IDE >500GB?

[NLS]

My unRAID currently hosts 4 SATA (the limit without PCI card) and 4+1 IDE (for some reason it won't work with 6).

 

SATA, ok will probably keep getting larger at least for the next two years.

My four (the fifth I don't care is the cache) IDE though, are already a bit small for the physical space the eat up in my array. 320GB each.

The larger IDE I found in Greece is 500GB (and is at least 10% more expensive than same size SATA).

 

Are there biggers IDE drives?

 

Or a SATA PCI (not PCIe) card is a better investment?

 

(my case will hold up to 12 disks total, 4 are SATA already)

 

 

[SSD]

The largest IDE drives I have seen are 750G.  Newegg has them http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148133. They are $129US.  I've seen the SATA version as cheap as $110US, but the ATA version never seems to go on sale.  I have seen the 500G drives for $99US, but they are too small for me.

 

I am rather maxed out on my server without upping my PSU and buying another SATA controller card.  I'd like to upgrade my IDE drives (300 and 500) each to 750.  When I can do that for less than $200US I'll likely take that opportunity.

 

I am surprised that 1T drives are not avabilable for IDE.  Not sure if there is some technical challenge, or if the market is such that people buying big drives are buying SATA.

[WeeboTech]

I recently purchased a few P-ATA/IDE 750GB Seagates.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101449

 

I had the feeling they were not going tb be produced in numbers too far in the future so I jumped on it.

These are mostly for my smaller SFF machines and lil ndas / media player boxes.

 

I recently saw them on Frys for $99 but they seem to be sold out now.

 

If this is for internal use with a PC,

I might weigh the cost of a large SATA drive + an IDE to SATA adapter and make a decision based on that.

 

 

 

[SSD]

I might weigh the cost of a large SATA drive + an IDE to SATA adapter and make a decision based on that.

 

This sounds like a good idea!  For about $25, you can get one.  Anyone have any positive (or negative) experience using these with 1T drives?

[NLS]

That is an interesting though - any experiences? (esp. performance)

 

Also, would such an adapter fit BOTH in the slave and the master plugs? (so I get two SATA?) Or this option will limit my expandability (6 IDE = 3 SATA)?

 

Add to that, that I have found 2-port SATA controllers for less than 20 euro (and a 4-port for less than 50). Note SATA, not SATA2, but maybe a better choice? (then it is a matter of if the card is supported by slackware)

 

 

[NLS]

thought about it further:

 

- I am a bit scared of converters, also (although available overseas) haven't found any IDE to TWO SATA converter (anything else would compromise my expandability) Performance, how well they do their job (add one more and uncontrollable variable in case something doesn't work as expected)

 

- My case has space for 12 disks and I have 9 in. So why not take advantage of that?

 

So I will probably get some cheapo PCI 2-port SATA (it is so cheap that I will forget I ever bought it) and just up my board ability from 9 to 11. In the future if things get tight and 500/750/1TB *IDE* disks are not dead cheap (maybe in a year), instead of swapping for bigger (those four+one IDE I have) I might just take one more SATA card and start eliminating the use of IDE bus.

 

PCI might not be the best option, but this is what my board has (at least AFAIK it has a GOOD PCI impementation - being an old hi-end Asus) and after all I doubt it will be worse than an IDE to SATA converter or even worse than using an old IDE drive.

 

 

[WeeboTech]

So I will probably get some cheapo PCI 2-port SATA (it is so cheap that I will forget I ever bought it)

There's a reason for that!

 

if you splurge for the Promise TX4 or a cheap SI3114 you wll have extra ports that you may be able to use externally with an adapter.

 

I have used both SATA to IDE and IDE to SATA converters with minimal issues.

In fact i was planning to use two on the JMICRON IDE channel in my ABIT AB9 PRO board.

Still for the cost of two converters on an IDE cable, you could have the Promise TX4 with no hassle in getting it to work.