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I am building a computer and I have a little question about the motherboard. I think I will buy a a7n8x from Asus but I don't know if I should buy the deluxe version. The only reason I would buy the the deluxe is that it has a SATA controller onboard. So, does SATA drives have better performence than PATA that is worth the extra bucks. Also, is SATA well supported under linux (I will probably install Mandrake 9.1). The onboard SATA controller is a Silicon Image Sil3112A.
At the moment, there's little performance difference between PATA and SATA drives to justify the price increase. That is, it's all hype. The drive's internal transfer rate is lower than ATA100, so you won't notice any speed increase by having SATA. We will have to wait until drives actually get faster, rather than just their external interfaces getting faster.
So, for now it's just hype but it will probably become faster and cheaper. So, for now I will probably buy a normal (PATA) drive. But should I still buy the deluxe version so I can upgrade to SATA in future or is it a wate of money? Thanks for all the reply so far.
That's hard to say. It would be good to have the technology available for when the drives become faster and cheaper, but the Deluxe version is probably more expensive that a motherboard without the SATA interface. How much more expensive is easy; you know that now. But how long it will be before drives improve, and whether you will be ready for another motherboard upgrade by that time anyway, that is the hard bit. If it's not too much extra for the Deluxe (only you can judge that) then that's probably the best way to go; at least you then future-proof yourself.
Thanks geoff_f for the hint. The deluxe version is only 30$CAN more so I will probably get it. Also, I don't have a lot of money (I'm in high school, so money is quite rare ) so the motherboard should last for some time and SATA drives will probably get better during this time.
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The onboard SATA controller is a Silicon Image Sil3112A.
) so the motherboard should last for some time and SATA drives will probably get better during this time.
