Is an IDE HDD even worth it?

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shadowtheimpure@reddit

I've long since stopped using them, instead using an IDE to SATA adapter to connect small, cheap SSDs. You don't get much in terms of speed, but you get reliability.

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kalnaren@reddit

I'd prefer 100% period accurate hardware, but sometimes it's just not realistic. I replaced the 3.5" drive with a floppy emulator and the HDD with a CF card.

I couldn't get the floppy to work and getting data on and off a pre-usb computer is difficult. At least with the CF card I can easily pop it out and write to it.

I'm also of the opinion that les mechanical components to fail, the better. My old computer is pushing 30 years old. Era-appropriate HDDs are on borrowed time. Since I actually use the thing I'll compromise on the HDD.

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applefreak111@reddit

I guess it just depends on your preference. Want to enjoy the software? SSD. Want to preserve the originality of the hardware? HDD.

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InsensitiveClown@reddit

Or buy a HDD clicker, and get a SSD, or a SD card, or CF card, and avoid the hassle.

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kalnaren@reddit

Not going to lie I kindof want one.

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RScottyL@reddit

Nope!

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FinalJenemba@reddit

Frankly I find HDD’s to actually be more reliable than CF cards. CF cards are just nice for the convenience. HDD’s also sound more original, and that sound is useful for knowing what the computer is doing.

I don’t think I’ll ever tire of hearing an HDD rumble away as things happen in DOS.

Windows XP and above though, SSD drives all the way.

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sustilliano@reddit

When did hard drives start needing heat sinks?

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Joe-notabot@reddit

10k rpm drives that aren't used in servers tend to have heat sinks, ala WD Raptors.

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insta@reddit

the raptor had a heatsink because it was a prosumer thingy, and buyers expected it. 10k and 15k SCSI and SAS drives don't have them, even the ones that didn't go into fan-heavy hotswap bays

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Deathwatch72@reddit

NVMe can get really hot depending on which PCIe version the m.2 slot is running at. Gen 5 in particular gets very hot due to the pretty insane speeds it can transfer data

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thunderbird32@reddit

I don't think I've seen a hard drive with a heat sink, other than those Western Digital Black drives that had them.

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buschman31@reddit

Well will someone please take two ide drives, 120gb and 40gb, both listed for auction. Got one scsi and one sas drive as giveaways if u can use them. I already have the CDI for the ide drives.

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canthearu_ack@reddit

If the hard drive has survived 40 years, it can probably go a few more!

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drwebb@reddit

Well, say that to my 7200RPM laptop drive that sat for maybe 10 years. I just installed the OS on it the other day and it dies 3 days later. ;)

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canthearu_ack@reddit

Yep, I feel you on this, since I had to replace the hard drive in my xbox one after it had been in storage a year or two. Power it up ... dead drive.

That just be the waters you sail with old computer hardware.

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redstern@reddit

I buy IDE hard drives for exactly 1 reason. Sound.

Sure newer drives are much faster, more reliable, and higher capacity, but they're too quiet. An old computer isn't complete if it doesn't whine and clunk the way it should.

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danieljeyn@reddit

It used to cause me a lot of stress working in a room with those spinning IDE drives. I could literally feel tension release from the blood vessels in my head when I would turn an old PC off.

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Agile-Cress8976@reddit

That was a neat aspect of Super Hot. At least in the intro and between-level cutscenes it replicated that old school feel, complete with not only the hard disk sounds but also the CRT scan lines and convex distortion, and the text based UI.

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DavidinCT@reddit

and you know what, I could get a WAVE file that makes the hard drive sound as I get the performance of a SSD.....

LOL sorry had to...

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TheGr1mKeeper@reddit

I believe the newer models of Gotek emulators have a speaker built in to make it sound like an old floppy. So yeah, I guess you're not alone in your sentiment.

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roboticgolem@reddit

Saw this on another thread. Want to pick one up for my build.

https://www.serdashop.com/HDDClicker

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Benson879@reddit

I found out I did not miss the clicking noises like I thought. It’s a nice charm, but not really why I’m revisiting these systems. It didn’t help that the vintage computer I purchased had an old HDD that sounded like a lawn mower.

The computer fan at least still makes enough noise for me.

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Useful_Resolution888@reddit

I don't miss the clicking noises either... it meant your days were numbered, try to get the data off before the os fails to boot. I remember trying to freeze a disk to recover data from it after a head crash.

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morphlaugh@reddit

hahah... I worked at Maxtor and Seagate for close to 15 years total. I am over the sound of hard drives and work at an SSD company now. :)

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flunky_liversniffer@reddit

I could listen to a good defrag on an old rusty spinny disk all day, and then the next. Original hardware fan.

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mariushm@reddit

There are IDE SSDs ... Native ide drives are available using SLC or MLC chips up to 32-64 GB ...

Bigger drives tend to have a ide to SATA cable inverter chip (jmicron or something like that)

Yeah I'd say no, not worth buying ide drives ... Would rather get a ide to SATA adapter and use a modern SATA drive. Alternatively, I'd get a SCSI drive or SAS drive and use a PCI scsi card ... At least a lot of scsi drives are enterprise and often used for very little time.

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gcc-O2@reddit

I'm personally kind of fed up with the odd compatibility issues I run into with CF-IDE and SATA-IDE, and because I still have about five or ten working IDE drives, I'm just using those.

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TechSupportIgit@reddit

Outside of the feel and aesthetic, no. I'd buy a known good old HDD if you really want the authentic experience, but an IDE to SATA or Blue SCSI is leagues better in performance and reliability.

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mnlx@reddit

Seagate's 80GB @7200, absolutely

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ziplock9000@reddit

Yes, that's why they still sell.

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THEXMX@reddit

Get IDE OR SATA HDD (FOR STORAGE SOULTIONS)

I have a 18tb hdd that is sata, and a classic ide drive thats 500gb still in use

but OS is on an nvme drive

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campingskeeter@reddit

Most all of the 1gb or less HDD I have used at some point have failed. In many cases, I decided to pull those working drives to preserve them with solid state since they are not very replaceable. However, I have rarely ever had any issues with newer IDE drives. Some I have been running daily for decades with no issues.

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thunderbird32@reddit

I've still got spinning platter SCSI drives in my Pentium Pro, RS/6000, and HP 9000 machines. Everything else I've switched to either CF (to replace IDE drives) or SCSI2SD (for SCSI systems).

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Mafiatounes@reddit

I still use IDE HDD's from +-25y ago (yeez) reliable and slow with the nostalgic noise which i love, i have some spares as well only use them for 2 pc's a 98se and a early Xp build (2003).

My late Xp build (2008) is paired up with SATA 7.2/10k rpm drive same as a Vista build, 7 is when i switch to SSD. For me it has to do with the experience like i remember slow and noisy, while many people like it faster with CF/SSD in my eyes it takes away the complete experience.

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TheKlaxMaster@reddit

No. Get an ide to SATA adapter.

HDD is still worth it because they last longer. You will not benefit from speed enhancements of SSD.

HDD yes, ide HDD, no

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RepresentativeCut486@reddit

Late IDE drive from the 2000s are very reliable

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OpacusVenatori@reddit

For an ancient desktop configuration (had to do it for work recently), we used a PATA 3.5" to 2.5" adapter, connected to a 2.5" > mSATA enclosure, and installed a used 64GB Samsung mSATA SSD.

If the desktop MB supports optional boot ROM, then a PCI>SATA adapter card instead.

For old laptops, up to Intel Pentium-M class, the same as above except for the 3.5" to 2.5" adapter; just the mSATA enclosure.

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typicalspy@reddit

Yes

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Mattock486@reddit

I prefer the convenience of ssd's but add one of these to scratch that retro itch.

https://www.serdashop.com/HDDClicker

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kfzhu1229@reddit

I personally have no trouble sourcing 2.5" laptop HDDs. For me, these are the kind of things where I have to look on your local marketplace for. And then, I find out that I keep on stumbling across then when I'm not explicitly looking for them, but can't find them when I badly wanted them. So, I just buy a huge stockpile from local sellers and got great luck with that. Smaller drives are 30-40GB, larger ones are 120-160GB

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DarthRevanG4@reddit

Depends on the computer for me. There are quite a few machines that are very picky about their IDE devices (Old World Macs specifically in my case) Where I find it's best to use actual IDE HDDs. IDE adapters are of varying quality and reliability. HDDs as long as they work are almost always a sure thing.

Anything OS X - Windows 2000\XP era, I'd probably use an SSD with an adapter if its a laptop, or a SATA controller card if its a desktop.

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PhotoJim99@reddit

mSATA plus mSATA-to-IDE adapter is what I do. I don't think you need to use a spinning disk to be "true" to the hardware - they'd have used SSDs in the day if they'd existed and been affordable.

I have a running Pentium M system using this. It's noticeably faster, quieter, and reliable.

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JorgeYYZ@reddit

I've used my IDE drives until they unfortunately failed in my Pentium 2 and Pentium 4. Since then, I've moved, respectively, to the following:

An SD to IDE adapter (8GB card split in 4 2GB partitions) running MS-DOS 6.22. I'm seriously considering Win98 in one of the partitions.

A regular 120GB SSD with Windows XP. There is also a 320GB mechanical SATA drive on this machine.

While I love the sounds of the old IDE drives (not to mention the floppy seek during boot), the convenience and speed of SD cards and SSDs have won me over. It's so much easier to transfer files over and the whole system feels very snappy under WinXP.

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Benson879@reddit

Yep, exactly. It’s like enjoying the nostalgia and removing the negative parts. Perfect balance.

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Benson879@reddit

Personally since going to the SSD, I’ve loved it and I don’t think I’ll ever go back. I’m not attached enough to the HDD clicking noises and slower speed rated. Running on an SSD gives me the vintage experience in a more enjoyable way.

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Maxstate90@reddit

I use hdds because xp and 98 don't have trim. But what do you guys use for your ssds, like ide to sata adapters?

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thegasman@reddit

personally depends on the hardware. for a dos, win 95 or win 98 would absolutely rather have a ide to keep more original and the sweet sounds they make just keep it backed up. but for a win 2000 or xp I'd rather have performance on an ssd.

if I was to need a replacement ide drive, I'd go an ebay used option they're not too crazy priced. then run benchmark, stress and health test. if seller is selling them used then they should be in working order otherwise ebay covers guarantee to get money back

another alternate option, there is actually new ide ssd from brands like kingspec and transcend. I don't have experience or knowledge of the ide ssd to know what the advantage using them over sata with ide adapter

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Dumbass_Saiya-jin@reddit

If you reeeeeeeeeally want one for authenticity (honestly, I kind of like the clicking in old computer hdds), then they're not usually expensive and can be fun. However, you can always just get an IDE to SATA adapter and get a SATA SSD instead. That's more likely to be reliable anyway.

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lazd@reddit

IDE to M.2 SATA goes into all my iBook G3 restorations. HDDs use more battery life, are slow, and prone to failure, and I actually prefer a silent laptop. Might as well upgrade!

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Alesia_Aisela@reddit

Depends on your needs and the availability of the drives imo. Personally, I have a local tech recycler where I can go get more drives for dirt cheap if I ever have an issue. So, ide drives work just fine for me, and I get to eliminate a point of failure in the process by not using adaptors. I do think they are worth it, but they come with a lot of baggage.

However, if you have limited access to parts and just want your computer to work, then use whatever is best for your situation.

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SuperKato1K@reddit

For my latest restoration I've settled on a mixed setup, with primary drive(s) being SCSI2SD, and one real platter disk for the nostalgia. When I want to hear it I can run something on it.

I've built various machines with both all-platter and all-CF/SD and I think I may have found my own sweet spot with a mixture like this.

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WRfleete@reddit

In some cases some solid state options won’t work either from bios limitations etc, might be good to keep a few traditional drives around if your particular machine(s) have issues using a CF or SD card based option. Eg my SLT 286 machine would only work with a 64MB CF card, 128 wouldn’t work (not even POST). Even tried some mechanical ones. Some had other issues like taking some time to start booting, did have a 1 gig card working at one stage but had the booting issue and bios limited to 500meg or so

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Flangy2000@reddit

Give yourself the gift of not having to deal with old IDE drives.

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Another_mikem@reddit

I’d say no. First thing I do is apply quality of life upgrades, moving to solid state storage is one of them. I just see zero reason to mess around with only spinning rust or corroding floppies. I lived in the bad old days once already, I’m fine making my life a little easier while still preserving the systems.

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ipseReddit@reddit

is it even worth it compared to a cheap SSD with and IDE adapter

SSDs with pata connectors are still easy to find as well, if you don’t want to use an adapter

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Playful-Nose-4686@reddit

i still use hdds a lot but i will admit i like the sd to ide a lot cause it lets me move over games super easy

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Aggravating-Exit-660@reddit

I still use maxtor drives in my build(s), as well as for my PS2. I had a lot of IDE adapters fail