Help in choosing new motherboard

[gvblake22]

Originally Posted by Mysterio

Oh okay cool, thanks for you help.

Anytime bro, that's what we're here for!

[Mysterio]

lol, one last question!

WHat does it mean what it says CD Audio In/CD In Connector? Does it mean there is a slot for the CD Drive?

[gvblake22]

Originally Posted by Mysterio

lol, one last question!

WHat does it mean what it says CD Audio In/CD In Connector? Does it mean there is a slot for the CD Drive?

That is used to read audio (sound) from the CD or DVD drive. But now with Windows XP, the audio us just transfered through the IDE cable, so you don't even need to bother with the CD Audio cables and connectors anymore!

[Mysterio]

Does M2N-E have cd connector? Because.. I am planning to buy a new hard drive while I am going to buy the new motherboard.

[gvblake22]

Well, having a CD audio connector or not has nothing to do with the hard drive. The M2N-E has both PATA and SATA drive connections so you will be able to use whatever new hard drive you buy. But I would highly suggest getting a SATA drive instead of PATA as PATA connections won't be around much longer.

[Mysterio]

So, if you have that PATA Strap, you use it for the CD IDE I assume.

But, if I were to use Sata, I do not need to use that strap thing correct?

[gvblake22]

Originally Posted by Mysterio

So, if you have that PATA Strap, you use it for the CD IDE I assume.

That is correct. Most CD drives use the PATA IDE ribbon cable (the big, ugly, wide, gray things) as do many hard drives. There are only a handful of optical drives available right now that use the SATA interface, but the majority of hard drives are starting to use SATA instead of PATA. The Asus M2N-E has many SATA and PATA connections, but only one PATA connector. This means that if you had a PATA hard drive and a PATA optical drive, then you would have to hook them both up onto the same cable to connect to the motherboard. This will reduce the performance of the hard drive. That is one of the reasons why I highly suggest making sure you get a SATA hard drive.

Originally Posted by Mysterio

But, if I were to use Sata, I do not need to use that strap thing correct?

You don't need the large ribbon cable for SATA hard drives, but you still need a data cable. But the data cables for SATA hard drives is much smaller and easier to manage. Yet another reason to choose a SATA hard drive over PATA.

[Mysterio]

Is the data cable the one where it has 4 holes?

[gvblake22]

Originally Posted by Mysterio

Is the data cable the one where it has 4 holes?

There's not really any particular holes, just some contacts in a connector.
The one on the left is A PATA IDE data connection and the one on the right is a SATA data connection...

[Mysterio]

Oh, lol...

Does the Sata Connector work for any CD Drives? Beause mine is pretty old, but it's a 48x
Speed one


& If the M2N-E doesn't have the CD IDE COnnector, do we use one of the PSU's power connector to connect, and use that to connect to the SATA? Because I was thinking about that park, and I would get lost.