Interface Cards & Controllers

Drive to Drive -- Understanding how IDE Cables work

You may call it an Integrated Device or Drive or just an IDE. IDE Cables are used to connect two drives together. These cables are usually connected with the assistance of jumpers which are situated on the rear of a drive. The top drive is called the “master” drive and the bottom drive is called the “slave” drive. The master drive is naturally the primary drive. It is usually placed at the end of a two connection IDE cable. The secondary or slave drive is attached to the IDE cable between the primary drive and the motherboard IDE connection. It is not possible to transfer data from each drive simultaneously in effect creating two master drives.

IDE Cables include either 40 individual wires or 80 individual wires. Unfortunately, people started experiencing various problems and unusual issues crop up by using 40-conductor IDE cables because of its older and weak design. The speed of IDE/ATA interface is also very low. Current devices including the Ultra ATA/66 need 80 pin wire cables to work faster. People may be wondering on the introduction of 40 extra wires in a cable. However, the extra 40 wires do not carry any additional information except they are just there to split the original 40 signal wires, in an effort to reduce intrusion and other signalling problems linked with higher-speed transfers. So the 40 additional conductors are allied to the grounding and intermingle between the initial 40 conductors of the previous cable. Any abandoned signals that would “cross-talk” amidst neighbouring wires on the 40-conductor cable are “absorbed” by these additional ground wires, recuperating signal reliability. The added ground wires can equate to all of the even-numbered wires, or all of the odd-numbered wires within the cable.

Majority of wires within an IDE Cable are used to transmit data connecting the motherboard and the drives. Now-a-days Enhanced Integrated Device or Drive (EIDE) has become a common standard because it four times faster than its counterpart the IDE standard.

It was the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) who adopted IDE as a standard in the year 1990. ANSI calls IDE as Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA). Today almost all the new computers have an inbuilt IDE controller into the motherboard. But with the advancement of technology, slowly and steadily Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA cables) are being used for connecting hard drives or CD drives to motherboards. This new invention, which is smaller in width, helps in relocating data at a fast pace as compared to the older IDE cables and is slowly replacing the older IDE Ribbon cable I.e. PATA. The data transfer rate of SATA cables starts from 1.5Gbits.

Buying tips: IDE Cables
• Check whether the IDE cables allow custom placement of the connectors on the cable and offer elasticity in the placement of IDE drives?
• Check whether the cable has 2A AC power supply to guarantee adequate power to meet the needs of the drives which are relatively power-consuming.
• If you intend to use 80-wire pinned cables, connect the blue end connector to the system board, gray middle connector to the Slave, and the black end connector to the Master for appropriate data transfer efficiency.

About the Author

Sophie Milch currently manages purchasing and inventory control for Comnauts.com. Sophie keeps herself busy by making sure our inventory is filled with quality products, the latest and the greatest. Sophie holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo and is frequent contributor to several technology blogs and magazines. When she’s not working; in typical nerd fashion you can catch Sophie twittering friends, beating down Murlocs in World of Warcraft and watching re-runs of the X-files.

Using Your Excessive Speed Web Connection As A Voip Cellphone Service

Voice over IP is a brand new technology which lets you have a conversation over the internet with another person with out actually using a traditional phone line. This is doable by combining each the fitting type of apparatus and repair provider.

VoIP is also known as Web protocol telephony (IP Telephony). This expertise works by converting common sound waves such as your voice (which is analog) into digital alerts which in term might be compressed and sent over the internet to its vacation spot, on this case the individual you are talking to. The individual on the other finish percieves the re-transformed indicators from digital to analog. Such conversion is finished through modems (Modem stands for Modulate/Demodulate) thats why a excessive velocity web connection is commonly required, if its not, then lags and delays could also be observed through the conversation.

As it's with applied sciences which develop quickly (VoIP), it is imperative so that you can know what this expertise is about in addition to the latest changes and updates regarding it. Being aware of these details change into useful when making a call to what phone equipment and VoIP supplier to select.

A VoIP service has a variety of choices that depends on what sort of service and gear you choose. Among these are:

(1) with the ability to name solely individuals who use the identical service supplier
(2) calling long distance, even worldwide numbers and cell phones
(three) calling from a pc using a microphone or VoIP telephone
(4) using a standard phone that is related to a tool referred to as an ATA (analog phone adaptor).

Required Equipment
Because you need access to the Web, it's apparent that securing an internet connection is required (Excessive velocity most well-liked). Different tools you will have is determined by the sort of VoIP service you avail of. It may be so simple as a microphone and speaker set to a VoIP-enabled phone set. In some circumpstances, an ATA may be necessary as well.

Making calls for free
It's truly doable for you to benefit from the VoIP advantages and never pay a dime for the service!. Probably the most well-known and widely known piece of software which helps you to do that is referred to as Skype. Users who've installed the software on their computer systems could make calls to individuals who have the same program installed in their systems. It is also attainable to calls landlines and mobile phones but a payment is charged for that.

Of course the limitation lies in the fact that if the individual you want to name doesn't have Skype on their pc , you won't be capable of make that free call. However, this feature is extensively in style among individuals who want to try out the technology with out having to pay a subscription price for it.

Whether you choose a free service reminiscent of PC to PC calling with Skype or subscribe to a service supplier using a provider corresponding to Vonage, touching base with someone in the neighborhood or across the globe has grow to be not solely easier however cheaper as well. All you need is to know what you need and the sum of money you’re keen to take a position to avail of it – there's bound to be service that can deal with your requirements. Once that is settled, it’s only a matter of reaching out and touching someone.

If you wish to know more about VoIP go to our basic guides on the VoipDocument.

About The Author

Jacob has been writing articles online for almost 4 years now. Not solely does this creator specialise in Computers and Technology, you too can take a look at his latest web site on how one can convert 3GP to AVI with 3GP to AVI converter which also helps people find the best 3GP to AVI converter on the market.

ESATA or SATA - which is easier to setup for my old DELL DIMENSION 8200 PC?

hi guys,

My current hard drive type is ATA and I'm thinking i wanna get a SATA or ESATA hard drive..which one do u guys recommend for me to setup for my old dell dimension 8200 PC? which one is faster?

And also, must i get some kind of converter or something?

ESATA is the same as SATA in speed. The "E" stands for "external."

Your computer probably does not have an SATA connector built in. So you would first need to install an adapter card that has that. If you want to replace your current hard drive, then you would go with SATA (internal). If you want an external hard drive then you can consider an ESATA that lets you plug in another hard drive outside the PC.

Personally, I would not bother upgrading from ATA to SATA, because the speed difference is very minimal.

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