SATA Help!

[mharolde]

Greetings,

I have read threads here, read the best of data storage sticky and read my motherboard manual. I think I am more confused now then when I started!
So I apologize upfront if I have read the answer already and it just hasn't sunk in.

I have a Gigabyte GA-MA770-DS3P motherboard with an AMD chipset (SB700).
I installed the motherboard and did a fresh install of Windows XP Pro SP2 on my old 80GB IBM hard drive, no problems there. I am going to upgrade to a larger SATA hard drive in the very near future and my questions are how to install Windows back on this new SATA hard drive.

First let me say that last week I purchased a SATA DVD burner and all I had to do was plug it in and it was recognized by my system and is working fine. No problems there, at least that I am aware of.

My question is do I need to install SATA drivers when I install Windows on my new hard drive? My BIOS has a setting for native IDE support, which is enabled. Is this why I didn't need drivers for my DVD burner? I am really confused about whether or not I need to use the F6 function when I install windows for third party drivers. If I do, I will most likely need to purchase a floppy drive as I don't have a working one anymore. For some reason with native IDE support enabled, I get the feeling I wont need drivers on a floppy, but I need the experts to verify this for me.

I am, for now, only going to install one SATA hard drive. So I know I don't need to set up a RAID, which is good because I have no idea how to go about that! I do have some questions about BIOS setup when I get the SATA hard drive. Do I enable AHCI? What about NCQ, should this be enabled? I use my system for the internet and my son uses it for gaming, I don't plan on swapping my hard drive while the system is running. Somewhere I read that NCQ slows down gaming performance, but again verification would be appreciated.

I would like to get all the potential of my DVD burner and new hard drive and am unsure I have a complete understanding of how they should be set up. Thank you for reading through this and for any help.

Lastly, does the SATA cable have anything to do with performance? Meaning is there a different cable for SATA 150 and SATA 300?

Thanks again.

[Midknyte]

Why don't you just image your old drive onto your new drive? Paragon is FREE and the link is in my sig. If it's a Seagate, you can use their Discwizard to copy the drive (freeware AcronisTI). Otherwise, you can buy the latest Acronis True Image.

Use the IDE mode for your SATA ports and you won't need to use F6. You only use the F6 drivers if you choose AHCI or RAID.

You don't need AHCI. You don't need NCQ either. Those are geared towards enterprise functions (hot swap, multi-client environment, etc)

There is only one kind of SATA cable for 150 or 300.

[mharolde]

Why don't you just image your old drive onto your new drive? Paragon is FREE and the link is in my sig. If it's a Seagate, you can use their Discwizard to copy the drive (freeware AcronisTI). Otherwise, you can buy the latest Acronis True Image.

Use the IDE mode for your SATA ports and you won't need to use F6. You only use the F6 drivers if you choose AHCI or RAID.

You don't need AHCI. You don't need NCQ either. Those are geared towards enterprise functions (hot swap, multi-client environment, etc)

There is only one kind of SATA cable for 150 or 300.

Thank you for the response. Sounds like I install my OS on the SATA just like I did with my old drive.

I don't want to image my old drive because I have had to clean up some malware issues (I believe you helped me with those). I would rather start fresh, especially since I don't have any critical data that I haven't backed up.
I don't know if my new drive will be a Seagate or Western Digital, going back and forth with the two...any suggestions?

Thanks again

[Midknyte]

Do your research on each model. I already posted about the problem with the Seagate 7200.11 1TB with the SD15 firmware. WD had a firmware issue a couple years ago.

If you want pure speed, then get a WD Velociraptor. Hands down the fastest SATA drive on the market. It ain't cheap, though.

There will be people in either camp, so compare prices and then look for reviews.

[mharolde]

Do your research on each model. I already posted about the problem with the Seagate 7200.11 1TB with the SD15 firmware. WD had a firmware issue a couple years ago.

If you want pure speed, then get a WD Velociraptor. Hands down the fastest SATA drive on the market. It ain't cheap, though.

There will be people in either camp, so compare prices and then look for reviews.


Would love the VelociRaptor, but it's a bit out of my price range. :eek:
I have done the research and I am leaning towards the Western Digital.
Just wondered what peoples experiences have been.