What is Serial ATA / IDE RAID

The Serial ATA is what followed the Parallel ATA. It is considered to be the next generation drive interface developed as an upgraded version of its predecessors.

If you have ever peeked inside the body of your computer system you are sure to have come across certain flat 40 wire parallel cables that are used to connect the hard drives, CD/DVD Rom and other devices with their controllers.

This function was previously served by Parallel ATA. They have long been used for the purpose and have proved to be quite effective. PATA were not without their drawbacks however. The biggest drawback of PATA was its short wires which could only stretch to 18inches. This made connections extremely difficult and often times clogged up which blocked the airflow although cooling was crucial in these areas.

After some time rounded cables also became available but even then the most advanced PATA drives could deliver a maximum transfer rate of 133 MB/s. The speed of computers and Rams was increasing at very fast pace which would soon make the PATA unfit for the purpose. This is the reason why designers took to the modification of the ATA.

The SATA savior

The new and improved Serial ATA was designed to take the place of its predecessor. The SATA cables were extremely thin and had small seven pin connecters. They exceeded the maximum length offered by PATA by a huge number as they could be taken up to three feet. This made it easy to route the cables while leaving adequate space for cooling inside the system box.

The power requirement for SATA was also much lower as compared to the PATA. The new ATA also dropped the idea of drive jumpers and the master/slave relationship. The setup process was also really simplified and SATA also allowed hot swapping to take place unlike the PATA. This meant that drives could be removed while the computer was still in running.

The most distinct advantage of SATA over PATA was the speed limit that it offered. From being able to offer 150 MB/s SATA has now gone up to 300 MB/s/. It is expected that the latest version will be able to offer double this amount. The first generation SATA did not offer a remarkable improvement from the PATA because the speed was almost the same. It sought to take over the market with its competitive price that made it a better choice over PATA that costs almost the same.

Today you will find motherboards to be able to accommodate SATA as well as PATA drives. SATA has also been declared as the better choice for RAID and hence will eventually replace PATA for good.

There is a way in which SATA controllers can be made to fit in old systems as well. Generally though, if you are thinking of upgrading your system then it is best that you go with SATA so that your PC is geared up for the future.