What is sata 111 interface. Hard disk speed (IDE, SATA1,2,3)

Advice

SATA is the interface used for communication between the motherboard and the HDD. The technology is based on a protocol of rules that defines how the bits will be transmitted in the controller, which carries out the transmission and signaling lines on the cable. The interface is serial, which means that data is transferred bit by bit.

The development of the technology began back in 2000, by the best companies in the IT field. The connector began to be integrated into motherboards in 2003.

SATA is translated as the consistent application of the latest technologies. It stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. The key word here is Serial, which means "serial", which, accordingly, differs the interface from its predecessor PATA.

IDE (aka PATA) uses parallel data transfer than is much inferior in speed to the newer interface. In addition, the IDE uses a 40-pin cable, which makes it difficult for air to circulate inside the PC and increases the temperature.

Cables and connectors

To connect a hard drive using Serial ATA need two cables.

The first cable is used for data transmission and has 7 pins. The second SATA cable is the power supply and connects directly to the power supply via a 4-pin MOLEX connector. The voltage that passes through the power cable is 3, 3.5 and 12 V, while the current is 4.5 A.

In order not to create sharp jumps in the transition from one interface to another, in terms of power supply, many HDDs have an old 4-pin connector.

Newer HDDs use only a 15-pin SATA connector.

SATA cable

Power cable

SATA and IDE interface

SATA varieties

Since its release (2003), the development of the technology has not stood still, and faster and more stable versions have been released. At the moment, there are 6 main versions, which are widely popular and in demand.

Sata

The first model is quite difficult to find in a PC at the moment. Works at frequency 1.5 GHz and has a capacity of 150 Mbps, which does not greatly exceed the Ultra ATA bandwidth. The main advantage over the previous interface is the serial bus, which allows for faster data transfer rates.

Sata 2

SATA 2 came out the following year after the first version. The bus frequency has become 3 GHz, and the bandwidth 300 Mbps... I used a nForce 4 chipset from NVIDIA. Visually it looks like the first version.

Sata 3

The first variation of version 3 appeared in 2008. Baud rate 600 Mbps.

In version 3.1, the work with SSD has been improved, the overall power consumption has been reduced for a system that includes several devices.

Version 3.2 has a distinctive feature - a merger of PCI Express and Serial ATA called SATA Express. The main one is PCI, but software is still compatible with Serial ATA. Has a throughput of 1969 Mb / s.

Esata

This technology is used to connect external devices using the “ Hot swap". The connectors have been changed and are now incompatible with standard Serial ATA although they are signalally identical. Also, the connectors have become more durable, which allows you to make more connections / disconnections of devices before failure. Two cables are used, one for data transmission, the other for power.

Esata connector

The difference between Esata and SATA

Power eSATA

Power eSATA (eSATAp) - Specially designed to get rid of the two cables required to connect. This interface carries data and power over a single cable, making it easy to use.

Msata

An interface that is used in netbooks and ultrabooks, replacing the more bulky connector of its predecessor. Bandwidth 6 Gbps.

SAS

A physical link interface, analogous to Serial ATA, for devices controlled using the SCSI command set. Thus, it becomes possible connect any devices which use the SCSI command set for control, this is also facilitated by backward compatibility with Serial ATA. If we compare these two interfaces, then the SAS topology is at a more advanced level, which allows one device to be connected via two or more channels in parallel. The first revisions of SAS and Serial ATA 2 were listed as synonyms, but over time, the creators decided that using SCSI in a PC was impractical and separated them.

What

It is a technology that combines PCI Express and SATA. On the motherboard, it looks like two side by side SATA ports, which allows you to connect both devices using previous interfaces and a newer one. Bandwidth 8 GB / s when connecting one connector and 16 GB / s when connecting two connectors at once.

Sata Express connectors

Sata Express cable

Differences and compatibility

All versions are backward compatible with each other. Those. with Serial ATA 3, the user can easily connect a device using version 2. And so with all versions.

The throughput of version 3 is twice as high as that of version 2 and is 6 Gbps... Compared to the previous one, it was improved power management.

Pinout

Pinout power cable Serial ATA:

Pinout connection cable:

How to find out which SATA is on the motherboard

The user can find out which Serial ATA connector is installed on the motherboard in several ways. For owners of stationary PCs, the first method will be the most relevant.

You need to remove the side cover of the system unit to get to the motherboard. If you have a laptop, you will have to make a complete disassembly. An inexperienced user is not recommended to do this. After getting to the motherboard, you should find connector with an inscriptionSATA or you can simply trace the cable that goes from the HDD to the motherboard. SATA will be written next to this connector on the motherboard. 6 Gb / s is the third revision, and 3 Gb / s is the second.

If it is not possible to disassemble, and you need to find out the Serial ATA connector, you can use the programs. You need to download the HWiNFO program, install it and open it.

In the main window select Bus – Pci Bus and see in the right part of the window which Serial ATA ports are present on the motherboard.

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 designers to make a choice in favor of this interface. At the same time, progress does not stand still, and even faster specifications are replacing the generally accepted SATA 3, promising significant improvements in the speed of receiving and transmitting data. In this article, I will tell you in detail what SATA is, explain what the difference is between SATA 2 and SATA 3, and what comes to replace the popular SATA 3.

This SATA term is an abbreviation for the phrase " Serial ATA»And denotes a serial data exchange interface 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 step 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 in the use of a serial bus in comparison with a parallel bus, which has significantly increased the bandwidth of the interface. This was facilitated by the use of higher 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 supply.

At the same time, SATA loops have a smaller area compared to PATA loops, have less air resistance, are resistant to multiple connections, are compact and convenient to use. In their implementation, it was decided to abandon the practice of connecting two devices to one loop (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 SATA interface is used to connect hard drives (HDD), solid-state drives (SDD), and CD-ROM devices (CD, DVD, etc.) to a computer.

SATA development history

The SATA interface replaced the IDE in 2003, having experienced a number of significant improvements in the course of its development. The very first version of SATA allowed data to be received at a throughput of 150 megabytes per second (for comparison, the 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 the hard disk, which is well remembered by experienced users. You will soon understand what are the cardinal differences between SATA 3 and SATA 2.

The next step in the development of the SATA interface was the SATA 2 (SATA revision 2.0) interface, released in April 2004. Its throughput has doubled compared to the first specification - up to 300 MB / s... A special feature of the second version of Serial ATA was the inclusion in it of a special technology for increasing performance (NCQ), which made it possible to increase the speed and the 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 version of the interface appeared in 2008, and now, in fact, is the dominant one on the market. At the same time, the specified 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 what's the difference between SATA 2 and SATA 3? Their main difference is in the throughput speed, the SATA3 interface is twice as fast as SATA 2 (6 Gb / s and 3 Gb / s, respectively).

At the same time, the 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 twice (but even in this state, the SSD turns out to be faster than the HDD).

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

Further development of SATA

When analyzing the questions about what it is SATA and what is the difference between SATA 2 and SATA 3, one cannot ignore the further development of the SATA 3 standard under the name "SATA revision 3.1" (2011), "SATA revision 3.2" (2013). ) and "SATA revision 3.3" (2016), which allowed to increase the data transfer rate up to 8-16 Gbps, further reduce power consumption, as well as help improve the performance of SSD drives. In this case, PCI Express is used as a carrier interface.

Conclusion

When analyzing the topic of 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 half. At the same time, the more modern CATA 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 rates, while using PCI Express (or its variations) as the carrier interface ...

In contact with

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

SATA is an interface that is used to connect a variety of storage devices. For example, SATA cables are used to connect drives and other storage devices. The SATA cable is a red ribbon 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 SATA interface. Unlike SATA, ATA is a parallel interface. The ATA (IDE) cable consists of 40 conductors, which is why it was wider. Several of these loops in the system unit significantly deteriorated the cooling efficiency, which was one of the problems of the ATA interface.

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

The maximum data transfer rate on the ATA bus is 133 MB / s, and this is a purely theoretical value. The introduction of the SATA interface did not bring much speed gain. 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 the fastest version of the ATA interface (Ultra ATA (UDMA / 133)). So, 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 older ATA (IDE) interface. For example, using the SATA interface, you can connect external devices. To simplify the connection of external devices, a special version of the interface was developed - eSATA (External SATA).

The eSATA interface has received a "hot swap" mode, more reliable connectors and an increased cable length. These improvements make eSATA convenient for connecting a variety of external devices. A separate cable must be used to power the connected eSATA devices. In future versions of the interface, it is planned to introduce power directly into the eSATA cable.

Installing an SSD in a SATA 3Gb / s System | Still a great way to upgrade your PC?

There are many ways to improve PC performance. But usually replacement of components is most effective. Also, overclocking remains popular. However, it used to provide more noticeable speed gains for CPU, GPU and memory. Take a Celeron 300A, overclock to 450MHz and get a 50% boost. To get something like that, you need to overclock it to 5.25 GHz. Even so, there is no guarantee that desktop applications will scale as well.

In addition, we have already burned enough computer hardware to fully experience the risks associated with overclocking (which is why we stick to 1.35 V processor voltage in reviews of motherboards with Intel 7 series chipsets). Manipulating reference frequencies, multipliers, voltages, and delays can damage the stability of your system.

If you're happy with the processor and motherboard, you can balance your system for optimal performance with a more advanced graphics card, more RAM, and a solid state drive. Today, the focus is on SSDs, which often cost less than $ 1 / GB, and are now cheaper than ever. We have said this before and will repeat it today: if you don’t have an SSD yet, buy it. It will change the way you think about system responsiveness.

Modern SSDs are already hitting the bandwidth ceiling of the SATA 6Gb / s interface, while the speed of mechanical hard drives has hardly increased over the past five years. Many SSDs easily reach 550MB / s sequentially, but more importantly, they are dexterous in handling random I / O in real time. An SSD can process an order of magnitude more requests per second than conventional storage media (tens of thousands versus several hundred).

You can spray all day, but the fact is that an SSD is a worthwhile upgrade for those who only use HDD in their system, and the numbers confirm it. With an SSD, launching Windows and applications is faster, as well as moving files.

But is the old SATA 3Gb / s interface enough for a modern SATA 6Gb / s SSD?

Every time we ask ourselves this question, when motherboards of the middle class run out of SATA 6 Gb / s connectors (from the editor: at the moment, we are capturing video on an array of four Crucial m4 connected to 3Gb / s connectors). What if your old system only supports the legacy standard? Was the upgrade worth it? Given that the fastest SSDs are often constrained by the width of the SATA 6Gb / s interface, it is logical to assume that 3Gb / s will "cut" performance. But how much? Will the difference be noticeable in practice, or only in test results? Do I need to update the storage controller?

In search of answers to these questions, we took Samsung 840 Pro, plugged it into a 6Gb / s connector and then to the previous generation connector. Since these Samsung drives are now considered to be among the fastest, the results obtained apply to most high-end SSDs on the market. Please note that we are not testing the 1.5Gb / s SATA port. It would be interesting to add this interface for comparison, however it takes us back to around 2005. If your PC is eight years old, it's time to consider buying a new one.

Installing an SSD in a SATA 3Gb / s System | Test bench and benchmarks

For today's testing we use Samsung 840 Pro MZ-7PD256 based on the company's own controller S4LN021X01-8030 NZWD1 with support for SATA 6 Gb / s (also known as MDX), using a triple-core Cortex-R4 processor. The microcircuit is supplemented with a 512 MB DDR3 data cache. There are also non-Pro models with three-level memory cells, but their speed and endurance are lower than those of older models with 21-nanometer NAND memory with multi-level cells. Samsung has a five-year warranty on the 840 Pro line.

According to Samsung sequential read speed Samsung 840 Pro reaches 540 MB / s, records - 520 MB / s. It should provide up to 100,000 random I / O operations in 4 KB per second chunks. Amazon currently sells a 256GB model for $ 230. There are also versions for 128 and 512 GB, for $ 140 and $ 460, respectively.

Specifications Samsung SSD 840 Pro

Manufacturer	Samsung
Model	840 Pro
Model number	MZ-7PD256
Form factor	2.5 "(7mm)
Capacity, GB	256
Controller	MDX
Flash memory type	21nm MLC Toggle-mode NAND
Reservation	7%
Cache, MB	512
Interface	SATA 6Gb / s
Included	Samsung Magician Software
Guarantee	five years

Test bench and software

We used a Windows 7 test bench with a Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3 motherboard, an Intel Core i5-2500K processor, and 4GB Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D memory. The SSD was plugged into the first 6Gbps slot and we managed to switch it to 3Gbps mode in the Gigabyte firmware.

We chose a hard drive as a base for comparison. The VelociRaptor is a 2.5 "by 3.5" drive with a capacity of 1 TB. With a spindle speed of 10,000 RPM and 2.5 "platters, it has the fastest speed of any competing hard drive. Learn more in our article. "Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1000DHTZ: test and review of the updated version of the fastest HDD" .


Cpu
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3, Revision: 0.2 Chipset: Intel Z68 Express, BIOS: F3
Memory	2 x 2 GB DDR3-1333, Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D
System SSD	Intel X25-M G1 80GB, Firmware 0701, SATA 3Gb / s
Controller	Intel PCH Z68 SATA 6Gb / s
Nutrition
Tests
Overall performance	h2benchw 3.16 PCMark 7 1.0.4
I / O performance	IOMeter 2006.07.27 Fileserver-Benchmark Webserver-Benchmark Database-Benchmark Workstation-Benchmark Linear reading Linear recording Random Read 4KB Blocks Random write in 4 KB blocks
Software and drivers
Operating system	Windows 7 x64 Ultimate SP1
Intel Inf	9.2.0.1030
Intel Rapid Storage	10

Installing an SSD in a SATA 3Gb / s System | Test bench and benchmarks for real tasks

In addition to the usual synthetic benchmarks, we have added more realistic tests. To create a variety of tasks typical for everyday use, we switched to Professional 64-bit.

Real tests:

Loading . It starts counting when the POST screen shows zeros and ends when the Windows desktop appears.
Shutdown. After three minutes of work, we turn off the system and start counting. The timer stops when the system is turned off.
Download and Adobe Photoshop. Once loaded, the batch file launches the Adobe Photoshop CS6 image editor and loads a 15,000 x 7,266 pixel photo with a size of 15.7 MB. After Adobe Photoshop closes. The countdown starts after the POST screen and ends when Adobe Photoshop is turned off. We repeat the test five times.
Five applications. Once loaded, the batch file launches five different applications. The countdown starts when the first application starts and ends when the last one is closed. We repeat the test five times.

Script sequence for testing five applications:

Load a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation and then close Microsoft PowerPoint.
Launches the Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 Command Line Renderer and renders the image at 100x50 pixels. The picture is so small because we are testing an SSD, not a CPU.
Launching the benchmark built into ABBYY FineReader 11 and converting the test page.
Run the benchmark built into MathWorks MATLAB and execute it (once).
Launch Adobe Photoshop CS6 and load the image that was used in the third realistic benchmark, but in the original TIF format with a resolution of 29,566 x 14,321 pixels and a size of 501 MB.

Test bench for real tasks

Test bench configuration
Cpu	Intel Core i7-3690X Extreme Edition (32nm Sandy Bridge-E), 6 cores / 12 threads, 3.3 GHz, 6 x 256 KB L2 cache, 15 MB shared L3 cache, 130W TDP, 3.9 GHz max. Turbo Boost
Motherboard	Intel DX79SI, Chipset: Intel X79 Express, BIOS: 280B
Memory	4 x 4 GB DDR3-1333, Kingston KHX1600C9D3K2 / 8GX
System SSD	Samsung 840 Pro, 256 GB, firmware DXM04B0Q, SATA 6 Gb / s
Controller	Intel PCH Z68 SATA 6Gb / s
Nutrition	Seasonic X-760 760 W, SS-760KM Active PFC F3
Tests
Test programs	3ds Max 2013 FineReader 11 Matlab 2012b Photoshop CS6 PowerPoint 2010
Software and drivers
Operating system	Windows 8 x64 Pro

Installing an SSD in a SATA 3Gb / s System | Test results

Serial I / O Speed

As expected, the SATA 3Gb / s interface proved to be a bottleneck for Samsung 840 Pro with sequential read and write operations. SSDs are more widely disclosed on a 6Gbps channel. Have Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1000DHTZ also a good result for a mechanical disc. Through a 6 Gb / s bus, its speed exceeds the 200 MB / s bar.

The CrystalDiskMark 3.0 benchmark confirms the AS-SSD results. Please note that sequential reads and writes in these tests are performed with large amounts of data. On Windows, most I / O operations are arbitrary. Sequential operations are more the exception than the rule.

Access time

On average, the VelociRaptor 3.5 "finds AS-SSD requested data in seven milliseconds. This is fast for an HDD and is associated with a spindle speed of 10,000 RPM. However, the drive Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1000DHTZ does not even come close to the speed of an SSD, which is two orders of magnitude faster. Its performance is measured already in microseconds. At the same time, when measuring access times, we see no practical difference between SATA 3 and 6 Gb / s.

Random operation speed in 4 KB blocks

AS-SSD: 4KB Random Read / Write

This benchmark is most important for understanding real-world performance. For random reads and writes in 4KB chunks, the fastest HDD simply cannot compete with an SSD. When connected to a 6 Gbps port Samsung 840 Pro showed a slightly higher result than with a 3Gb / s connector. Writing is 20 MB / s faster, and reading is only 2 MB / s.

Increasing the queue depth gives the SSD more commands to process concurrently, and here the broader interface does provide an advantage. Most of the time, however, is theory. In desktop environments, the queue depth rarely reaches 32 or more commands.

However, the 6Gbps random write and read speeds are at least 1.5x faster.

CrystalDiskMark: 4KB Random Read / Write

The CrystalDiskMark scores say the same as the previous test. The advantage of SATA 6Gb / s over 3Gb / s for the low queue depth found in most desktop systems is small and only shows up well in the high queue inherent in server environments. In a typical PC or laptop, the storage subsystem basically operates with one to four instructions.

Iometer: 4KB Random Read / Write

The results in Iometer differ slightly from the previous two tests, although the general trend remains. Samsung 840 Pro works a little faster when connected to a 6Gb / s connector, especially when reading.

512KB random operation speed

Through the SATA 6 Gb / s interface, writing and reading data in 512 KB blocks is slightly faster than through 3 Gb / s. Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1000DHTZ It performed well in the write test, but in reading it lagged far behind even an SSD connected via a slower interface.

Tests of various I / O profiles

We used Iometer's database, web server and workstation profiles. They simulate certain access patterns specific to each environment.

Samsung 840 Pro performed the same in the database and workstation tests, regardless of the SATA 3 or 6Gb / s connector. However, the web server benchmark benefits noticeably from the broader interface, nearly doubling the result obtained over the 3Gb / s bus.

PCMark 7 and tracing

PCMark 7 performance when connected to a 6Gb / s connector Samsung 840 Pro higher, although the difference is negligible.

Analysis shows that loading applications and importing images into Windows Photo Gallery via SATA 6Gb / s is faster than SATA 3Gb / s. But even through the old connection, the SSD is twice as fast as the hard drive.

In games, the performance of the drive via the 6 Gb / s connector is slightly higher.

PCMark Vantage

PCMark Vantage is older than PCMark 7. However, it demonstrates a significant advantage of the SATA 3 interface.

Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1000DHTZ managed to take second place in the media center test. But the conclusion remains the same: SSDs, regardless of the type of connection, are significantly ahead of the best HDDs.

AS-SSD Copy Benchmark

In the AS-SSD test, Samsung 840 Pro when connected to SATA 6 Gb / s exceeds the result obtained on the 3 Gb / s bus by almost two-thirds.

Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1000DHTZ plugs into a SATA III connector, but its mechanical design clearly hinders performance.

Meanwhile, when comparing the results Samsung 840 Pro, it becomes clear that the SSD is being held back by the capabilities of the old interface. But in any case, the performance of an SSD over SATA II is significantly higher than that of the best hard drive at full strength.

This test is especially relevant for users who are constantly copying large amounts of data to or from an SSD. Obviously, in such a situation, the more modern and broader interface makes a practical difference.

Overall performance

The results of the average performance of the entire test suite show that there is a noticeable difference between an SSD connected via SATA III and SATA II. Naturally, read and write speeds are higher when the drive has access to a wider bandwidth and can use it to its fullest.

However, most of the tests are synthetic. It is possible that realistic tests will paint a very different picture.

If we combine all the results, weighing each individual indicator, we get the general diagram, which is depicted above. It clearly shows the advantage of the SATA 6 GB / s interface in synthetic tests.

AS-SSD also shows the overall result. Performance Samsung 840 Pro via SATA II is noticeably lower than via SATA III. But then again, even the worst result of an SSD is many times higher than that of a hard drive.

The tasks tested here are typical of everyday desktop use. We immediately see that the difference between SATA II and SATA III at boot time is only half a second. Much more noticeable is the speed gain when switching from HDD to SSD.

The timer switches off 0.6 seconds faster when Samsung 840 Pro connected via a 6 Gb / s connector. In practice, you will not notice this. Even the HDD doesn't seem to be that bad compared to Samsung's SSDs.

The second charts show the speed of the drives as a percentage relative to the Samsung SSD on the SATA 3Gb / s bus.

In this test, immediately after loading, Adobe Photoshop CS6 is launched, the image is loaded, and then the program exits. Samsung 840 Pro connected via SATA II takes a second longer than the same SSD via the SATA III port. At work, this difference will not affect in any way. But here's the additional 23 seconds, which is spent by the same powerful system, but only with an HDD (even as fast as VelociRaptor) you will definitely feel.

Real tests: five applications

This is another test in which the results of the solid state drive Samsung 840 Pro connected to connectors of different generations are practically equal. The difference in execution speed is only 1.6 seconds. If you sit in front of the monitors of the two systems, it is almost impossible to distinguish between them.

Installing an SSD in a SATA 3Gb / s System | Excellent upgradeability even with SATA 3Gb / s

Judging only by the synthetic tests popular among reviewers (AS-SSD, CrystalDiskMark, PCMark 7, Iometer, etc.), then the SATA 6 Gb / s interface is simply necessary to get the maximum performance from modern SSDs. In case you move large amounts of data, this is true. However, synthetic benchmarks don't convey the feel very well of a system recently upgraded from a conventional hard drive to an SSD. Moreover, they create the illusion that a modern platform is needed to unleash the capabilities of advanced SSDs. However, our realistic tests show that theoretical differences do not always correspond to practical ones. In most cases, Samsung 840 Pro connected via SATA 3 Gb / s did not lag behind the same SSD connected via SATA 6 Gb / s.

SATA 6Gb / s offers little or no benefit to a typical desktop PC

When connected Samsung 840 Pro through SATA III in synthetic tests, its speed increased sharply. The differences were especially telling when we deliberately specified arbitrary and sequential I / O operations at high queue depths. But when we ran realistic tests of loading and shutting down, as well as launching multiple applications, the difference was almost zero. This is exactly what it will be in everyday use.

Since synthetic benchmarks purposefully deliver workloads designed to differentiate between very fast devices, but rarely seen in desktop environments, they do not meet more common PC tasks. Random I / O speed is an important aspect, but chances are good that you will never see a queue depth of 32 commands. While we enjoyed measuring peak sequential data rates, moving large media files between two identical drives is relatively rare. For example, if you copy an ISO file from one SSD to another, then you will get a significant boost through SATA 6Gb / s. But if you move the same file from SSD to HDD, then even the fastest interface in the world will not help you overcome the speed limitations of magnetic media.

The three most important aspects:

From a practical point of view, the speed of random I / O operations is very important. Under Windows, most I / O operations occur at low queue depths. In this situation, synthetic benchmarks show that the difference between SATA 6Gb / s and 3Gb / s is very small. The theoretical gap is minimal, but there is no practical gap at all.

Now we can answer the question whether SATA III 6Gb / s connectors are needed when upgrading to an SSD. Obviously, you will get a noticeable boost in system responsiveness, even using the SATA 3Gb / s connector. In practice, the 3Gb / s interface does not hinder the performance of mainstream applications. The SATA III interface comes into play in synthetic benchmarks reaching technological limits, in workstation / server tasks, or when transferring large amounts of data from SSD to SSD.

The most important thing is to install the SSD in the system. Just see how Samsung 840 Pro opposes the fastest desktop hard drive called Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1000DHTZ... The SSD does not even leave him a chance, either in synthetic or natural tests.

Every user wants his computer to work quickly and without errors. Of course, this depends on many aspects: the amount of RAM, the amount of memory on the system disk, the operating system, the number of cores, and the bitness of the processor. But, even if your computer is composed of the newest elements, it will not be able to quickly transfer information between storage devices without a high-speed data bus. The amount and speed of information transfer depends on it. Below we take a look at the well-known SATA interface and compare two different specifications: SATA 1.0 and SATA 2.0.

Description

The SATA interface provides serial data transfer between data storage devices. SATA was created after the development of the parallel ATA interface, also called IDE. After creation and testing, the SATA interface showed good results. This concerned not only data transfer, but also the new 7 - pin connector which replaced its older brother 40 - connector ATA or PATA. This had a significant impact on physical performance.

By reducing the connector, the developers accordingly reduced the connector. This is also a big plus, because the area occupied by the connector of the previous bus version has been reduced at least 3 times. This made it possible to better cool the connector and place a large number of them on the motherboard. In turn, this made it possible to create connections for many drives separately.

SATA abandoned the PATA connection version (two devices for one loop) and this is another big plus, because in this case, each device is connected with a separate cable, which takes away the problem of delays due to the connection of two devices and if one of the devices breaks down or malfunctions cable (which is unlikely), you will not lose the ability to work with another device. During assembly or disassembly, it is easy for you to disconnect the connector from the connector, which ensures resistance to repeated connections. There is no Slave / Master conflict. The cable of this interface occupies a small space, which accordingly makes it possible to better cool other computer devices.

The SATA interface connector supplies 3 different supply voltages: + 12V, + 5V, + 3.3V although new devices can operate without + 3.3V supply. On this, the developers never cease to amaze us. This interface has the ability to boast of having a hot plug, which can protect the user from frequent breakdowns. Not everyone knows that you cannot turn off electronic devices when the computer is turned on.

Connectors

The devices of this interface use two connection connectors: 7-pin for connecting the data bus and 15-pin for connecting the power supply. But, the SATA standard allows you to choose two different power connections: a 15-pin or a 4-pin Molex connector. Please note that some damage may occur when using two different types of power connectors.

There are two data transmission channels in the SATA interface. The first is from controller to device, the second is from device to controller. With the help of LVDS technology, data transmission occurs over each pair of shielded twisted pair wires.

SATA engineers never cease to amaze with new developments and therefore, at present, there is a 13-pin connector. It is now used in portable and mobile devices and servers.

What is the difference between SATA 1.0 and SATA 2.0

This interface has evolved rapidly and each parameter has been improved step by step. The difference between SATA 1.0 and SATA 2.0 is contained in almost every parameter, starting with the main one - frequency, etc.

SATA 1.0 frequency: 1.5 GHz and SATA 2.0 frequency: 3 GHz.
SATA 1.0 bandwidth: 1.2 Gb / s and SATA 2.0 bandwidth: 3Gb / s.

As you can see, there is not much systemic difference in parameters. But, it is the improvements that significantly affect the operation of the computer.

What do SATA 1.0 and SATA 2.0 have in common

They have much more in common than different, and in this case there are many controversial questions and suggestions about the pros and cons.

SATA 1.0 and SATA 2.0 coding system: 8b / 10b. Although the coding system is the same, SATA 1.0 loses 20% performance... Physically, the interfaces are the same, which allows you to connect different connectors and SATA connectors. They are compatible when connected. SATA 2.0 is compatible with SATA 1.0, but with this connection, the data transfer rate through the port's speed limits is lost.