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What is the difference between IDE and SATA type DVD writers? My motherboard supports both. Which one do you recommend?

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I recommend definitely to choose SATA for all new products you can buy. Motherboards still support IDE today, but I suppose that within a couple of years manufacturers will start removing it. – Drake Jun 10 '10 at 9:00
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As Rodeey said, there isn't much a difference feature-wise.

The advantage of SATA is the thinner cable, so it is easier to route the cable in a cramped case. The cable can also be longer than IDE cables, so you can move the DVD drive to the upper drive bay of a big tower case.

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Take a look at this page to see features of SATA, IDE/PATA and SCSI technologies. There is also a thorough comparison.

alt text

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That chart's slightly dated. Sata6 is out now and has a 600MB/sec bus speed. – Dan Neely Jan 29 '10 at 16:40
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And this describes the max theoretical speeds. Nothing of importance for DVD writers that do not approach them. – Snark Jan 29 '10 at 17:12
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@Dan Neely: To correct; it's not Sata6, it's SATA III (Third generation - 600 MB/sec) which is the only missing component of the chart. Chart date: May 13, 2009. – serena Jan 29 '10 at 22:58
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up vote 2 down vote

Short of the bus type (IDE vs SATA), there isn't much a difference to you. As long as your burning software supports SATA drives then that's what you should get.

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FYI: IDE is rapidly becoming a legacy format. It's being replaced by SATA on modern motherboards. I expect most motherboards to support both for some time but eventually IDE will go the way of ATA. – Chris Nava Jan 29 '10 at 15:18
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