The S in SATA HDD

[mobo]

What is it? how much faster is it?

[Richie]

S = Serial

Currently at ATA150 levels.

[blockers]

Isnt that just in burst mode?

So it is not continously ATA150, only when transferring lots of large data.

Will

[bledd]

the 'S' stands for Serial/Serielle , its a new(ish) type of interface for hard drives, ie, it doesn't use ATA cables. but SATA cables

see here the two small black connectors..



and a quicky of some sata cables


as you can see, they're far more compact that ATA cables, aiding airflow through your case


basically, they are rated at 150(mb/s?), instead of 100/133(mb/s?) that (p)parallelATA 'normal' drives are.


to run one, you'll either need a motherboard with onboard SATA ports, or a SATA raid card.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatal..._Cards_49.html
^here's the one ocuk sell..



in real life terms, SATA150 is not 50% faster than ATA100, altho an improvement in performance is evident

[BUFF]

Mechanically they are just the same as PATA & the transfer rate is largely limited by the mechanics, it is the interface that is different.

Of course you can get a WD Raptor 10,000rpm SATA drive which is faster due to the higher rpm.

[bledd]

Originally posted by BUFF
Mechanically they are just the same as PATA & the transfer rate is largely limited by the mechanics, it is the interface that is different.

i thought it was only the seagates that are like this..

[mobo]

right will not be getting 1 then

[Rythmic]

Virtually all SATA drives out there (except the Raptors - go to www.storagereview.com) are normal PATA drives with an integrated SATA bridge chip.

The only reasons atm for SATA is future proofing (alright, not much) and thin cables.

[Butuz]

Originally posted by Rythmic
The only reasons atm for SATA is future proofing (alright, not much) and thin cables.

And the availablity of 10,000rpm drives with 5 year warranties, and the "hot swappable" nature of the interface, and cheap raid cards compared to SCSI.



Butuz