SSD installation into a system with SATA 3 Gb/s | Still a great way to upgrade 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 (which is why in reviews of motherboards with Intel chipsets For the seventh series, 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, you can balance the system for optimal performance using a more modern video card, increasing the volume random access memory and installing 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 throughput 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 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 when we motherboards the middle class is running out 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 fastest SSDs are often constrained by the width of the SATA 6 Gb/s interface, it is logical to assume that 3 Gb/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 considered to be some of the fastest drives out there right now, these results apply to most high-end SSDs 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. Samsung provides a five-year warranty for the 840 Pro line.
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.
Technical Samsung specifications 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 under Windows control 7 s motherboard Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3, Intel processor Core i5-2500K 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" platters, it showed the highest speed among competing hard drives. Read 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, 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 many tasks typical for 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.
- Loading and Adobe Photoshop. After downloading, 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:
- Load a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation and then close 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 built-in ABBYY FineReader 11 benchmarks and test page conversion.
- 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. When randomly reading and writing in 4 KB blocks, the fastest HDD is simply not able to compete with an SSD. 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 various profiles I/O
We used the database, web server and workstation profiles 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.
Analysis shows that downloading applications and importing images into Windows Photo Gallery over SATA 6Gb/s is faster than over 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 the 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 the drives as a percentage relative to the 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 here are the additional 23 seconds that the same powerful system, but only with a HDD (even as fast as VelociRaptor) you will definitely feel it.
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.), then 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 regular hard drive to solid state drive. Moreover, they create the illusion that a modern platform is needed 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 boost in system responsiveness even using a SATA 3Gbps connector. 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.
SATA(Serial ATA) - a serial interface for data exchange with storage devices, usually hard drives.
SATA is a development of the ATA (IDE) interface, which after the advent of SATA was renamed PATA (Parallel ATA).
The SATA standard originally specified a bus speed of 1.5 GHz, providing approximately 1.2 Gbps (150 MB/s) of bandwidth.
The 20% performance loss is due to the use of the 8B/10B encoding system, in which for every 8 bits useful information there are 2 service bits.
The bandwidth of SATA I (SATA/150) is slightly higher than that of the Ultra ATA bus (UDMA/133).
The main advantage of SATA over PATA is the use of a serial bus instead of a parallel one.
The SATA II standard (SATA/300) operates at 3 GHz and provides throughput up to 2.4 Gbps (300 MB/s).
SATA connectors on the motherboard
Theoretically, SATA I and SATA II devices should be compatible (both SATA/300 controller and SATA/150 device, and SATA/150 controller and SATA/300 device) due to support for speed matching (downward), however, for some devices and controllers require manual setting of the operating mode (for example, on Seagate HDDs that support SATA/300, a special jumper is provided to force the SATA/150 mode on).
IN currently the SATA-2.5 standard, complementing the previous ones and combining previous standards into one document, there is no longer a division into SATA I and SATA II.
It provides the ability to increase operating speed up to 600 Mbit/s (6 GHz).
To be extremely precise, this is a planned step-by-step promotion of three generations of the Serial ATA interface to the market - the second should provide speeds of up to 300 Mb/s, and the third, accordingly, up to 600 Mb/s.
SATA data connector
SATA uses a 7-pin connector instead of PATA's 40-pin connector.
The SATA standard provides for hot-plug devices and a command queuing (NCQ) function.
LVDS technology is used for signal transmission.
The SATA cable has a smaller area, which reduces the resistance to air blowing across the computer components and improves system cooling.
Due to its shape, it is more resistant to multiple connections.
SATA power connector
The 15-pin 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 4-pin Molex.
Using both types of power connectors at the same time may damage the device.
Pinout
G- grounding (Ground)
R- reserved
D1+, D1-- data transmission channel from the controller to the device
D2+, D2-- data transmission channel from the device to the controller
The wires of each pair (D1+, D1- and D2+, D2-) are shielded twisted pairs.
The SATA standard abandoned the traditional PATA connection of two devices per cable; each device has a separate cable, which reduces delays when two devices operate simultaneously on the same cable, reduces possible problems during assembly (there is no problem of Slave/Master device conflict for SATA).
eSATA logo
eSATA(External SATA) - connection interface external devices.
eSATA Specifications:
Requires two cables for connection: a data bus and a power cable;
. The maximum length of the data cable is 2 m;
. Average practical speed data transfer is higher than USB or IEEE 1394;
. Significantly less load CPU;
. Purpose: external and internal connection of devices;
. It has built-in error control tools - ECC, so that data integrity is guaranteed;
. Supports hot-plug mode.
There is also a standard SAS(Serial Attached SCSI), which provides connection via the SATA bus to devices controlled by a set of SCSI commands.
Being backward compatible with SATA, it theoretically makes it possible to connect any devices controlled by the SCSI command set via this interface - not only a hard drive, but also scanners, printers, etc.
Compared to SATA, SAS provides a more advanced topology, allowing parallel connection one device over two or more buses.
Bus expanders are also supported, allowing you to connect several SAS devices to one port.
Hello! We looked at the device in detail hard drive, but I didn’t specifically say anything about interfaces - that is, ways of interaction between the hard drive and other computer devices, or more specifically, ways of interacting (connecting) the hard drive and the computer.
Why didn't you say so? But because this topic is worthy of no less than an entire article. Therefore, today we will analyze in detail the most popular hard drive interfaces at the moment. I’ll immediately make a reservation that the article or post (whichever is more convenient for you) this time will have an impressive size, but unfortunately there’s no way to go without it, because if you write briefly, it will turn out to be completely unclear.
Computer hard drive interface concept
First, let's define the concept of "interface". Speaking in simple language(namely, I will express myself to them as much as possible, because the blog is on ordinary people designed for people like you and me), interface - the way devices interact with each other and not only devices. For example, many of you have probably heard about the so-called “friendly” interface of a program. What does it mean? This means that the interaction between a person and a program is easier, not requiring much effort on the part of the user, compared to a “non-friendly” interface. In our case, the interface is simply a way of interaction between the hard drive and the computer motherboard. It is a set of special lines and a special protocol (a set of data transfer rules). That is, purely physically, it is a cable (cable, wire), on both sides of which there are inputs, and on the hard drive and motherboard there are special ports (places where the cable is connected). Thus, the concept of interface includes the connecting cable and ports located on the devices it connects.
Well, now for the “juice” of today’s article, let’s go!
Types of interaction between hard drives and computer motherboard (types of interfaces)
So, first in line we will have the most “ancient” (80s) of all, it can no longer be found in modern HDDs, this is the IDE interface (aka ATA, PATA).
IDE- translated from English “Integrated Drive Electronics”, which literally means “built-in controller”. It was only later that IDE began to be called an interface for data transfer, since the controller (located in the device, usually in hard drives And optical drives) and the motherboard needed to be connected with something. It (IDE) is also called ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment), it turns out something like “Advanced Connection Technology”. The fact is that ATA - parallel data interface, for which soon (literally immediately after the release of SATA, which will be discussed below) it was renamed PATA (Parallel ATA).
What can I say, although the IDE was very slow (the data transfer bandwidth ranged from 100 to 133 megabytes per second in different versions of the IDE - and even then purely theoretically, in practice it was much less), but it allowed you to simultaneously connect two devices to the motherboard at once , using one loop.
Moreover, in the case of connecting two devices at once, the line capacity was divided in half. However, this is far from the only drawback of the IDE. The wire itself, as can be seen from the figure, is quite wide and, when connected, will take up the lion's share of the free space in the system unit, which will negatively affect the cooling of the entire system as a whole. All in all IDE is already outdated morally and physically, for this reason the IDE connector is no longer found on many modern motherboards, although until recently they were still installed (in the amount of 1 piece) on budget motherboards and on some boards in the mid-price segment.
The next interface, no less popular than the IDE in its time, is SATA (Serial ATA), a characteristic feature of which is serial data transmission. It is worth noting that at the time of writing this article is the most widespread for use in PCs.
There are 3 main variants (revisions) of SATA that differ from each other throughput: rev. 1 (SATA I) - 150 Mb/s, rev. 2 (SATA II) - 300 Mb/s, rev. 3 (SATA III) - 600 Mb/s. But this is only in theory. In practice, the writing/reading speed of hard drives usually does not exceed 100-150 MB/s, and the remaining speed is not yet in demand and only affects the speed of interaction between the controller and the HDD cache memory (increases the disk access speed).
Among the innovations we can note - backwards compatible all versions of SATA (a disk with a SATA rev. 2 connector can be connected to a motherboard with a SATA rev. 3 connector, etc.), improved appearance and ease of connecting/disconnecting the cable, increased cable length compared to IDE (1 meter maximum, versus 46 cm on the IDE interface), support NCQ functions starting from the first revision. I hasten to please owners of old devices that do not support SATA - they exist adapters from PATA to SATA, this is a real way out of the situation, allowing you to avoid wasting money on buying a new motherboard or a new hard drive.
Also, unlike PATA, the SATA interface provides for “hot-swappable” hard drives, which means that when the power is on system unit computer, you can attach/detach hard drives. True, to implement it you will need to delve a little into BIOS settings and enable AHCI mode.
Next in line - eSATA (External SATA)- was created in 2004, the word "external" indicates that it is used to connect external hard drives. Supports " hot swap"disks. The length of the interface cable has been increased compared to SATA - the maximum length is now two meters. eSATA is not physically compatible with SATA, but has the same bandwidth.
But eSATA is far from the only way to connect external devices to a computer. For example FireWire- consistent high speed interface for connecting external devices, including HDD.
Supports hot swapping of hard drives. In terms of bandwidth it is comparable to USB 2.0, and with the advent of USB 3.0 it even loses in speed. However, it does have the advantage that FireWire is able to provide isochronous data transmission, which facilitates its use in digital video, since it allows data to be transmitted in real time. Sure, FireWire is popular, but not as popular as, for example, USB or eSATA. It is used quite rarely to connect hard drives; in most cases, FireWire is used to connect various multimedia devices.
USB (Universal Serial Bus), perhaps the most common interface used to connect external hard drives, flash drives and solid-state drives (SSD). As in the previous case, there is support for “hot swapping”, a rather large maximum length of the connecting cable is up to 5 meters when using USB 2.0, and up to 3 meters when using USB 3.0. It is probably possible to make the cable longer, but in this case the stable operation of the devices will be in question.
Transmission speed USB data 2.0 is about 40 Mb/s, which is generally a low figure. Yes, of course, for ordinary everyday work with files, a channel bandwidth of 40 Mb/s is enough, but as soon as we talk about working with large files, you will inevitably begin to look towards something faster. But it turns out there is a way out, and its name is USB 3.0, the bandwidth of which, compared to its predecessor, has increased 10 times and is about 380 Mb/s, that is, almost the same as SATA II, even a little more.
There are two types of contacts USB cable, these are type "A" and type "B", located at opposite ends of the cable. Type "A" - controller (motherboard), type "B" - connected device.
USB 3.0 (Type "A") is compatible with USB 2.0 (Type "A"). Types "B" are not compatible with each other, as can be seen from the figure.
Thunderbolt(Light Peak). In 2010 by Intel the first computer with this interface was demonstrated, and a little later, the no less famous Apple company. Thunderbolt is quite cool (how could it be otherwise, Apple knows what is worth investing in), is it worth talking about its support for such features as: the notorious “hot swap”, simultaneous connection with several devices at once, truly “huge” data transfer speed (20 times faster than USB 2.0).
The maximum cable length is only 3 meters (apparently more is not necessary). However, despite all the listed advantages, Thunderbolt is not yet “massive” and is used mainly in expensive devices.
Go ahead. Next up we have a couple of very similar interfaces - SAS and SCSI. Their similarity lies in the fact that they are both used primarily in servers where high performance and the shortest possible hard disk access time are required. However, there is also a flip side to the coin - all the advantages of these interfaces are offset by the price of devices that support them. Hard drives that support SCSI or SAS are much more expensive.
SCSI(Small Computer System Interface) - a parallel interface for connecting various external devices (not just hard drives).
It was developed and standardized even somewhat earlier than the first version of SATA. IN fresh version SCSI has hot-swappable support.
SAS(Serial Attached SCSI), which replaced SCSI, was supposed to solve a number of the latter's shortcomings. And I must say - he succeeded. The fact is that, due to its “parallelism,” SCSI used a common bus, so only one of the devices could work with the controller at a time; SAS does not have this drawback.
Plus, it's backwards compatible with SATA, which is definitely a big plus. Unfortunately, the cost of hard drives with a SAS interface is close to the cost of SCSI hard drives, but there is no way to get rid of this; you have to pay for speed.
If you are not tired yet, I suggest you consider another interesting way to connect an HDD - NAS(Network Attached Storage). Currently network systems data storage (NAS) are very popular. Essentially, this is a separate computer, a kind of mini-server, responsible for storing data. It connects to another computer via network cable and controlled from another computer via regular browser. All this is needed in cases where large disk space is required, which is used by several people at once (in the family, at work). Data from the network storage is transferred to user computers either via a regular cable (Ethernet) or by Wi-Fi assistance. In my opinion, a very convenient thing.
I think that's all for today. I hope you liked the material, I suggest you subscribe to blog updates so as not to miss anything (form in the upper right corner) and we will meet you in the next blog articles.
When assembling a computer or changing its components, the user is often faced with a huge number of interfaces. It’s not easy to deal with them right away, because, firstly, there are a lot of them, and secondly, they have some varieties. This often raises questions: what is SATA or ATA? At the same time, it is also important to understand the types of this interface, the differences and tasks.
Interface
Before we understand what SATA is, we need to briefly explain what an interface is. This is an interaction element that consists of signal lines, a controller and a set of rules.
Any computer system cable interacts with the device and the motherboard. One end of the interface connects to a specific piece of equipment, and the other end connects to a connector on the platform.
Data exchange
What is SATA? This interface has serial data exchange with devices that accumulate information. Speaking as an example, SATA is currently used to connect the hard drive to the motherboard.
This interface has recently become universal, since it took into account the mistakes of past inventions and turned out to be the most suitable for connecting a hard drive to the system.
SATA has a 7-pin connector, while its predecessor PATA had 40 pins. In this regard, the size of the interface was significantly reduced, which also resulted in a decrease in air resistance. Thus, it became much easier to organize the cooling system, and the air accelerated by its coolers began to reach all the batteries.
Another positive feature of the SATA cable is its resistance to multiple connections. Manufacturers made sure that the power cord had high-quality and durable materials.
Another change was the principle of connecting cables. Previously, when the PATA interface was popular, connections were made in pairs. One cable could connect two devices. Now each component is connected with one cable.
This change has affected the technology of equipment collaboration. In addition, problems with system configuration have been significantly reduced, and problems with the use of non-terminated loops have disappeared.
Variations
Since the world learned what SATA is, this interface has survived two generations. In addition, he has a huge number of modifications for different devices. Among the main types there are 1, 2 and 3 revisions. SATA also acquired many modifications and adapters.
First revision
HDD SATA first appeared in 2003. This was the first attempt to create an interface. The bus operated at a speed of 1500 MHz. At the same time, the throughput did not exceed 150 MB/s. So many compared this revision with Ultra ATA, which had slightly lower data transfer rates.
However, some innovations can be highlighted. Firstly, the serial bus replaced the parallel one. Secondly, this entailed operation at higher speeds. Thirdly, the problem of channel synchronization has disappeared. This invention was revolutionary in computer technology.
Second revision
SATA 2 was not long in coming and appeared in an updated format. It began to operate at a frequency of 3000 MHz. At the same time, the throughput was equal to 300 MB/s net. When manufacturers of other mechanisms saw the potential in this interface, they began to use it in their new products. As a result, Nvidia was the first to produce new devices, using this interface in the chipset.
The new product was supposed to work with the previous SATA revision. But many users were faced with the fact that some devices and controllers required manual intervention in operating modes. So, some manufacturers have introduced special jumpers to switch between SATA 1 and SATA 2.
Third revision
SATA 3 also did not take long to arrive and appeared already in 2008. This revision acquired a throughput of 6 Gbit/s gross. In addition to the fact that the new interface is faster, there are also improved power management. Taking into account the mistakes of previous revisions, the developers thought about the compatibility of all previously released interfaces in this series.
SATA III was later developed. This is how two more types appeared.
SATA Revision 3.1 received quite a lot of significant and not so significant changes. For example, an mSATA option has appeared for mobile devices. WITH new technology The zero-power interface no longer requires energy in sleep mode. The performance of solid-state drives has also improved, overall energy consumption has decreased, and host identification capabilities have also appeared.
This was followed by SATA Revision 3.2. Typically this version is also called Express. In general, this interface interacted with classic SATA, but in this case the carrier interface became PCI Express, as is clear from the name. All this led to changes in the port design. The new product received two long SATA ports, which made it possible to connect both hard drives and drives that work with SATA Express. One of the connectors operated at a speed of 8 Gbit/s, and the second - 16 Gbit/s.
Along with this revision, a modification of micro SSD became known. It was designed specifically for embedded storage small size.
"Hot swap"
Devices evolved, and with them new variations of interfaces appeared. A little later than the first revision of SATA, the eSATA variant appeared on the market. This interface involved connecting equipment in hot-swappable mode.
What kind of mode is this? “Hot swap” allows you to connect or disconnect a device to a system that can still operate continuously. In this case, you do not need to turn off the computer to connect the hard drive to it.
The eSATA option has its own characteristics:
- The interface turned out to be less fragile and could also have a larger number of connections than SATA. The only problem was that both interfaces turned out to be incompatible.
- Required connection of two cables.
- The wire length has increased. This was done in order to compensate for the loss of signal level changes.
- Transfer rates were above average.
To use this connector, a special mode had to be enabled in the Windows operating system. To do this, you had to go to the BIOS and select Advanced Host Controller Interface.
In this case, many users have encountered such a problem that operating system may have stopped loading. But this was only at the time of the popularity of Windows XP, which was connected to a controller with ATA modes. Now this problem is not at all relevant, since this operating system is practically not used, and new ones do not have such a problem.
eSATA modification
Initially, SATA was associated with a hard drive. But many developers began to create modified versions. This is how Power eSATA was born. This option combined eSATA and USB. The interface made it possible to simultaneously use a Power Over eSATA cable and connect a drive without any adapters.
Mini version
The classic SATA interface also has its own modifications. In 2009, the Mini-SATA connector became known. It is now defined as a form factor for solid-state drives that have a smaller connector relative to hard drives.
Mini-SATA works in laptops and other devices that operate with small SSD drives. Most likely, mSATA originated from the PCI Express Minin Card interface. Both connectors are electrically compatible, but have different signals.
SATA adapters
Looking at the wide variety of SATA variations and its various modifications, it becomes clear that for all this goodness you need to buy adapters. Of course, adapters are not always needed. But there are devices that have an outdated connection type and require an appropriate interface.
The most popular adapter is SATA to IDE and vice versa. Since the IDE is an outdated version, the need for adapters has practically disappeared. Previously, this question was relevant, since many devices, including motherboards, worked with ATA. Now all equipment works on different revisions of SATA (mainly on the third), and therefore does not require adapters.
The question about adapters may be relevant in the case of more modern interfaces. So, some users are looking for an mSATA-M.2 or USB-SATA adapter.
Adapters are easy to find. There are especially many of them in popular Chinese online stores. By the way, this is where such mechanisms are most often ordered.
conclusions
The SATA connector has a long history. It develops and every year acquires new modifications that turn out to be much faster and more effective. Like any other interface, it is assumed that this one will soon be replaced by another improved version, which will appear with an increased data transfer rate.
SATA is already an established and undeniable format, which is why it is not often remembered, however, the generational hierarchy of this format itself forces the issue of compatibility to be raised from time to time. So for example SATA 2 and SATA 3, are they compatible? First of all, this applies to the use of solid-state drives (SSD), as well as the latest models of hard drives connected to motherboards, released here. Let’s say right away that yes, these formats are compatible, except that you will lose in data transfer speed.
The circuit design and operation of sata interfaces of different generations are identical: the design of the connector allows the connection of SATA 2 or SATA 3 without restrictions, there are no threats to the equipment if the connected device does not match the connector.
So, there are no design differences between SATA 2 and SATA 3. Take a look. Looks the same!
By definition, SATA 2 is a data exchange interface with a throughput of up to 3 Gbit/s, while SATA 3 provides higher transfer speeds of up to 6 Gbit/s.
Both versions have a seven-pin connector. If we are talking about hard drives, the differences regular work We won’t notice between connecting the device via SATA 3 and SATA 2 interface.
However, the mechanics of the hard drive do not provide high speeds; the speed of 200 MB/s (with 3 Gbit/s maximum throughput) can be considered the limit.
The release of hard drives with the SATA 3 interface can be considered a more “mandatory” progress. Such drives are connected to SATA 2 ports without loss of data exchange speed.
Solid state drives are a completely different matter. SSD devices are available only with a SATA 3 interface. Although you can connect them to a SATA 2 port without threatening the system, however high speeds reads and writes are lost.
The indicators drop by about half, so the very use of expensive devices does not justify itself. On the other hand, due to technological features, an SSD will work faster than a hard drive even when connected to SATA2, even losing half the speed.
The SATA 3 interface works for more high frequency, how previous version, so that latency is minimized, and a SATA 3 SSD connected to a SATA 2 port will perform better than HDD with SATA 2. Let's say right away that such an improvement will not be nearly as high as it could be, but it will show better readings during testing. For SSD drives SATA 3 provides more convenient power supply and lower power consumption, which is also important. Finally SSD SATA drives 3 are silent because they have no mechanical moving parts.
Also, something else worth mentioning is the corresponding software for SSD (SATA3). Windows7 and higher are able to optimize the operation of device memory cells by recording information chaotically rather than in an orderly manner, which does not require defragmentation. As a result, this will have a positive effect on the resource of SSD devices.
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