WD Interface Guide	View PDF

• Which internal drive is the right choice: SATA or PATA?
• Which internal drive is compatible with my operating system: SATA or PATA?
• Which external drive interface is the right choice: USB, FireWire, eSATA, or Gigabit Ethernet?
• Additional Support Resources

Which internal drive is the right choice: SATA or PATA?

First, look at the connections on your computer.

SATA

PATA

Parallel ATA (PATA), also called Enhanced integrated drive electronics (EIDE), hard drives have been the standard in the computer industry for more than 10 years. Some newer computer system motherboards don’t have PATA ports, but a PCI EIDE controller card can be installed to add support for PATA drives. If you don’t know whether your computer has PATA ports on the motherboard, refer to your computer or motherboard documentation or contact the motherboard manufacturer.

Which internal drive is compatible with my operating system: SATA or PATA?

Your operating system, as well as your hardware, must support the hard drive you choose:

Other helpful information is available in the WD Knowledge Base at support.wdc.com

• What issues should I be concerned with when using a drive over 137 GB?
• Are PATA hard drives larger than 137 GB supported in Mac Systems?

Which external drive interface is the right choice: USB, FireWire, eSATA, or Gigabit Ethernet?

Which external drive interface is the right choice: USB, FireWire, eSATA, or Gigabit Ethernet? Each interface has its strengths, which are explained in detail below. The right choice depends on compatibility with your computer and how you want to use your device. First, look at the connections on your computer.

USB

USB 2.0 is the industry standard peripheral connection for most Windows-based computers. This connection transfers data at a maximum rate of 480 Mb/s. Sustained data transfer rates, usually from 10 to 30 MB/s, vary depending on many factors including the type of device, data being transferred, and computer system speed. If your USB port is an earlier version, USB 1.0 or 1.1, you can use a USB 2.0 hard drive, but transfer rates default to the slowest version. If you don’t know the version of your computer’s USB ports, refer to your computer documentation or contact the manufacturer.

FireWire

FireWire, also called IEEE 1394, is a high-performance connection standard for personal computers and consumer electronics. This interface uses a peer-to-peer architecture in which peripherals negotiate bus conflicts to determine which device can best control a data transfer. FireWire has two configurations:

FireWire 400, also called IEEE 1394a, transfers large amounts of data between computers and peripheral devices at rates up to 400 Mb/s. With higher bandwidth, longer distances, and a higher-powered bus, this interface is suitable for hard drives, digital video, professional audio, high-end digital still cameras, and home entertainment devices.
FireWire 800, also called IEEE 1394b, provides the highspeed connection and bandwidth required for multiple-stream, uncompressed digital video and noise-free, high-resolution digital audio. It offers maximum flexibility with long-distance cabling and configuration options not available with USB.

SATA is very effective for external storage applications, and the external SATA (eSATA) cable and connector application provides a physically secure and fast connection for external hard drives. With up to 3 Gb/s data transfers, this interface is suitable for hard drives, home networking, digital video, and home entertainment devices such as set-top boxes and personal video recorders. eSATA and internal SATA cables and connectors cannot be used interchangeably. This is an important feature since eSATA cables and connectors are designed for 5000 insertion and removal cycles while internal SATA cables and connectors are designed for only 50 insertion and removal cycles. To achieve eSATA connectivity with an external SATA drive, a SATA PCI card must be installed on the host computer.

Note: SATA cables with an L-shaped connector are incompatible with WD eSATA devices.

Gigabit Ethernet

Ethernet is a standard method of connecting computers to a local area network (LAN) using coaxial cable. As an external hard drive interface, it is most often used for network attached storage (NAS) applications in which files can be shared across a network. Gigabit Ethernet, with its data transfer rate of 1000 Mb/s, is the latest and fastest Ethernet standard that evolved from the earlier Fast Ethernet (100 Mb/s) and Ethernet (10 Mb/s) standards. Benefits of Gigabit Ethernet include increased bandwidth, quality of service (QoS) features that promote smooth transmission of audio and video, and compatibility with existing Ethernet and Fast Ethernet networks.

Additional Support Resources

• WD Support homepage
• WD Support FAQ
• Search the WD Support Knowledge Base

Information furnished by WD is believed to be accurate and reliable; however, no responsibility is assumed by WD for its use nor for any infringement of patents or other rights of third parties which may result from its use. No license is granted by implication or otherwise under any patent or patent rights of WD. WD reserves the right to change specifications at any time without notice.