IDE or SCSI?

Which is better IDE or SCSI? The best answer is "It depends." IDE is the way to go if:

  1. You plan to run DOS. Because it is not multitasking it can not take full advantage of SCSI.
  2. Your PC currently supports IDE. It is cheaper and easier to upgrade to an additional IDE hard drive.
  3. You are buying a new motherboard. New motherboards come with built in IDE connectors. It is cheaper.

SCSI is the way to go if:

  1. You plan to use a multitasking operating system such as Windows 95, Windows NT, or OS/2. These operating systems can take full advantage of SCSI.
  2. You want faster performance. SCSI is usually faster than IDE.

    With a multitasking operating system, the CPU can request data from the hard drive and then move on to do other tasks while it waits for SCSI to return the data. IDE forces the CPU to wait until the data is returned to the CPU, wasting precious CPU time.

  3. You are connecting more than one drive. SCSI drives work more efficiently together than IDE drives. You can connect up to seven drives under SCSI, but only four under IDE.

In a nutshell, IDE is easier to configure than SCSI. But SCSI is more efficient. SCSI is more expensive. If you only ever plan to add one component, then SCSI is probably unnecessary.