Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (
More info?)
On Mon, 23 May 2005 11:13:57 GMT, Phisherman
<nobody@noone.com> wrote:
>On Sun, 22 May 2005 20:56:18 GMT, Phisherman <nobody@noone.com> wrote:
>
>>I plan to use a Seagate Barracuda (ST3200822A) hard drive hooked up to
>>a Giga-Byte GA-K8NS motherboard. Most likely I will buy a "bare
>>drive" without a cable so I need to know if an 80 pin or 40 pin cable
>>should be used. I have a boxful of new 40-pin ribbon cables, but no
>>80-pin cables. Will an 80-pin cable provide any advantage with an
>>EIDE ATA-100 drive?
>
>Thank you for the responses. Now that I understand that I need a 80
>wire EIDE cable to maximize data transfer rates I have three more
>questions.
>
>How much slower will a 24" cable be than an 18" cable? (ie, a 25%
>drop in transfer rate? 100*6/24=25%)
0% if it's a good cable. As D. Maynard mentioned, it either
gets full transfer rate or is resent, and the resends can't
be calculated (and wouldn't typically occur at only 24", but
it can be borderline for ATA133). Ideally you would only
use a cable long enough to get the job done, no excess.
>
>The round-molded ribbon cables allow for better airflow, but are these
>just as effective (in transferring data) as the plain ribbon cables?
usually yes. Some rounded cables don't have a (clear or
colored) lamination on the wire portion cinched in the
connectors and so are subject to more stress when repeatedly
unplugging the cables. Then again, _any_ IDC (insulation
displacement connector) is not really suited for frequent
insertion, should be handled with care.
>
>Any specific good-value brand recommendations? I'm looking for value,
>not appearance. I can't believe folks spend $20 for a fancy cable!
You can pick up a cheap ribbon or round cable at several
places, shipping cost would tend to be the larger expense so
if you already had some plans to purchase some other product
from a vendor that also sells cables, that could end up
being the best value.
If you just want the cheapest shipped cable this place is
among the lowest priced, providing you choose USPS ground
delivery. Even their cheapest cables seem to work fine
though those with the copper or aluminum braiding in the
sleeve are less flexible, harder to keep routed out of the
way without wire-ties if you get an over-length cable.
http://www.svcompucycle.com/cables.html