additional hard drive

[etwicky]

I want to add a new hard drive to my dell dimension 8200. I want it specifically for video editing and to format it to NTSF. I've been reading about the IDE vs. SATA drives and wonder if in the next few years I'm going to get an entirely new computer is it still worth it to get the new SATA drive and all the new stuff that is required or should I just get the older IDE ones and when I upgrade in the future get the new SATA then. And another question: My computer is a Pentium R 4 CPU 1700 MHz 1.69 GHz 512 MB Ram, will it only be capable to handle a certain speed and or amount of GB on a new hard drive. Or can I get whatever I want. I typed in my computer on the Dell website and it told me to get 80 GB Internal 7200 EIDE HD, 8.9 ms seek time, EIDE ultra ATA 100 interface. up to 100 MBps, 2 MB cache. But I want more GB and perhaps faster than 8.9 But obviously I don't know much about this.

[jimmalenko]

There's no real upper bound on the size of the hard drive you can get, and obviously moving forward, it would be best to get the biggest one you can afford. However, it is possible that your OS and/or your motherboard may limit how much space is actually usable (fill in your computer details in your profile ).

[normcar]

Yes, I would check with Dell to see if you can use a HD greater than 137GB. If you cann't, you will have to purchase an IDE controller card.

I would not purchase a SATA drive as they are usually more expensive, and are only a tiny bit faster in actual practice (you may save 2-3 mins encoding a 2hr video), and your MB may not have the SATA controllers. 250GB IDE drives are usually found for about $110 or less with rebates in your local stores.

[Bjs]

Dont forget the obvious problem .

Del and acer use crap power supplies .

If you are going to be adding such things , you better have a 400watt power supply unit or better .

I use 550watt units in all pcs ...

[waheed]

I would go for SATA if your MB supports it.

I would not purchase a SATA drive as they are usually more expensive

Depends on where you are located. Here in the UK< SATA and IDE are the smae price and in some places, you can find SATA being a bit cheaper than IDE.

There isn't a noticable speed difference between SATA and IDE (unless its a 10,000 RPM drive) but SATA has more to offer. SATA does away with master/slave configuration on channels unlike IDE in which the same channel is shared with your optical drives. SATA also uses tiny cables which means less clutter inside your pc and more room for airflow. The other main advantage is SATA is plug & play.

[Raga]

Regarding IDE and SATA - if I'm not terribly missing something, IDE is the same as ATA, and ATA comes in two varieties - PATA (Parallel ATA) and SATA (Serial ATA).

Regardless of poor power supplies, I doubt a single hard drive would be the straw that broke the camel's back. I believe a regular hard drive takes around 25 watts, while your average high-end graphics card takes from 50 upwards. Of course it's hard to say whether your system might be on the edge or not until you fill in your PC details.