Pete1
07-29-2000, 11:57 AM
I'm will be installing a new drive in my computer. I will be removing a 1.2 gig Quantum (this is the only hard drive I have installed)and putting in a 10.2 gig Maxtor DMA/66. My motherboard spec. say that the motherboard PCI bus mastering controllers supports transfer rates up DMA/33. Will I be limited by motherboard controller rates? My motherboard is a DFI k6xv3+. Will the present 40 pin IDE cable that I am using have to changed? I guess it wouldn't matter if the board doesn't support it? Any help in this area would be appreciated.
Thanks
Fingers
07-29-2000, 01:04 PM
ATA-66 HDD's are backward compatible with ATA-33 motherboards. The onboard IDE controller will limit your transfer rate to 33Mb/sec. No big deal, trust me, ATA-66 is only burst transfer rate, you'll hardly be able to tell the difference unless you run benchmarking utilities. The existing 40-conductor cable will work just fine, but the new drive will likely include an 80-conductor cable that will also work.
*Note* The 80-conductor cable still uses a 40-pin IDE connector. The extra 40-conductors are individual ground wires for each of the original 40 conductors; this is how the 66Mb/sec rate is achieved.