Rounded IDE Cable Question

[skybolt_1]

I have a question about my rounded IDE cables...

I purchased them about 3+ years ago, back when they were first coming on the market. I got them from directron.com. Since I have bought them, I have been seeing numerous cables being advertised as "80 wire." I do NOT remember these cables being rated as such, and when I pull back the boots on the ends, the wire sizes don't look like the same size as the ones on an 80 pin cable.

My question is, back when these things started coming out, were the majority of them 40 wire? I would like to upgrade to the 80's if they arn't, and if anyone has recommendations, I would appreciate it.

skybolt_1

[elroy]

The 80 wire cables have much smaller wires. Many of the original rounded cables were 40 wire. If you have a board and drive that supports ATA 66/100/133 you should use the 80 wire cables. You'll get faster data transfer rates. If your board and drive don't support one of these speeds than upgrading the cable is not going to help anything.

[rpertusio]

Originally posted by elroy
If your board and drive don't support one of these speeds than upgrading the cable is not going to help anything.

Just to clarify, it could improve performance slightly. The 'extra' wires simply help with electro-magnetic interference. Less interference means less re-transmissions and errors (which could improve speed slightly, regardless of the ATA technology used.)

- rp

[ArcticFox]

Just to clarify, if you don't use an 80-conductor cable your transfer rate will be capped at ATA/33 to my knowledge - I've delt with it in my own machine.