Sata interface description. Serial SATA interface
SATA (English: Serial ATA)- serial interface for data exchange with information storage devices. SATA is a development of the parallel interface, which after the advent of SATA was renamed PATA (Parallel ATA). - data cable connector. Hard drive data cable connector -
Description SATA
SATA uses a 7-pin connector instead of PATA's 40-pin connector. The SATA cable has a smaller area, due to which the resistance to air blowing through the computer components is reduced, and wiring inside the system unit is simplified.
Due to its shape, the SATA cable is more resistant to multiple connections. The SATA power cord is also designed to accommodate multiple connections. The SATA power connector supplies 3 supply voltages: +12 V, +5 V and +3.3 V; however modern devices can operate without +3.3 V voltage, which makes it possible to use a passive adapter from a standard IDE to SATA power connector. A number of SATA devices come with two power connectors: SATA and Molex.
The SATA standard abandoned the traditional PATA connection of two devices per cable; each device is assigned a separate cable, which eliminates the problem of the impossibility of simultaneous operation of devices located on the same cable (and the resulting delays), reduces possible problems during assembly (there is no problem of conflict between Slave/Master devices for SATA), eliminates the possibility of errors when using non-terminated PATA cables.
The SATA standard supports the command queuing function (NCQ, starting with SATA Revision 2.x).
The SATA standard does not provide for hot-swapping of the active device (used by the Operating System) (up to SATA Revision 3.x), additionally connected drives must be disconnected gradually - power, cable, and connected in the reverse order - cable, power.
SATA connectors
SATA devices use two connectors: 7-pin (data bus connection) and 15-pin (power connection). The SATA standard provides the ability to use a standard 4-pin Molex connector instead of a 15-pin power connector. Using both types of power connectors at the same time may damage the device.
The SATA interface has two data transfer channels, from controller to device and from device to controller. LVDS technology is used to transmit the signal; the wires of each pair are shielded twisted pairs.
There is also a 13-pin combined SATA connector used in servers, mobile and portable devices for slim CD/DVD drives. Devices are connected using a SATA Slimline ALL-in-One Cable. It consists of a combined connector of a 7-pin connector for connecting the data bus and a 6-pin connector for connecting the device’s power supply. In addition, to connect to these devices, servers use a special adapter.
Using http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/SATA
The most interesting comments on the colors of the SATA power connector cable:
RU2012:"Adapters are available to convert a 4-pin Molex connector to a SATA power connector. However, since 4-pin Molex connectors do not provide 3.3 V, these adapters only provide 5 V and 12 V power and leave the 3.3 V lines disabled. This does not allow the use of such adapters with drives that require 3.3 V power - orange wire.
Recognizing this, hard drive manufacturers have largely left support for the 3.3V orange power cable option in their storage devices - power lines are not used in most devices.
HOWEVER, WITHOUT 3.3V POWER (orange wire), the SATA DEVICE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HOT PLUG THE DISK..." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA
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Hello friends, hard disks SATA interfaces differ in the speed of the serial data exchange interface.
1. Not at all old interface SATA Revision 1.0 (up to 1.5 Gbit/s). Interface throughput - up to 150 MB/s
2. Relatively old, but still in use SATA Revision 2.0 (up to 3 Gbps). Interface throughput - up to 300 MB/s
3. The latest interface is SATA Revision 3.0 (up to 6 Gbps). Interface throughput is up to 600 MB/s.
You can also find such designations as SATA I, SATA II and SATA III.
Determine which SATA ports are on your motherboard very simple.
Firstly, the official website of your motherboard contains the necessary information:
For example, my ASUS P8Z77-V PRO motherboard has:
2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), (Gray) - 2 SATA 6 Gb/s ports of gray color
4 x SATA 3Gb/s port(s), (Blue) - 4 SATA 3 Gb/s blue ports
2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), navy blue - 2 additional SATA 6 Gb/s ports, navy blue
Secondly, when connecting a regular hard drive or SSD of the new SATA 3.0 interface (6 Gb/s) to your motherboard, pay attention to this information located on the motherboard. My motherboard is ASUS P8Z77-V PRO and according to the official website it has four SATA 3 Gb/s ports and four SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Naturally, next to the connectors there is a corresponding marking, opposite the SATA 2.0 (3 Gb/s) ports it is written SATA 3G, and opposite the ports of the latest SATA 3.0 interface (6 Gb/s) SATA 6G is marked, which means we connect hard drives and solid-state drives according to the markings .
Left click to enlarge screenshot
What happens if you connect HDD wrong, for example SSD interface SATA 6 Gbit/s to a port on the motherboard SATA 3 Gbit/s? The answer is that it will work in SATA 3 Gb/s and the speed of the solid-state drive will be slightly lower, which is what happened to our reader (test results later in the article).
It is also important to use a native data cable with appropriate markings to connect a new hard drive or SSD to the SATA 6 Gb/s interface SATA 6 Gb/s!
You can determine the operating mode of a SATA hard drive or SSD in the program CrystalDiskInfo
Let's go to the site
http://crystalmark.info/download/index-e.html
and download the utility CrystalDiskInfo, it will provide more than comprehensive information about all hard drives installed in your system unit or laptop.
The utility works without installation. Unzip and launch.
I have a Silicon Power V70 SSD installed in my system unit and in this window you can see all the comprehensive information about its operation.
As you can see, the SSD is currently operating at its most high mode information transfer SATA 3.0 (6 Gbit/s), interface bandwidth - up to 600 MB/s.
Current mode600 MB/s And supported mode600 MB/s.
If your system also has a hard drive installed, click on the arrow and information about the other drive will appear.
Friends, let’s run a test of our SSD connected to a high-speed SATA 3.0 (6 Gbit/s) SSD port in the program AS SSD Benchmark , then connect it to the SATA 2.0 port (3 Gbit/s) and also conduct a test, then compare the result.
1. Sequential read and write test;
2. Test of random reading and writing of 4 KB blocks;
3. Test of random reading and writing of 4 KB blocks (queue depth = 64);
4. Read and write access time measurement test;
The final result, let's remember it.
In what mode will the hard drive operate? solid state drive SSD latest interface SATA III ( 6 Gbit/s), if it is connected to the connector SATA II (3 Gb/s)
A hard drive is a simple and small “box” in appearance that stores huge volumes information on the computer of any modern user.
This is exactly what it seems like from the outside: a fairly uncomplicated little thing. Rarely does anyone, when recording, deleting, copying and other actions with files of varying importance, think about the principle of interaction between the hard drive and the computer. And to be even more precise - directly with the motherboard itself.
How these components are connected into a single uninterrupted operation, how the hard drive itself is designed, what connection connectors it has and what each of them is intended for - this is Key information about a data storage device familiar to everyone.
HDD interface
This is the term that can correctly be used to describe interaction with the motherboard. The word itself has a much broader meaning. For example, the program interface. In this case, we mean the part that provides a way for a person to interact with the software (convenient “friendly” design).
However, the interface is different from the interface. In the case of the HDD and motherboard, it does not present a pleasant graphic design for the user, but a set of special lines and data transfer protocols. These components are connected to each other using a cable - a cable with inputs at both ends. They are designed to connect to ports on the hard drive and motherboard.
In other words, the entire interface on these devices is two cables. One is connected to the power connector of the hard drive at one end and to the computer’s power supply itself at the other. And the second of the cables connects the HDD to the motherboard.
How a hard drive was connected in the old days - the IDE connector and other relics of the past
The very beginning, after which more advanced HDD interfaces appear. Ancient by today's standards, it appeared on the market around the 80s of the last century. IDE literally means “embedded controller”.
Being a parallel data interface, it is also commonly called ATA - However, it was worth it to appear over time new technology SATA and gained enormous popularity in the market as standard ATA was renamed to PATA (Parallel ATA) to avoid confusion.
Extremely slow and completely raw in its technical capabilities, this interface during the years of its popularity could transfer from 100 to 133 megabytes per second. And then only in theory, because in real practice these indicators were even more modest. Of course, newer interfaces and hard drive connectors will show a noticeable lag between the IDE and modern developments.
Do you think we shouldn’t downplay the attractive sides? Older generations probably remember that technical capabilities PATA made it possible to service two HDDs at once using only one cable connected to the motherboard. But the line capacity in this case was similarly distributed in half. And this is not to mention the width of the wire, which somehow, due to its dimensions, impedes the flow of fresh air from the fans in the system unit.
By now, the IDE is naturally outdated, both physically and morally. And if until recently this connector was found on motherboards in the low and middle price segments, now the manufacturers themselves do not see any prospects in it.
Everyone's favorite SATA
For a long time, IDE became the most popular interface for working with information storage devices. But data transmission and processing technologies did not stagnate for long, soon offering a conceptually new solution. Now it can be found in almost any owner personal computer. And its name is SATA (Serial ATA).
Distinctive features of this interface are parallel low power consumption (compared to IDE), less heating of components. Throughout the history of its popularity, SATA has undergone development in three stages of revisions:
- SATA I - 150 Mb/s.
- SATA II - 300 MB/s.
- SATA III - 600 MB/s.
A couple of updates were also developed for the third revision:
- 3.1 - more advanced throughput, but still limited to a limit of 600 MB/s.
- 3.2 with the SATA Express specification - a successful merger of SATA and PCI-Express devices, which made it possible to increase the read/write speed of the interface to 1969 MB/s. Roughly speaking, technology is an “adapter” that translates normal mode SATA at a higher speed, which is what the PCI connector lines have.
The real indicators, of course, clearly differed from the officially announced ones. First of all, this is due to the excess bandwidth of the interface - for many modern drives the same 600 MB/s is unnecessary, since they were not originally designed to operate at such read/write speeds. Only over time, when the market gradually becomes filled with high-speed drives with operating speeds that are incredible for today, will the technical potential of SATA be fully utilized.
Finally, many physical aspects have been improved. SATA is designed to use longer cables (1 meter versus 46 centimeters used to connect IDE hard drives) with a much more compact size and pleasant appearance. Support for “hot-swap” HDDs is provided - you can connect/disconnect them without turning off the computer’s power (however, you still need to first activate the AHCI mode in the BIOS).
The convenience of connecting the cable to the connectors has also increased. Moreover, all versions of the interface are backward compatible with each other (a SATA III hard drive connects without problems to II on the motherboard, SATA I to SATA II, etc.). The only caveat is that the maximum speed of working with data will be limited by the “oldest” link.
Owners of old devices will also not be left out - existing PATA to SATA adapters will often save you from the more expensive purchase of a modern HDD or a new motherboard.
External SATA
But a standard hard drive is not always suitable for the user’s tasks. There is a need to store large volumes of data that require use in different places and, accordingly, transportation. For such cases, when you have to work with one drive not only at home, external hard drives have been developed. Due to the specifics of their device, they require a completely different connection interface.
This is another type of SATA, created for connectors external hard disks with external prefix. Physically, this interface is not compatible with standard SATA ports, but it has similar throughput.
There is support for hot-swap HDD, and the length of the cable itself has been increased to two meters.
In its original version, eSATA only allows the exchange of information, without feeding it into the corresponding connector external hard drive the required electricity. This drawback, which eliminates the need to use two cables at once for connection, was corrected with the advent of the Power eSATA modification, combining eSATA technologies (responsible for data transfer) with USB (responsible for power).
Universal Serial Bus
In fact, having become the most common serial interface standard for connecting digital equipment, Universal Serial Bus is known to everyone these days.
Having endured a long history of constant major changes, USB stands for high data transfer speeds, power for an unprecedented variety of peripheral devices, and ease and convenience for everyday use.
Developed by companies such as Intel, Microsoft, Phillips and US Robotics, the interface became the embodiment of several technical aspirations:
- Expanding the functionality of computers. Standard peripherals before the advent of USB were quite limited in variety and each type required a separate port (PS/2, port for connecting a joystick, SCSI, etc.). With the advent of USB, it was thought that it would become a single universal replacement, significantly simplifying the interaction of devices with a computer. Moreover, this development, new for its time, was also supposed to stimulate the emergence of non-traditional peripheral devices.
- Provide connection of mobile phones to computers. The trend of transition spreading in those years mobile networks on digital voice transmission revealed that none of the interfaces developed at that time could provide data and voice transmission from the telephone.
- Inventing a convenient "plug and play" principle, suitable for "hot plugging".
As is the case with the vast majority of digital equipment, the USB connector for a hard drive has become a completely familiar phenomenon for a long time. However, in different years of its development, this interface has always demonstrated new peaks in speed indicators for reading/writing information.
USB version | Description | Bandwidth |
The first release version of the interface after several pre-release versions. Released January 15, 1996. |
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Improvement of version 1.0, correcting many of its problems and errors. Released in September 1998, it first gained mass popularity. | ||
Released in April 2000, the second version of the interface has a new, faster High-Speed operating mode. |
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The latest generation of USB, which has received not only updated bandwidth indicators, but also comes in blue/red colors. Date of appearance: 2008. | Up to 600 MB per second |
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Further development of the third revision, published on July 31, 2013. Divided into two modifications, which can provide any hard drive with a USB connector maximum speed up to 10 Gbit per second. |
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Besides this specification, different versions USB are also implemented under different types devices. Among the varieties of cables and connectors of this interface are:
| USB 2.0 | Standard | ||
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USB 3.0 could already offer one more new type- C. Cables of this type are symmetrical and are inserted into the corresponding device from either side.
On the other hand, the third revision no longer provides for Mini and Micro “subtypes” of cables for type A.
Alternative FireWire
For all their popularity, eSATA and USB are not all options for how to connect an external hard drive connector to a computer.
FireWire is a slightly less known high-speed interface among the masses. Provides daisy chain connection external devices, the supported number of which also includes HDD.
Its property of isochronous data transmission has mainly found its application in multimedia technology (video cameras, DVD players, digital audio equipment). Hard drives are connected to them much less often, giving preference to SATA or a more advanced USB interface.
This technology acquired its modern technical characteristics gradually. Thus, the original version of FireWire 400 (1394a) was faster than its then main competitor USB 1.0 - 400 megabits per second versus 12. The maximum permissible cable length was 4.5 meters.
The arrival of USB 2.0 left its rival behind, allowing data exchange at a speed of 480 megabits per second. However, with the release of the new FireWire 800 (1394b) standard, which allowed transmission of 800 megabits per second with a maximum cable length of 100 meters, USB 2.0 was less in demand on the market. This prompted the development of the third version of the serial universal bus, which expanded the data exchange ceiling to 5 Gbit/s.
In addition, a distinctive feature of FireWire is its decentralization. Transferring information via a USB interface requires a PC. FireWire allows you to exchange data between devices without necessarily involving a computer in the process.
Thunderbolt
Intel, together with Apple, showed its vision of which hard drive connector should become an unconditional standard in the future by introducing the Thunderbolt interface to the world (or, according to its old code name, Light Peak).
Built on PCI-E and DisplayPort architectures, this design allows you to transfer data, video, audio and power through a single port with truly impressive speeds of up to 10 Gb/s. In real tests, this figure was a little more modest and reached a maximum of 8 Gb/s. Nevertheless, even so, Thunderbolt has overtaken its closest analogs FireWire 800 and USB 3.0, not to mention eSATA.
But this promising idea of a single port and connector has not yet received such widespread adoption. Although some manufacturers today successfully integrate connectors for external hard drives, the Thunderbolt interface. On the other hand, the price for the technical capabilities of the technology is also relatively high, which is why this development is found mainly among expensive devices.
Compatibility with USB and FireWire can be achieved using appropriate adapters. This approach will not make them faster in terms of data transfer, since the throughput of both interfaces will still remain the same. There is only one advantage here - Thunderbolt will not be the limiting link with such a connection, allowing you to use all the technical capabilities of USB and FireWire.
SCSI and SAS - something that not everyone has heard of
Another parallel interface for connecting peripheral devices, which at one point shifted the focus of its development from desktop computers to a wider range of equipment.
"Small Computer System Interface" was developed a little earlier than SATA II. By the time the latter was released, both interfaces were almost identical in their properties to each other, capable of providing a connector connecting hard disk stable work from computers. However, SCSI used a common bus, which is why only one of the connected devices could work with the controller.
Further refinement of the technology, which acquired the new name SAS (Serial Attached SCSI), was already devoid of its previous drawback. SAS provides connection of devices with a set of managed SCSI commands via a physical interface, which is similar to SATA. However, broader capabilities allow you to connect not only hard drive connectors, but also many other peripherals (printers, scanners, etc.).
Supports hot-swappable devices, bus expanders with the ability to simultaneously connect multiple SAS devices to one port, and is also backward compatible with SATA.
Prospects for NAS
An interesting way to work with large volumes of data, rapidly gaining popularity among modern users.
Or, abbreviated as NAS, they are a separate computer with some disk array, which is connected to a network (often to a local one) and provides storage and transmission of data among other connected computers.
Playing a role network storage, this mini-server is connected to other devices via an ordinary Ethernet cable. Further access to its settings is provided through any browser connected to network address NAS The available data on it can be used both via an Ethernet cable and via Wi-Fi.
This technology makes it possible to provide a fairly reliable level of information storage and provide convenient access to it. easy access for trusted persons.
Features of connecting hard drives to laptops
Principle HDD operation with desktop computer is extremely simple and understandable to everyone - in most cases, you need to connect the power connectors of the hard drive to the power supply using the appropriate cable and connect the device to the motherboard in the same way. When using external drives, you can generally get by with just one cable (Power eSATA, Thunderbolt).
But how to properly use laptop hard drive connectors? After all, a different design requires taking into account slightly different nuances.
Firstly, to connect information storage devices directly “inside” the device itself, it should be taken into account that the HDD form factor must be designated as 2.5”
Secondly, in a laptop the hard drive is connected directly to the motherboard. Without any additional cables. Simply unscrew the HDD cover on the bottom of the previously switched off laptop. It has a rectangular appearance and is usually secured with a pair of bolts. It is in that container that the storage device should be placed.
All laptop hard drive connectors are absolutely identical to their larger “brothers” intended for PCs.
Another connection option is to use an adapter. For example, a SATA III drive can be connected to USB ports installed on a laptop using a SATA-USB adapter (there are a huge variety of similar devices on the market for a variety of interfaces).
You just need to connect the HDD to the adapter. It, in turn, is connected to a 220V outlet to supply power. And use a USB cable to connect this entire structure to the laptop, after which the hard drive will be displayed as another partition during operation.
SSD installation into a system with SATA 3 Gb/s | Still great way update your PC?
There are many ways to improve PC performance. But usually, the most effective thing is to replace components. Overclocking also remains popular. However, previously it gave a more noticeable increase in speed for the CPU, GPU and memory. Take a Celeron 300A, overclock to 450 MHz and get a 50% boost. To get something like this you need to overclock it to 5.25 GHz. But even then, 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 (that is why in reviews of motherboards with Intel seventh series chipsets we stick to the processor voltage of 1.35 V). Manipulating reference frequencies, multipliers, voltages, and latency can harm the stability of your system.
If you are satisfied with the processor and motherboard, balance the system to optimal performance You can use a more modern video card, increase the amount of RAM and install a solid-state drive. Today the focus is on SSDs, which often cost less than $1/GB and are now cheaper than ever. We've said it before and we'll say it again today: if you don't already have an SSD, buy one. 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 over the past five years has hardly increased. Many SSDs easily reach 550 MB/s sequential transfer rates, but more importantly, they handle real-time random I/O with agility. An SSD can process orders of magnitude more requests per second than conventional storage media (tens of thousands versus several hundred).
You can spend 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 back it up. With SSD Windows startup and applications are faster, as is moving files.
But is the old SATA 3Gb/s interface enough for a modern SSD with SATA 6Gb/s?
We ask ourselves this question every time we run out of mid-range motherboards. SATA connectors 6 Gbit/s (ed.: in this moment, we produce video capture on an array of four Crucial m4, connected to 3 Gbps connectors). What if your old system only supports the previous generation standard? Was it worth the upgrade? Considering that the most fast SSDs are often constrained by the width of the SATA 6 Gbit/s interface, it is logical to assume that 3 Gbit/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 drive controller?
In search of answers to these questions, we took Samsung 840 Pro, connected it to the 6 Gbps connector, and then to the previous generation connector. Since these Samsung drives are now considered one of the fastest, the results obtained apply to most SSDs high-end class presented on the market. Please note that we are not testing the SATA 1.5 Gbps port. It would be interesting to add this interface for comparison, but it takes us back to about 2005. If your PC is already eight years old, it's time to think about buying a new one.
Installing an SSD in a system with SATA 3 Gb/s | Test stand and benchmarks
For today's testing we are using Samsung 840 Pro MZ-7PD256 based on the company’s own S4LN021X01-8030 NZWD1 controller with support for SATA 6 Gb/s (also known as MDX), using a triple-core Cortex-R4 processor. The chip is complemented by 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 older models with 21-nanometer NAND memory with multi-level cells. For the 840 Pro line Samsung company gives a five year warranty.
According to Samsung sequential read speed Samsung 840 Pro reaches 540 MB/s, recording - 520 MB/s. It should provide up to 100,000 random I/O operations in 4 KB blocks per second. The 256GB model is currently selling for $230 on Amazon. There are also 128 and 512 GB versions for $140 and $460 respectively.
Specifications Samsung SSD 840 Pro
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Model | 840 Pro |
| Model number | MZ-7PD256 |
| Form factor | 2.5" (7 mm) |
| Capacity, GB | 256 |
| Controller | MDX |
| Flash memory type | 21nm MLC Toggle-mode NAND |
| Reservation | 7% |
| Cache, MB | 512 |
| Interface | SATA 6 Gb/s |
| Included | Samsung Magician Software |
| Guarantee | five years |
Test bench and software
We used a test bench running Windows 7 with a motherboard Gigabyte board Z68X-UD3H-B3, Intel Core i5-2500K processor and 4 GB Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D memory. The SSD was connected to the first 6 Gbps slot, and we were able to switch it to 3 Gbps mode in the Gigabyte firmware.
We chose a hard drive as a basis for comparison. VelociRaptor is a 2.5" drive in 3.5" format, its capacity is 1 TB. With a spindle speed of 10,000 rpm and 2.5" inserts, it showed the most high speed among competing hard drives. Details 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, 80 GB, Firmware 0701, SATA 3 Gb/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 reading of 4 KB blocks Random writing of 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 system with SATA 3 Gb/s | 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 specific to everyday use, we switched to Professional 64-bit.
Real tests:
- Loading . The countdown starts 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 begin the countdown. 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 photo with a resolution of 15,000 x 7,266 pixels and a size of 15.7 MB. After Adobe Photoshop closes. The countdown begins after the POST screen and ends when Adobe Photoshop is turned off. We repeat the test five times.
- Five applications. Once downloaded, the batch file launches five different applications. The countdown begins when the first application is launched and ends when the last one is closed. We repeat the test five times.
Script sequence for testing five applications:
- Uploading a presentation Microsoft PowerPoint and then closing Microsoft PowerPoint.
- Running the renderer command line Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 and rendering the image at 100x50 pixels. The picture is so small because we are testing SSD, not CPU.
- Running the benchmark built into ABBYY FineReader 11 and converting a test page.
- Launching the benchmark built into MathWorks MATLAB and executing it (once).
- Launch Adobe Photoshop CS6 and load the image 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 problems
| Test bench configuration | |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-3690X Extreme Edition (32 nm Sandy Bridge-E), 6 cores/12 threads, 3.3 GHz, 6 x 256 KB L2 cache, 15 MB shared L3 cache, 130 W 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 6 Gb/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 system with SATA 3 Gb/s | Test results
Sequential I/O speed
As expected, the SATA 3 Gb/s interface turned out to be bottleneck For Samsung 840 Pro during sequential read and write operations. The SSD opens up more widely at the 6 Gbps channel. U Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1000DHTZ also a high result for a mechanical disk. Through a 6 Gbps bus, its speed exceeds the 200 MB/s bar.
The CrystalDiskMark 3.0 benchmark confirms the AS-SSD results. Please note that sequential reading and writing in these tests occurs with large amounts of data. Under Windows, most I/O operations are random. Sequential operations are the exception rather than the rule here.
Access time
On average, the VelociRaptor 3.5" finds requested AS-SSD 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 doesn't even come close SSD speeds, which is two orders of magnitude faster. Its performance is already measured in microseconds. At the same time, when measuring access time, we do not see any practical difference between SATA 3 and 6 Gbit/s.
Speed of random operations in 4 KB blocks
AS-SSD: random read/write in 4 KB blocks
This benchmark is the most important for understanding real-world performance. For random reading and writing in 4 KB blocks, the most fast HDD simply can't compete with SSDs. When connected to a 6 Gbps port Samsung 840 Pro showed a slightly higher result than with the 3 Gbps connector. Writing is 20 MB/s faster, and reading is only 2 MB/s.
Increasing queue depth gives the SSD more commands to process at once, and this is where the wider interface really provides an advantage. However, for the most part, this is theory. In desktop environments, the queue depth rarely reaches 32 or more teams.
However, random write and read speeds over the 6 Gbps bus are at least 1.5 times faster.
CrystalDiskMark: random read/write in 4 KB blocks
The CrystalDiskMark numbers say the same as the previous test. The advantage of the SATA 6 Gbit/s standard over 3 Gbit/s with a low queue depth, typical of most desktop systems, is small and is only clearly visible with the high queue depth inherent in server environments. In a typical PC or laptop, the storage subsystem mainly works with one to four commands.
Iometer: random read/write in 4 KB blocks
The Iometer results are slightly different from the previous two tests, although the general trend remains the same. Samsung 840 Pro works a little faster when connected to the 6 Gbps connector, especially when reading.
Speed of random operations in 512 KB blocks
Through the SATA 6 Gbit/s interface, writing and reading data in 512 KB blocks is slightly faster than through 3 Gbit/s. Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1000DHTZ It performed well in the write test, but in reading it was far behind even an SSD connected via a slower interface.
Tests of various I/O profiles
We used database, web server and workstation in Iometer. They simulate certain access patterns characteristic of each environment.
Samsung 840 Pro performed the same in database and workstation tests, regardless of the SATA 3 or 6 Gb/s connector. However, the web server test noticeably benefits from the wider interface, almost doubling the result obtained over the 3 Gbps bus.
PCMark 7 and tracing
In PCMark 7 when connected to a 6 Gb/s connector, performance Samsung 840 Pro higher, although the difference is insignificant.
The analysis shows that loading applications and importing images into Windows Photo Gallery via SATA 6Gb/s is faster than via SATA 3 Gb/s. But even over the old connection, the SSD is twice as fast as the hard drive.
In games, the performance of the drive through 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 connection type, are significantly ahead of the best HDDs.
AS-SSD Copy Benchmark
In the AS-SSD test, Samsung 840 Pro when connected to SATA 6 Gbit/s, it exceeds the result obtained on the 3 Gbit/s bus by almost two thirds.
Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1000DHTZ connects to a SATA III connector, but its mechanical design clearly limits performance.
Meanwhile, when comparing the results Samsung 840 Pro, it becomes clear that the SSD is limited 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 running at full capacity.
This test is especially relevant for users who constantly copy large amounts of data to or from an SSD. Obviously, in such a situation, a more modern and wider interface makes a practical difference.
Overall Performance
The average performance results for 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 channel and can use it to its fullest.
However, most tests are synthetic. It is possible that realistic tests will paint a completely different picture.
If we combine all the results, weighing each individual indicator, we get the overall chart shown above. It clearly shows the advantage of the SATA 6 GB/s interface in synthetic tests.
AS-SSD also shows overall result. Performance Samsung 840 Pro via SATA II is noticeably lower than via SATA III. But again, even the worst result of an SSD is many times higher than the results of a hard drive.
The tasks tested here are typical for everyday use desktop computer. We immediately see that the difference between SATA II and SATA III at boot is only half a second. The speed increase is much more noticeable when moving from HDD to SSD.
The timer turns off 0.6 seconds faster when Samsung 840 Pro connected via a 6 Gbps connector. In practice you won't notice this. Even the HDD doesn't seem to be that bad compared to Samsung's SSD.
The second diagrams display the speed of drives as a percentage relative to Samsung SSD on the SATA 3 Gb/s bus.
In this test, Adobe Photoshop CS6 is launched immediately after loading, the image is loaded, and then the program closes. Samsung 840 Pro, connected via SATA II, completes the sequence a second longer than the same SSD via a SATA III port. This difference will not affect work in any way. But you will definitely feel the additional 23 seconds that an equally powerful system spends, but only with an HDD (even as fast as VelociRaptor).
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 almost equal. The difference in execution speed is only 1.6 seconds. If you sit in front of the monitors of two systems, it is almost impossible to distinguish them.
Installing an SSD in a system with SATA 3 Gb/s | Excellent upgrade opportunity even from SATA 3Gb/s
Judging only by synthetic tests popular among reviewers (AS-SSD, CrystalDiskMark, PCMark 7, Iometer, etc.), the SATA 6 Gb/s interface is simply necessary to get maximum performance from modern SSDs. If you are moving large amounts of data, this is true. However, synthetic tests don't do a very good job of conveying the feel of a system recently upgraded from a conventional hard drive to an SSD. Moreover, they create the illusion of necessity modern platform to unlock 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 6 Gb/s provides virtually no benefits for the average desktop PC
When connected Samsung 840 Pro through SATA III in synthetic tests its speed increased sharply. The differences were especially striking when we intentionally assigned random and sequential I/O to large queue depths. But when we ran realistic tests of booting and shutting down, as well as running multiple applications, the difference was almost zero. This is exactly how it will be in everyday use.
Because the synthetic tests purposefully test loads that are designed to differentiate between very fast devices, but are rarely found in desktop environments, they are not representative of more common PC workloads. Random I/O speed is important, but chances are you'll never see a queue depth of 32 commands. While we enjoyed measuring peak sequential transfer speeds, moving large media files between two identical drives is a relatively rare occurrence. For example, if you copy ISO file from one SSD to another, you will get a significant increase via SATA 6 Gb/s. But if you move the same file from SSD to HDD, then even the fastest interface in the world will not help overcome the speed limitations of the 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 occurs at a low queue depth. In this situation, synthetic benchmarks show that the difference between SATA 6 Gbit/s and 3 Gbit/s is very small. The theoretical gap is minimal, but the practical gap is non-existent.
Now we can answer the question of whether SATA III 6 Gb/s connectors are needed when upgrading to an SSD. Obviously, you will get a noticeable increase in system responsiveness, even using SATA connector 3 Gbps. In practice, the 3 Gbps interface does not hinder the performance of core applications. The SATA III interface comes into play in synthetic tests that reach technological limits, in workstation/server tasks or during large volumes of data transfer from SSD to SSD.
The most important thing is to install an SSD in the system. Just look how Samsung 840 Pro goes up against the fastest desktop hard drive called Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1000DHTZ. The SSD doesn't even give it a chance, either in synthetic or natural tests.
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, no matter what interface of a 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 appeared new standard SATA3, which will be relevant for disks 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 they will make themselves known 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 long ago, the market for new storage devices, the so-called SSDs, began to develop (let me remind you that traditional hard drives are 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 of buying an SSD, for example 64GB, is very pleasant, 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 kind of drives fully exploit the SATA2 standards and they need the new SATA 3 interface like air than traditional drives. 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 a 32-bit operating system installed Windows system 7 Maximum and Pentium processor 4 – 3 GHz. Tests were also carried out on a processor with two cores 2 Duo E7500 overclocked to 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 an IDE drive is connected. Wide cable for data transmission. Narrow white – nutrition.
And this is what it looks like SATA connection 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.