ATA vs. SATA

Hard Drives: ATA versus SATA

The performance of computer systems is constantly increasing faster processors, memory and video cards are constantly being developed. The one key component that is often neglected, if one is to improve the performance of a computer system hard drive. HDD manufacturers have been constantly developed basic hard drive used in modern computer systems for the past 25 years and seen in recent years, some excitingDevelopment of faster spindle speeds, larger caches, better reliability and increased data transmission speeds.

The drive type used in most consumer grade computers is the hearty ATA type drive (commonly called an IDE drive). The ATA standard dates back to 1986 and is based on a 16-bit parallel interface is based undergone many developments since its introduction, the speed and size of the disks that they increase support. The current standard is ATA-7 (the first time in 2001 with the introductionT13 Technical Committee (the group responsible for supporting the ATA standard)), data transfer rates of up to 133MB/sec. This will probably be the last update for the parallel ATA standard.

As early as 2000 it was seen that the parallel ATA standard was maxing their limits, what they could handle. With data rates of 133MB/sec Press mark on a parallel cable, you will be inviting all sorts of problems because of signal timing, EMI (electromagnetic interference) and other dataIntegrity, thus industry leaders got together and came up with a new standard Serial ATA (SATA known). SATA is just a few years, but is intended to be addressed to the "standard" by a number of advantages in this Tech Tip.

The two technologies that we will find are:
ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) - a 16-bit parallel interface for controlling computer drives used. Introduced in 1986, it has undergone many developments over the past 18 + yearswith the latest version of ATA-7 is called. Whenever an element is referred to as an ATA device, it is usually a parallel ATA device. ATA devices are often called IDE, EIDE, Ultra-ATA, Ultra DMA, ATAPI, PATA, etc. (each of these acronyms actually refer to specific products, they are often interchanged)
SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) - a 1-bit serial evolution of the Parallel ATA physical storage interface.

Essential Functions & Connections

SATADrives are easy to distinguish from their ATA cousins by the different data and power connections on the back of the drives. A side-by-side comparison of the two interfaces can be seen in this PDF from Maxtor, and the following covers many of the differences ...

Standard ATA drives, as this model 200GB Western Digital, have somewhat bulky, two inch wide ribbon cable with 40-pin data connections and receive the necessary 5V to power them from the familiar 4-pin connector. TheBasic data cables for these drives have looked the same years. A change has been to improve with the introduction of the ATA-5 standard to better signal quality by an 80 wire cable on the 40-pin connector (these cables are typically called 40-pin/80-wire) is used. To improve airflow within the computer system some manufacturers literally flip the ribbon cable and taping it gripped in this position. Another recent physical change also came with the advent of the roundedCables. The performance of the rounded cables is equal to that of the ribbon, but many prefer the improved system airflow offered simple wire management, and cooler appearance that come with them.

SATA drives, as this model 120GB Western Digital, have a half inches wide, 7 "blade and beam" data connection will be managed in a much thinner and lighter cable results. These cables take the convenience of the ATA rounded cables to the next level by even closer, morebe flexible and more without fear of data loss. SATA cables have a maximum length of 1 meter (39.37 inches), which is much larger than the recommended 18 inch cable for ATA drives. The reduced footprint of SATA data connections frees up space on motherboards, potentially allowing for more convenient layouts and room for more onboard features!

A 15-pin power connector provides the necessary energy from 250mV to SATA drives. 15-pins for a SATA device sounds like it would berequire a much larger power cable than a 4-pin ATA device, but in reality the two power connectors just about the same height. There are also many SATA drives come with a legacy 4-pin power connector for convenience.

Many modern motherboards, such as this Chaintech motherboard with onboard SATA drive compounds (many also including the ATA connectors as well for legacy drive compatibility), and new power supplies, such as this Ultra X-Connect, generallyFeature some of the necessary 15-pin power connector, making it easy to use these drives on new systems. Older systems can easily upgrade to SATA drives through the use of adapters, how are they PCI slot SATA controller and the 4-pin to 15-pin SATA adapter supports.

Optical drives are also becoming more readily available with SATA connections. Drives such as the Plextor PX-712SA take advantage of the new interface, although performance will not be possible any more than a comparableoptical drive with an ATA connection.

Performance

Besides being more convenient to install and drawing less power, SATA drives have performance benefits that really they are outside of the ATA drives.

The most interesting feature of SATA capacity is the maximum bandwidth possible. As we have already noted, has seen the development of the ATA drives, the data transfer rate reaches its maximum at 133 MB / second, where the current SATA standard provides data transfer rates of up to 150MB / second. The total increase is about ATA SATA currently expected to amount to up to 5% (by Seagate), but improvements in SATA technology will surely on to improve that.

The future holds great things SATA for those who have more speed than drives with 300 MB / second transfer rate (SATA II) will be readily available in 2005 and 2008 can be expected at speeds of up to 600 MB / second. These speeds are incredible and are difficult to imagine in thisPoint.

Another performance took place on SATA drives advantage is the integrated hot-swap capabilities. SATA drives can be brought on and offline without shutting down the computer system to which a serious benefit to those who can not afford downtime or drives that move quickly in and out of service. The higher number of wires in the power supply is partly explained by the fact, as six of the fifteen wires are so dedicated to all hot-swap function.

Price

ComparedATA drives to SATA drives can be tricky, given all the variables, but in general it is the case that SATA drives still cost a bit more than a comparable ATA hard drive. The gap is closing fast, and as SATA drives gain in popularity and availability a distinct shift in prices can be expected. Given the benefits of SATA to ATA, the potential difference of a few dollars more easily justified if you have an upgrade. Geeks currently has a limited rangeSATA drives, but several technical sites, such as the Tech Zone and the Tech Lounge offer real-time price guides to see how comparable drives stack up.

Final Words

The current SATA standard provides significant benefits over ATA in terms of comfort, energy consumption and especially performance. The main thing ATA has going for it right now is history, as the standard for so long that it was not likely to disappear in the foreseeable future. The future of SATA will beEven more interesting as speed increases will help hard drive development keep pace with other major system components.