Console Bliss

Since SATA hard drives and SATA motherboard interfaces have come out since 2003, there have been a lot of changes in the computer industry.  SATA is now the standard and has completely taken over the place of all IDE cables and connections.  Even though SATA is so mainstream, most people still have no idea what it is or how it works.  We have dedicated this article to help those searching for answers to find them and also to help the PC gamer know what SATA accessories they need to improve their gaming experience. 

The nerdy explanation of what SATA does is that it is a storage-interface for connecting a host bus adapter to a mass storage device such as a hard drive or CD/DVD ROM.  This technology was designed because EIDE used huge cables and did not transfer data very fast.  The way that SATA is able to work it’ s magic is because of the SATA cable.  This cable utilizes two pairs of conductors and communicates at very high speeds.  The cable is also much smaller than the IDE cable and only has 7 wires inside of it, instead of 80 like the IDE cable had.  Because the cable is smaller it has allowed PC engineers to utilize more space on the mother board because big bulky cables are no longer in the way of everything.  Today every laptop and desktop computer completely has gotten rid of the old IDE technology and now uses the SATA technology.

There have also been advancements with the SATA technology in recent years.  Back in 2003 when this technology was brand new, the cable could throughput 1.5 Gbit/s.  Now that hard drives are using flash memory and are getting even faster, a second generation of SATA technology has been created.  The second generation SATA can transfer 3 Gbit/s which is almost twice as fast as the first generation of technology.  The neat thing is that both these generations are backward compatible with each other.  So a device made for 3 Gbit/s speed will work on a 1.5 Gbit/s SATA system, it just won’t be operating and it’s full capacity of speed.  There is even talk of a third generation of SATA which will be able to transfer at speeds up to 6 Gbit/s.

The SATA cable is one of the most visible differences of the technology versus the IDE.   The SATA cable has 3 grounds and 4 active data lines in two pairs with an 8mm wafer connector at the end.  These cables are much smaller in width and are much easier to maneuver around the computer.  These cables also reduce the risk of covering up fans and keep the computer much cooler. 

SATA can now be used externally instead of just being inside your computer.  eSATA is the external protocol for such devices as external hard drives, storage devices, and any other device which is made to support eSATA technology.  Just like inside the computer, the eSATA device much be plugged into the external SATA port with an SATA cable.  This new technology is said to replace the popular Firewire technology which was primarily used to capture video. 

If you love gaming and like fast smooth games, you should make sure you are using the latest generation of SATA technology with a hard drive that is compatible.  Remember that your games are on your hard drive, and however fast that information can be taken off the hard drive and processed, the faster your gaming experience will be.  By utilizing SATA technology and SATA cables, you can ensure that your games are being pulled off your hard drive as fast as possible!