Currently most power users opt for SATA. It has as much to do with availability and perceptions as hard figures. Comparison between technologies is a more difficult question than you'd think. It seems every manufacturer exaggerates their specs. Also there are many variables beyond the actual standards, such as buffer, rpm, bus type, and drive configuration. USB2.0 specs have an absurd maximum throughput of 480MB/sec, where 30MB/sec is more realistic. The same with IDE, a maximum of 133MB/sec is supposed to be possible, but 40MB/sec is more realistic. Ditto with SATA, an absurb maximum of 6,100MB/sec, but 58 is more realistic. As I mentioned SATA is the current best selling technology for power users.