What is the difference between SATA and PATA harddrives?

Answer 1

Serial Ata

Parallel Ata

I recommend u SATA

(its like beta and VHS..)
parallel is theorically better, but we use serial 'cause in daily use has become easier and cheaper

remember vote for best answer!!!

Answer 2

Hi

Stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. This is an interface for connecting hard drives to a computer. Unlike IDE which uses parallel signaling, SATA uses serial signaling technology. Because of this the SATA cables are thinner than the ribbon cables used by IDE hard drives. SATA cables can also be longer allowing you to connect to more distant devices without fear of signal interference. There is also more room to grow with data transfer speeds starting at 150 MB/s.

PATA is not a harddrives type.

Bye

Answer 3

PATA &SATA

Parallel ATA (PATA) has been the industry standard for connecting hard drives and other devices in computers for well over a decade. However, due to a few major limitations, PATA could be a quickly dying breed with the introduction of Serial ATA (SATA). To compare, PATA cables are limited to only 18 inches long, while SATA cables can be up to 1 meter in length, which is less than 40 inches. It is possible to have longer cables but, due to attenuation, these longer cables are generally more trouble than they are worth.

PATA cables are large and bulky and can easily restrict airflow. With the onslaught of better and faster devices, computers continue to generate more heat and this can cause many problems including complete computer failure. PATA cables are 40 wires wide and they block precious space, which can restrict airflow greatly. SATA cables are only 7 pins wide and, with their longer maximum length, can be easily routed to not restrict any airflow at all. The change to serial transfer is what allows the cable to be so thin, only two data channels are required, one for sending and one for receiving data. Parallel cables use multiple wires for both sending and receiving and this technology uses a total of 26 wires for data transfer.

Another comparison is that SATA devices require much less power than PATA. Chip core voltages continue to decline and, because of this, PATA's 5-volt requirement is increasingly difficult to meet. In contrast, SATA only requires 250 mV to effectively operate. SATA is also hot-swappable meaning that devices can be added or removed while the computer is on.

The last, and most important, difference is the maximum bandwidth between the two technologies. The true maximum transfer rate of PATA is 100 MB/sec with bursts up to 133 MB/sec. With the first introduction of SATA, the maximum transfer rate is 150 MB/sec. This is supposed to increase every 3 years with a maximum transfer of 300 MB/sec in 2005 and 600 MB/sec in 2008. Finally, SATA doesn't require any changes to existing operating systems for implementation. SATA is 100% software compatible and, with SATA adapters, some hardware doesn't have to be immediately replaced.

Answer 4

Serial -ATA (SATA) is an evolution of the Parallel ATA (PATA) SATA is a serial link -- a single cable with a minimum of four wires creates a point-to-point connection between devices. Transfer rate for theSATA begin at 150MBps. The cables of SATA is more thinner than the PATA cables. Ide cables used in parallel ATA system are bulkier tha Serial ATA cables and can only extend to 40cm long, while SATA cables can extend up to one meter.


Serial ATA supports all ATA and ATAPI devices.
Short for AT Attachment Packet Interface, an extension to EIDE (also called ATA-2) that enables the interface to support CD-ROM players and tape drives.

Answer 5

Well actualy SATA mean Serial ATA and PATA =Paralel ATA.
Difference is the READ/WRITE Speed onto this 2 types.
While PATA Drives goes MAX to 133 MB/sec the first standard of SATA technology (eg.SATA 1) works at 150 MB/sec .But now actualy almost all shops sell the second generation of SATA (eg SATA 2) wich works at 300 MB/sec .And this aint all .....if u make a RAID (the Speed one) with 2XSATA2 hard drives this will duble again ur READ/WRITE speed (mean 600 MB/sec).
If you wanna know more.....
Feel free to contact me on yahoo messenger for more details.

Answer 6

The most obvious difference is the cable you use to connect then to anything.

The parallel cable has many wires (parallel) so is usually quite wide and flat. Some parallel cables are round, but the wide connectors give them away.

Serial cables are skinnier, there are only 4 wires, and the connectors are much smaller.

Answer 7

their transfer frequencies. SATA transfers data up to 150MB/s and PATA up to 133MB/s
SATA II transfers up to 300MB/s .just for reading I suppose because hard drives as i know can write up to 80MB/s

parallel also has jumpers for making it master or slave.thats for making hardware know on which hard drive is your operating system. serial ata does that thing automatically

Answer 8

Serial - Parallel

sata is faster and more commen now

Answer 9

Look and you will see. Get a book, read and you will learn.