What Is the SATA Cable and the Different Types of It [MiniTool Wiki]

SATA

SATA is the abbreviation of Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. It is a standard interface for data access in modern IBM compatible computers. It is used to transfer data at an extremely high rate of 1.5 to 6 GB per second via a thin and compact SATA cable. Now, you can continue to read this post from MiniTool to get detailed information about the SATA cable.

Also see: What Does SATA Stand for? What Is SATA Drive?

SATA Cable

What is a SATA cable? The SATA cable is mainly used to connect the internal hard drive to the computer motherboard. It can also be used to connect a hard drive to a hard drive, and connect ATA and ATAPI devices to the computer motherboard, and connect to an external computer.

Through the SATA interface, the hard drive to the motherboard’s connection speed is very fast and high performance. Version 1 of the SATA cable can transfer 1.5 GB data per second, version 2 can transfer 3 GB data per second, and version 3 can transfer 6 GB data per second.

Types of SATA Cable

There are different types of SATA cable. If you want to learn about it, you can continue to read this part.

Micro SATA: Combined micro SATA, Molex 5V power, and SATA data cable for internal drives and backplane applications.

SATA Bracket: Dual-port eSATA expansion brackets to make your computer outputs compatible with eSATA drives.

SATA Bridge: Seamlessly connects ATA devices to a SATA motherboard or PCI card.

E-SATA: Connects externally to your computer with cable lengths ranging from 0.5-2m long.

Low Profile SATA: Ultra-thin SATA cables with low profile connectors that can be used with longer graphics cards.

SATA Power: Power adaptors, extensions, and splitters for SATA power and data cables.

SATA-SATA: Standard SATA cables in a variety of lengths.

Which SATA Cable You Need?

When installing new internal or external hardware on your computer, you need to know which SATA cable connection it needs so that you can connect the correct ports and cables. There are three main types of SATA cable connections for computers: standard two-connection SATA cables, three-connection SATA cables, and eSATA cables.

Here is how to determine which one you should choose:

Step 1: Use a SATA cable with 2 connection plugs.

Step 2: Check the connectors on the cable. If one of the connectors has 4 large pins inside, it is a standard SATA cable.

Step 3: Check the size of the cable connector. If both cable connectors are thin and do not have large pins, it is an eSATA cable.

Step 4: Use a SATA cable with 3 connection plugs. One plug will have 4 large connection pins and the other 2 will be thinner.

Also see: Look! Everything You Need to Know About eSATA External Hard Drive

SATA Cable VS PATA Cable

There are two hard drive connection types – PATA Cable or SATA cable. However, PATA is being phased out and completely replaced by SATA. Here is the information on SATA cable vs PATA cable.

Data Transfer Speed

PATA cable supports multitasking well when transferring data. This makes them much slower than the SATA power cable. The increased data transfer speed of the SATA a cable allows programs, pictures, and large files to load faster and smoother games.

Drive Support

Although there are usually only 2 PATA connections on the computer motherboard, there will usually be 4 to 6 SATA connections, which allows multiple SATA hard drives to be connected at once.

Cable Management

SATA cables are much thinner than PATA cables, which makes them easier to manage and control and keep the system tidy. SATA cables are also longer, up to 1 meter long, while the maximum length of PATA cables is 18 inches (approximately 45 cm).

Final Words

In conclusion, this post introduces the SATA cable. Hence, you will have a further understanding of the SATA cable after reading the post. What’s more, you can get information on the SATA cable vs PATA cable.