Thanks Richard though I'm sure I saw a performance gain when I tested a client's SATA drive the other day - for example the way thumbnails were being displayed in ACDSee - my current set up was doing them quickly, but the pictures on the SATA drive via my PCI adapter were displaying in a blink of an eye. Not very scientific I know but it convinced me the way to go next time (also I'd like to have RAID 0 or 1 next time I change disks).
I was also suggesting it for future proofing - if he was to upgrade in the future IDE's might have gone the same way as VCRs.
SATA's are also easier to connect, have smaller less twisted cables therefore improve airflow.
And SATA are not much different in price from IDE, even in the UK, so why not?
My 4€'s worth anyway...
C.