HD upgrade, which one?

[Quadophile]

I am contemplating to upgrade my system with an additional HD. I have now a Quantum Fireball Plus LM 15 GB ATA-66, a CD-RW and a DVD installed. I also have been thinking about additional IDE connections (like Promise and others). Which route is the best to take in present circumstances.

I have PIII 667, 256 MB PC 133 RAM, P3V4X motherboard, Plextor 12x10x32A CD-RW, Asus 8X DVD ROM.

I need to know which HD to go for, ATA-66 or ATA-100, and what about the Promise card, should I get one?

Any ideas or suggestions?

Quadophile http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/confused.gif

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Smart is when you believe half of what you hear (read), brilliant is when you know which half to believe.

[tjaymadison]

For most mainstream applications, you won't notice any significant speed increase. Remember, those 66 or 100 numbers refer to "burst mode" speeds, under ideal conditions. Unless you're running a server, or very demanding video editing software, I doubt you'd take advantage of the drive's potential very often. Then too, you run the risk of complicating your system with a separate controller card. Murphy's Law and all that. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif Lastly, make sure you have sufficient power supply wattage, regardless of which way you decide to go -- 300 might be enough, depending on how "hot" your video card is, or anything else you might want to add later on. Just my $0.02. Good Luck! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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"When I nod my head, hit it with the hammer."
(Moe, holding nail, to Curly, holding hammer)

[Randy_tx]

If you are adding a Hard Drive to what will become a somewhat crowded situation , I would go to a 300 WATT Power Supply BEFORE adding whichever HD you choose.

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Will XP save Me ?

[Quadophile]

Very sensible indeed!

In other words what you are suggesting is that I forget about the Promise and go for a HD of ATA-66 and possibly upgrade my casing and get a 300 watt power supply? Should I take this route?

By the way, I use the Matrox G400 32 MB Dual Head. I also tend to use USB connection often as I transfer some files from my Laptop (bringing work at home). The traffic is usually one way as my home system is having the CD-RW which I use if at all anything has to go to office (work done at home on the main machine rather than the laptop). I certainly do not want my system to be hoffing and puffing due to lack of power. At the moment I have had no problems with a 250 watt power supply, but I guess this is a necessary upgrade, instead of spending on Promise I spend on a good casing with 300 watt power supply.

Quadophile http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/cool.gif

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Smart is when you believe half of what you hear (read), brilliant is when you know which half to believe.

[Quadophile]

Originally posted by Randy_tx:
If you are adding a Hard Drive to what will become a somewhat crowded situation , I would go to a 300 WATT Power Supply BEFORE adding whichever HD you choose.



Point taken, will surely consider it BEFORE the HD is installed. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

Any idea which one to go for?

Sorry to keep asking but if you guys come up with sensible replys why not, take the advantage.

I was thinking of a Maxtor in the range of 30-45 Gig, is this a good choice or you suggest something else?

Quadophile

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Smart is when you believe half of what you hear (read), brilliant is when you know which half to believe.

[tjaymadison]

I've generally heard only good things about IBM drives. XG or GX series? -- can't remember. You might want to check some hardware review sites like Tom's Hardware (http://ww4.tomshardware.com) or Anandtech (http://anandtech.com) for their opinions.

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"When I nod my head, hit it with the hammer."
(Moe, holding nail, to Curly, holding hammer)

[Randy_tx]

You dont have to replace the "Case" to replace the power supply! You can buy a power supply at most any electronics store and just install it...It's VERY easy on a ATX style case like you currently have. Just look to see where everything is plugged in and replecate it with the new power supply (4 screws in the back of the box and it's out). The brand of hard drive is fine, if your pocketbook can stand it, you will like the 7200 rpm version of that drive.

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Will XP save Me ?

[Quadophile]

Originally posted by Randy_tx:
You dont have to replace the "Case" to replace the power supply! You can buy a power supply at most any electronics store and just install it...It's VERY easy on a ATX style case like you currently have. Just look to see where everything is plugged in and replecate it with the new power supply (4 screws in the back of the box and it's out). The brand of hard drive is fine, if your pocketbook can stand it, you will like the 7200 rpm version of that drive.




I did some survey and finally going to get the Quantum Fireball AS 30 GB ATA 100. I am not going in for the Promise card and with run it at ATA-66 along with my present Quantum Fireball Plus LM 15 GB. As for power supply I intend to get the Denko D112 case (mini server case with ample space for any future additions interms of cards and extra cooling if required). I am able to give away my present case to a needy relative. I think I have everything sorted out and just need to dish out the money and install it once arrive on the doorstep from my vendor.

The only thing which am I not please with is my Asus DVD E-608 drive which is not a good match to the Plextor. Maybe next month I get the Plextor CD-ROM to match it and dump the Asus. As for my DVD collection I have to get the stand alone DVD player to go with my HIFI. This I am afraid will have to wait yet another month.

I keep my fingers crossed!

Quadophile http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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Smart is when you believe half of what you hear (read), brilliant is when you know which half to believe.