Computer Gods I summon you!

[Mango]

Hey,

Is there anything wrong with useing the round IDE cables, as opposed to the ribbon cables? They look like they would offer much better flow and make the inside look nice and clean. I was just wondering if there was any advantage to useing the ribbon cables becaues the rounds just seem like an excellent choice.

[FordPrefect]

I'd say no, but I'd also get a second opinion.

[-=Squid=-]

There isnt.

*edit* I learned that in microcomputer technologies at school

[Mango]

awsome! thanks for the info squid, thats just the answer I needed.

[xmetal2001]

Nope. Despite any rumors you might hear about worse performance, they perform identical to ribbon cables.

[virus]

myself.... i perfer the round over the ribbon...... makes for more room to work... esp if you are cursed with big hands like me....

[-=Squid=-]

ribbon looks old and outdated too your welcome mango.

[joeyjoe367]

Yeah... umm.. more "flow"

Just make sure that your IDE controller has a fast enough Recharge Rate. I hear the one made by DGA can go 26hz without any problems.

Don't forget to get a lvl 01 kit for your video card

[Mango]

I meant more air flow inside the case. And I'm running a RAID 0 array so I know what I'm talking about

The ribbon cables are all bunched up right in front of the two case fans in the front of the case and I know they are stopping a lot of airflow.

[joeyjoe367]

oh, LoL, I thought that maybe you were just really n00b

srry, my mistake.

[Potatoboy]

Actually, although there may be no real difference, IDE cables are ribbons for a reason.

Every other wire is not connected or ground as to reduce the chance for crosstalk between wires carrying signals.
Rounded IDE cables, or normal ribbons wrapped up defeat this purpose, and could lead to higher data transfer times because of retransmission due to signal corruption/leakage.

[Tron]

There is a slight slow down in cheaply made cables or home made cables where they strip some insulation. But other then that they are fine and it has been proven in hundreds of tests on all the hardware sites on the net. I use rounded cables in my Dual 2200 MP system running SCSI and they benchmark the same as regular SCSI. I also use them in all my home systems and the higher end systems I build for customers.

-Tron

[SeeK]

The round cables attenuate the signals with twisting the wires. It's the same way as CAT5.

[Mr. T!]

Round IDE cables are better in terms of space consumption, but you can make your own by merely slit imbetween teh lines and wrapping them up.....

[Potatoboy]

Yeah, Most of the good ones do, but some of the early ones or the cheap ones were/are not twisted pairs.

Originally posted by SeeK
The round cables attenuate the signals with twisting the wires. It's the same way as CAT5.