SATA+as+opposed+to+PATA

Let us first define the titles:-
 * SATA as opposed to PATA **
 * PATA **
 * //Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment//**


 * SATA **
 * //Serial Advanced Technology Attachment//**


 * //SATA//** is the next generation drive interface, following the traditional **//PATA.//**

What is the difference? Well to start with **PATA** has 40 wire parallel cables which connect the majority of components and these cables are limited to 18 inches in length. They did finally develop round ones, but these even with all the updates only achieved a transfer rate of 133 Mb/ps. The cables themselves restricted air flow in the computer, and as you are aware the one thing that a computer dislikes is heat. Also the transfer rate produced bottlenecks in drive efficiency within the system architecture. Having said all of the above they have served us very well for many years.

Consequently they can be routed away from air flows with the enormous benefit of reducing heat. Another advantage is that they require less power e.g. 250mV compared to PATA’s 5 Volt requirement.
 * SATA** on the other hand as entered the scene with thin cables with only 7 pin connections unlike the enormous number in PATA, they also can be up to 3 feet in length.

SATA does away with Master/Slave configurations and drive jumpers. Consequently setup is greatly simplified, and the technology even allows what is termed hot-swapping, ( Translated this means drives can be removed or added while the computer is running).

However, the most important feature of SATA is that it eliminates the transfer limit hit by PATA. SATA II delivers 300 Mbps, and there is promised for 2008 600 Mbps.

Cont. Motherboards with integrated SATA and PATA interfaces are widely available to accommodate both types of drives, and there are no restrictions to using both types in the same system. SATA is also a good choice for RAID and obviously will eventually replace PATA.

So now you know.