IDE vs. SCSI
Updated: 01/24/2018 by Computer Hope
Today, most computers users are switching from IDE and SCSI to SATA disk drives. However, for users trying to decide between IDE/ATA and SCSI review the below chart for pros and cons on each.
| Topic | ATA/IDE | SCSI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Overall, IDE is a much cheaper solution. | Compared with IDE, SCSI is often more expensive to implement and support. |
| Expansion | IDE/EIDE allows 2 two devices per channel. Most computers have 2 channels. | SCSI can support up to 7 or 15 devices. |
| Ease | IDE is commonly an easier product to set up than SCSI. | Configuring SCSI can be more difficult for most users compared to IDE. |
| Faster | Today, the latest IDE and SCSI drives running at the same RPM are very close. However, 10,000+ RPM drives are often only available for SCSI. | All the fastest drives are often available for SCSI first and in many cases 10,000+ RPM hard drives are only available as SCSI drives. |
| Resources | All motherboards today have an ATA/IDE interface and unless additional drives are needed no additional resources need to be taken. | Unlike IDE, SCSI requires an interface expansion card in most cases (unless the motherboard already has it). Adding any new hardware means more system resources are going to be required. |
