Summary of IDE/ATA and SCSI Comparisons

Reprinted, with permission, from The PC Guide
Summary of IDE/ATA and SCSI Comparisons
 Reference Guide - Hard Disk Drives 

The following table summarizes the comparison of SCSI and IDE/ATA. See the individual sections for a more thorough explanation of the summary conclusions below:

Interface Factor

IDE/ATA

SCSI

Cost

Low

Moderate to high

Performance

High for single devices or single tasking, moderate to low for multiple devices or multitasking

High in most situations

Ease of Configuration and Use

High for small number of devices, moderate for large number of devices

Low to moderate for both small and large numbers of devices

Expansion and Number of Devices

Moderate

High

Device Type Support

Moderate

High

Device Availability and Selection

High

Moderate

Software / Operating System Compatibility

High

Moderate to high

System Resource Usage

Moderate to poor

Good

Support for non-PC Platforms

Moderate

Good

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