Modern hard disk drives use one of two interfaces: IDE (ATA) and its variants, or SCSI. You can tell immediately by looking at the back of the hard disk which interface is being used by the drive:
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| A standard hard disk IDE/ATA data interface. If you look closely you can see markings for pins #1, #2, #39 and #40. A 50-pin SCSI interface connector looks identical except that it has 25 columns of pins instead of 20 |
- IDE/ATA: A 40-pin rectangular connector.
- SCSI: A 50-pin, 68-pin, or 80-pin D-shaped connector (the same shape used for serial and parallel port connectors). A 50-pin connector means the device is narrow SCSI; 68 pins means wide SCSI; 80 pins means wide SCSI using.
Primary deciding factor in the SCSI vs. IDE/ATA question is the number of devices you plan to use (or use in the future) in your system. In many respects, IDE/ATA is superior if you are using only one, two or three devices such as hard disks or CD-ROMs. If you are using many devices, say over four, then SCSI is superior to IDE/ATA in several different respects. I should also mention that many times people make the decision about what interface to use based on what interface they began with; few are willing to buy all new devices in making an interface switch. And of course, it's quite possible to use both interfaces in the same system.
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