• Sata spp. Wiring diagram for SATA - power connector and hard drive power connector - SATA

    In modern personal computers the use of the SATA 3 interface is a generally accepted standard. High operating speed (up to 600 megabytes per second), low power consumption and a convenient power management model inspired motherboard developers to choose this interface. At the same time, progress does not stand still, and the generally accepted SATA 3 is being replaced by even faster specifications, promising significant improvements in the speed of data reception and transmission. In this material I will tell you in detail what SATA is, I will explain what the difference is between SATA 2 and SATA 3, and what is replacing the popular SATA 3.

    This term SATA is an abbreviation for the phrase “ Serial ATA" and denotes serial interface exchange data with any information storage device.

    If the reader is not familiar with the abbreviation "ATA", then it is derived from the abbreviation of the words "Advanced Technology Attachment" (translated "advanced technology connection").

    SATA is the next stage in the development of the familiar (and already outdated) parallel IDE interface, which is now known as “PATA” (Parallel ATA). Later in the article, I will tell you the difference between SATA two and SATA three.

    The main advantage of SATA over PATA consists of using a serial bus compared to a parallel one, which made it possible to significantly increase the interface bandwidth. This was facilitated by the use of more high frequencies and good noise immunity of the cable used in the connection.

    For its work, SATA uses a 7-pin connector for data exchange and a 15-pin connector for power.


    At the same time, SATA cables have a smaller area compared to PATA cables, have less resistance to air, are resistant to multiple connections, are compact and easy to use. In their implementation, it was decided to abandon the practice of connecting two devices to one loop (a well-known IDE practice), which made it possible to get rid of various delays associated with the impossibility of simultaneous operation of connected devices.


    The advantages of SATA also include the fact that this interface produces significantly less heat than IDE.

    Typically, the CATA interface is used to connect hard drives (HDD), solid-state drives (SDD), as well as compact disc readers (CD, DVD, etc.) to a computer.


    History of SATA development

    The SATA interface replaced the IDE in 2003, having experienced a number of significant improvements along the way. The very first version of SATA allowed data to be received at a throughput of 150 megabytes per second (for comparison, IDE interface provided only about 130 MB/s). At the same time, the introduction of SATA made it possible to abandon the practice of switching jumpers (jumpers) on a hard drive, which experienced users remember well. Soon you will understand what the cardinal SATA differences 3 from SATA 2.

    The next step in the development of the SATA interface was SATA interface 2 (SATA revision 2.0), released in April 2004. His throughput doubled compared to the first specification - up to 300 MB/s. A special feature of the second version of Serial ATA was the inclusion of special technology to increase performance (NCQ), which made it possible to increase the speed and number of processing simultaneous requests.

    The modern (and dominant today) specification is SATA 3 (SATA revision 3.0), which provides speed up to 600 megabytes per second. This option interface appeared in 2008, and now, in fact, dominates the market. At the same time, this interface is backward compatible with the SATA 2 interface (devices that worked with SATA 2 can be connected to SATA 3 and vice versa).


    What is the difference between SATA 2 and SATA 3

    So in what SATA difference 2 and SATA 3? Their main difference is throughput speed, the SATA3 interface is twice as fast as SATA 2 (6 Gbit/s and 3 Gbit/s, respectively).

    At the same time, rapidly gaining popularity solid state drives(SSD) work only with the SATA 3 interface; connecting them to SATA 2 reduces the speed of working with the device by half (but even in this SSD condition turns out to be faster than HDD).


    In addition, SATA 3 operates at a higher frequency than SATA 2, while providing lower power consumption and a more advanced power management system.

    Further development of SATA

    When analyzing questions about what SATA is and what is the difference between SATA 2 and SATA 3, one cannot ignore further development standard SATA 3 under the name “SATA revision 3.1” (2011), “SATA revision 3.2” (2013) and “SATA revision 3.3” (2016), which allowed increasing the data transfer rate to 8-16 Gbit/s, further reduce energy consumption and also contribute to improved performance SSD drives. In this case, it is used as a carrier interface PCI Express.

    Conclusion

    When discussing the differences between SATA 2 and SATA 3, it is important, first of all, to mention the difference in data transfer speed, because it differs by more than twice. At the same time, the more modern SATA 3 standard provides lower power consumption and an improved power management model, and the further development of Serial ATA 3 (3.1, 3.2 and 3.3) significantly raises the bar for data transfer speeds, while using PCI Express (or its variations) as the carrier interface .

    Users often ask what SATA is and how it differs from ATA (IDE). In this article we will look at the SATA interface and all its key features.

    SATA is an interface that is used to connect a variety of storage devices. For example, using SATA cables, drives and other devices for storing information are connected. The SATA cable is a red cable approximately 1 cm wide. Thanks to these features, it cannot be confused with other interfaces, such as ATA (IDE).

    ATA (IDE) is the interface that was used to connect hard drives, before the advent of the SATA interface. Unlike SATA, the ATA interface is a parallel interface. ATA (IDE) cable consists of 40 conductors, which is why it had greater width. Several such loops in system unit significantly worsened cooling efficiency, which was one of the problems of the ATA interface.

    In addition to a thinner cable, the new SATA interface has other advantages over its predecessor. One of these advantages is the speed of information transfer.

    The maximum information transfer speed on the ATA bus is 133 MByte/s, and this is a purely theoretical value. The introduction of the SATA interface did not bring a big increase in speed. The first version of the SATA 1.0 interface could transfer data at a speed of 150 MB/s. But subsequent versions of the interface were already much faster than fast version ATA interface (Ultra ATA (UDMA/133)). Thus, SATA 2.0 can transfer data at a speed of 300 MB/s, and SATA 3.0 as much as 600 MB/s.

    Another advantage of SATA is its greater versatility compared to the old ATA (IDE) interface. For example, using the SATA interface you can connect external devices. To simplify the connection of external devices, it was developed special version interface – eSATA (External SATA).

    The eSATA interface received a hot-swappable mode, more reliable connectors and an increased cable length. Thanks to these improvements, the eSATA interface can be conveniently used to connect various external devices. To power connected eSATA devices, you must use a separate cable. In future versions of the interface it is planned to implement power directly into the eSATA cable.

    2 years ago



    What is SATA? If you are an active computer user, then you need to give this concept a certain meaning when choosing hard drive, motherboard or a ready-made computer. After all, you often see the word SATA in the characteristics of these devices these days.

    SATA (Serial ATA) is a serial interface. It transfers data between information storage devices. It replaced the previously widespread parallel interface ATA.

    History of SATA

    At the beginning of 2000 Intel company formed a special working group. It included leaders of IT technologies of that and present time. These are Maxtor, Dell, Seagate, Quantum, APT Technologies and others.

    And within a couple of years the first SATA connectors appeared on motherboards. They served to transmit data through network devices. And in 2003, the serial interface was integrated into all modern motherboards.

    The new software interface is compatible with every existing hardware device and provides more high speed transmission of information.

    The contact wire is thinner. This makes it more convenient to connect different devices. You can also increase the number of Serial ATA connectors by system board. In some motherboard models there can be 6 of them!

    Fewer contacts and microcircuits, lower operating voltage also reduced the heat generated by devices. This is why SATA port controllers do not overheat. As a result, data transmission has become even more reliable.

    Connecting the lion's share of modern disk drives to the Serial ATA interface is still problematic. And therefore, everyone who produces modern motherboards is in no hurry to abandon the ATA (IDE) interface.

    Cables and connectors

    In order for data transfer via the SATA interface to be complete, 2 cables are used. This is a seven-pin one that is needed to transmit data. And also a fifteen-pin power one to supply additional voltage. It is connected to the power supply using a regular four-pin connector, which produces two different voltages: 5 and 12 V.

    To ensure smooth transition from ATA to SATA to connect power, some hard drive models still have the old four-pin connectors. Modern hard drives only have a fifteen-pin connector.

    The Serial ATA data cable connects to the hard drive and motherboard even when they are turned on. After all, the grounding leads in the area of ​​the interface contacts are longer than the power and signal ones. And when connecting, first of all, the grounding wires come into contact, and then all the others. The same applies to the fifteen-pin power cable.

    Data transfer rate

    Data transfer rate - important parameters. The SATA interface was developed to improve this parameter. In this interface it was constantly increasing. And now the data transfer speed reaches 1969 MB/s. This is largely determined by what generation of the SATA interface.

    The first generations of the serial interface, version "0", were capable of transmitting up to 50 MB/s. However, they were immediately replaced by SATA 1.0. their data transfer speed then reached 150 MB/s. Now the speed is constantly increasing further.

    Creation of ESATA

    Typically, external hard drives operate more slowly compared to their counterparts, which cost computer case. To make connecting external devices easier, a special version of the interface was developed - eSATA (External SATA).

    The eSATA (External SATA) interface is necessary precisely to connect external devices. It supports hot swap mode. It was created in 2004. Has more reliable connectors and increased cable length. And therefore the eSATA interface is convenient for connecting various external devices. This is a good confirmation of the versatility of the SATA interface.

    More reliable connection connectors and ports are used here. They are designed for a number of connections that is greater than SATA. But they are physically incompatible with regular SATA.

    There is also a drawback. In order for connected eSATA devices to have power, a separate cable is needed. However, interface developers should not have a lot of work quickly solve this problem by introducing the power supply system directly into the main cable in the eSATAp interface.

    The cable length was increased to two meters. For SATA, the length does not exceed one meter. To compensate for losses in it, the signal levels had to be changed. The transmission level has become higher. The receiver threshold level is lower.

    It is not difficult to understand that it is too early to say that the SATA serial data transfer interface has completely exhausted its usefulness. Of course, he will improve and develop. It will also surprise you with how quickly it transfers data, as well as with its ease of use.

    SATA or Serial ATA (serial data transfer interface) is the next generation of drive interface after the traditional parallel ATA (PATA). Anyone who has looked into a computer is familiar with the parallel cable that connects the hard drive and CDROM and other devices to their controllers on the motherboard. The PATA was standard and served well, but it also has disadvantages. Cables are limited to 18 inches (46 cm) in length and are often difficult to connect and become clogged when airflow is blocked, which becomes critical when cooling.
    Although rounded cables have become available for the most advanced PATA drives (Ultra Ata/133), the maximum parallel data transfer rate is 133 MB/ps. As the speed of the CPU, RAM and system drivers improve, designers for PATA will soon be hindered by high efficiency drivers driving into the system architecture.

    SATA interface.

    Serial ATA has certain advantages over its predecessor. The cables are very thin, with a small 7-pin connector. They can be up to 3 feet (1 meter) long and can be easily spread out to set aside, allowing for maximum airflow within the enclosure. They also have much lower power requirements, only 250 MV compared to PATA's 5 volt requirement, and due to the core the voltage is reduced, which bodes well for the future of SATA. Serial ATA with original configuration has jumpers on the drive. Installation is greatly simplified, and the technology even allows for hot swapping, meaning a drive can be removed or added while the computer is running.

    But the most promising element of serial ATA is that it eliminates data transfer limitations. The first generation has maximum speed transfers at 150 Mbit/s, and second SATA the new generation provides about 300 Mbit/s. The third generation of SATA can already operate SATA with 6 Gbit/s, which is approximately twice as fast as the previous iteration of SATA.

    With transfer speeds so close to existing ultra Ata/133, the performance gains for the first generation of SATA are negligible, although drive prices are comparable to PATA drives, switch to new technology- this is a choice when upgrading a computer, or when purchasing new system. Motherboards with integrated PATA and SATA interfaces are widely available to accommodate both types of drives, and there is no restriction on using both types in the same system. Serial ATA is also good choice For RAID arrays and is intended to eventually replace PATA.

    For older systems, you need SATA controllers which can be placed in any PCI slot, but for this you must buy a SATA drive. (A parallel Ultra Ata drive can also be used using a PATA-to-SATA adapter, although the drive's performance will take a hit and the adapter must convert the data stream from parallel to serial.) If upgrading your motherboard is not an option, then purchasing a PATA-to-SATA adapter will allow easy use for future SATA drives, even if your current drive is ATA.

    Note: when using some third party devices or adapters, they must support hot-swappable functionality. And it's always useful to do backup copy valuable data before risking its loss.

    Hello dear friends! Artem Yushchenko is with you.

    SATA1 standard – has a transfer speed of up to 150Mb/s
    SATA2 standard – has a transfer speed of up to 300Mb/s
    SATA3 standard – has a transfer speed of up to 600Mb/s
    I am often asked why, when I test the speed of my drive (and the drive, for example, has a SATA2 interface and the motherboard has a port of the same standard), the speed is far from 300MB/s and not more.

    In fact, the disk speed even of the SATA1 standard does not exceed 75MB/s. Its speed is usually limited by mechanical parts. Such as the spindle speed (7200 per minute for home computers), and also the number of platters in the disk. The more there are, the longer the delays in writing and reading data will be.

    Therefore, in essence, it does not matter which interface of the traditional hard drive you use, the speed will not exceed 85 Mb/s.

    However, I do not recommend using modern computers IDE standard drives because they are already quite slower than SATA2. This will affect the performance of writing and reading data, which means there will be discomfort when working with large amounts of data.
    Recently a new SATA3 standard has appeared, which will be relevant for drives based on solid state memory. We will talk about them later.
    However, one thing is clear: modern traditional SATA drives, due to their mechanical limitations, have not even developed the SATA1 standard yet, but SATA3 has already appeared. That is, the port provides speed but not disk.
    However, each new SATA standard still brings some improvements, and with large volumes of information they will make themselves felt in good quality.

    For example, the function is constantly being improved - Native Command Queuing (NCQ), a special command that allows you to parallelize read-write commands, for greater performance than the SATA1 and IDE interfaces cannot boast of.
    The most remarkable thing is that the SATA standard, or rather its versions, are compatible with each other, which gives us monetary savings. That is, for example, a SATA1 drive can be connected to a motherboard with a SATA2 and SATA3 connector and vice versa.
    Not so long ago, the market for new storage devices, the so-called SSDs, began to develop (let me remind you of the traditional hard drives designated as HDD).

    SSD is nothing more than flash memory (not to be confused with flash drives, SSD is tens of times faster than regular flash drives). These drives are quiet, heat up little and consume little energy. They support read speeds up to 270MB/s and write speeds up to 250-260MB/s. However they are very expensive. A 256 GB disk can cost up to 30,000 rubles. However, prices will gradually fall as the flash memory market develops.
    However, the prospect is very pleasant SSD purchases for example on 64GB, because it works much faster than regular disk on magnetic plates, which means you can install the system on it and get an increase in performance when loading the operating system and when working with the computer. Such a disc costs about 5–6 thousand rubles. I'm thinking about buying this myself.

    These drives fully reveal the SATA2 and new interface They need SATA 3 like air rather than traditional disks. In the next six months SSD drives will move to the SATA3 standard and will be able to demonstrate speeds of up to 560 MB/s in read operations.
    Not long ago, I came across an IDE disk with a size of 40GB and was released more than 7 years ago (not mine, they gave it to me for repairs). I tested its speed characteristics and compared them with the SATA1 and SATA2 standards, since I myself have both SATA disks standards.

    The measurements were carried out using the Crystal Disk Mark program, several versions. I found out that the accuracy of measurements from one version of the program to another is practically independent. The computer has 32 bit installed operating system Windows 7 Ultimate and Pentium processor 4 – 3 GHz. Tests were also carried out on a processor with two cores 2 Duo E7500 overclocked to clock frequency 3.53 GHz. (standard frequency 2.93 GHz). According to my observations, the speed of reading and writing data is not affected by the processor speed.

    This is what a good old IDE disk looks like; disks of this standard are still sold.

    This is how it connects IDE disk. Wide cable for data transmission. Narrow white – nutrition.

    This is what the connection looks like SATA drives– red data wires. And also in the photo you can see the IDE cable that connects to its connector.

    Speed ​​results:

    IDE standard speed. It is equal to 41 MB for writing and the same amount for reading data. Next are the lines on reading sectors various sizes in diverse

    Read and write speed SATA1. 50 and 49 MB for read and write speeds, respectively.

    Read and write speed for SATA2. 75 and 74 MB for reading and writing, respectively.

    And lastly, I’ll show you the results of testing one of the 4 GB flash drives from the excellent company Transcend. For flash memory the result is not bad:

    Conclusion: The SATA1 and SATA2 interfaces (which took first place in the test results) are most preferable for use in a desktop home computer.

    Sincerely, Artyom Yushchenko.