the PATA controller it is running through. I suppose you may also loose a little bit of transfer speed due to the conversion from the SATA to PATA interface. No free lunch and all that. Actually, all the converters I've looked at support only the SATA 1.5Gb/sec rate, so that is probably another reason bandwidth would (theoretically) be limited.

Yes, it will essentially work just as fast because the limiting factor with hard drives is not the speed of the connection interface. Hard drives are limited by how fast data can be read and written to the drive. This working speed is still far below the speed of all but the oldest PATA interface standards.

So are you thinking about gettting a SATA drive and connecting it to a PATA motherboard by using a converter card? Never tried that. I've already got 2 PATA devices hung off both of the my ATA-100 and couldn't afford to dedicate a PATA connector to a single drive. (That's how that would work, isn't it?)

-john