Sata

[hux38]

Are SATA hard drives worth it? I know they aren't too much more expensive, but is the upside greater than this?

[TwoRails]

When the price diff was great, I didn't think so, but now, as you mentioned, they are close in price, yes that's the way to go if your mobo supports it. They are faster and the wiring is neater and easier to use, plus they are suppose to be hot swappable like a USB device, although I've never tried it.

[RJ]

IMHO PATA drives aren't worth it.
Here in Germany SATA drives are noticeable cheaper than their PATA counterparts, so there is no reason to go PATA anymore. In the US it might be different, though.

Still, have you seen Intel's new southbridge, the ICH-6 ? It has only one PATA channel (instead of two, as in the past), but 4 fully functional SATA ports. So, PATA is dying, and IMHO for hard drives already dead. I'd use it for opticals only, or just for a spare hard drive that you already have, but a new one should always be SATA.

RJ