3 Things to Know About SATA Network Cables and Adapters
The cables that connect a computer's internal parts are critical to its functioning. Serial AT attachment (SATA) is the standard for cables that connect the computer's hard drive to its motherboard, making the drive available for the computer to use.
What is SATA?SATA is a type of computer bus cable that is used to connect a host to a mass storage device; a common use for this type of cable is to connect a computer's motherboard to a hard disk drive, solid-state drive, or other mass storage device. Because SATA cables are used to connect hard drives to motherboards, they are indispensable components in any computer. They carry every single bit of data that is stored on your computer's hard drive.
How fast can SATA transfer data?SATA 3.3 is capable of transferring data at a rate of 16 gigabits per second (Gb/s), which translates to 1969 megabytes per second (MB/s).
What are the features of SATA?There are several features of this standard, such as fast speeds. They also can connect multiple drives to a motherboard, and SATA cables can be made long enough to go from one side of a computer case to the other. The list below describes these features in further detail:
- Speed: The numerous revisions to SATA through the years have included various speed increases from 150 MB/s to nearly 2000 MB/s. These speeds are significantly faster than most hard drives, leaving the door open for technology to continue improving without having to worry about needing to change the design of the cables that connect them to support it.
- Multidrive support: Most computer motherboards have as many as six different SATA connectors with male and female connectors, which leaves open the possibility for you to add more drives to expand the storage and networking capabilities of the computer. With six drives hooked up to the motherboard, a computer would likely have more storage capacity than you would ever use in most situations.
- Length: If the cable were too short, then the locations where you would be able to put the hard drive in a desktop would be severely limited. Even without a SATA extension cable, the cable length can be as long as 3.3 feet in length, which is more than long enough to facilitate placing the computer's hard drive anywhere in the case. There's no need to worry about finding an extension cable or adapter to reach that far.