May 19, 2006, Newsletter Issue #9: IDE Hard Drives: Older and Replaceable

Tip of the Week

IDE stands for Integrated Drive Electronics. IDE was an earlier standard for connecting the hard drive to the rest of the computer. IDE drives, also called PATA hard drives, were the longtime standard for internal hard drives. However, beginnnig in 2003, IDE hard drives have gradually been replaced by a new standard, the SATA hard drive, which is seen as more efficient. Today, it's still possible to buy an IDE hard drive. But most newer computers are SATA compatible. If you want to upgrade your IDE hard drive with a new or additional drive, you'll need to either purchase a PATA drive or an SATA drive with a compatible PCI card.

Bottom line: IDE drives are still in use, but have largely been replaced by the SATA drive. If you're going to upgrade, go SATA.

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