Dell Dimension 4550 Specs for Replacement Hard Drive - Highest Performance Spec Compatible with Motherboard

The original spec for the hard drive shipped with the Dell
Dimension 4550 was Ultra DMA/100.

Can an Ultra DMA/133 be used, and if so, will it merely
perform as an Ultra DMA/100 or will there be an observable
performance gain even with the older motherboard?

Much more important than 100 vs. 133 is the drive's spindle speed and cache
size. An ATA 100 7,200 rpm, 8 mb cache drive will generally outperform an
ATA 133 that is lower rpm and has a smaller cache. In other words, don't
worry if your board only supports ATA 100.

HH

"Steven Bookman" wrote in message
...
The original spec for the hard drive shipped with the Dell
Dimension 4550 was Ultra DMA/100.

Can an Ultra DMA/133 be used, and if so, will it merely
perform as an Ultra DMA/100 or will there be an observable
performance gain even with the older motherboard?

"Steven Bookman" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 6 Apr 2006 09:56:01 -0700, "HH"
wrote:

Much more important than 100 vs. 133 is the drive's spindle speed and
cache
size. An ATA 100 7,200 rpm, 8 mb cache drive will generally outperform an
ATA 133 that is lower rpm and has a smaller cache. In other words, don't
worry if your board only supports ATA 100.

Appreciate the fast and helpful response. Sill wondering what the
overall maximum performance parameters which this older motherboard
can possibly support. I.e. specifically the disk controller component
of this system.


Says ATA100. I would've guessed 133, and I would've been wrong if I hadn't
looked:

http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...cs.htm#1103261


Stew

Hmmmm. I had a 4550, but am not sure what the IDE controller's max transfer
rate was. If I had to guess, I would say ATA 100. But like I said IMHO the
ATA figures were 75% marketing hype that had very little bearing on "real
world" drive performance. Spindle speed and cache size are far more
important.

HH


"Steven Bookman" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 6 Apr 2006 09:56:01 -0700, "HH"
wrote:

Much more important than 100 vs. 133 is the drive's spindle speed and
cache
size. An ATA 100 7,200 rpm, 8 mb cache drive will generally outperform an
ATA 133 that is lower rpm and has a smaller cache. In other words, don't
worry if your board only supports ATA 100.

Appreciate the fast and helpful response. Sill wondering what the
overall maximum performance parameters which this older motherboard
can possibly support. I.e. specifically the disk controller component
of this system.

"Steven Bookman" wrote in message
...
The original spec for the hard drive shipped with the Dell
Dimension 4550 was Ultra DMA/100.

Can an Ultra DMA/133 be used, and if so, will it merely
perform as an Ultra DMA/100 or will there be an observable
performance gain even with the older motherboard?

It is 100, but remember these are burst, not sustained speeds, so 100 vs.
133 is meaningless. As mentioned, make sure you get a 7200rpm, 8MB cache
drive. Just picked up a 300GB Seagate for $99.

Which, although their current model, is just marketed as ATA100.

Tom