What is the difference between ATA and SATA hard disks?

SATA : ==== 1. Cables are very thin with small 7-pin connectors. They can be up to 3 feet (1 meter) in length, and are easily routed to stay out of the way allowing maximum airflow inside the case. 2. SATA has a far lower power requirement of just 250 mV 3. SATA does away with Master/Slave configurations and drive jumpers. Setup is greatly simplified, and the technology even allows hot-swapping, meaning drives can be removed or added while the computer is running. 4. It eliminates the transfer limit hit by ATA. First generation has a maximum transfer rate of 150 MB/ps, and SATA II delivers 300 MB/ps. A version set for 2008 will deliver 600 MB/ps. ATA : === 1. Cables are limited to 18 inches in length often made connections difficult & also clog cases blocking airflow. 2. ATA’s power requirement : 5-volt 3. ATA drives hit the maximum parallel transfer rate of 133 MB/ps

the leter s

Try the article sourced below.

Basically speed and stability. ATA hard drive out did the old ones with the 40 pin ribbon. ATA aka IDE doubled the amount of wires in the ribbon to 80. This allowed a connection between the drive and the PC at rates up to 133MBps. But now that manufactures are reaching the end of the practical usage for signaling they need another scheme to creat even faster transfer, hence the SATA(Serial Advance Technology Transfer). Serial means nothing to most people but serial technology was slow and cumbersome. That is why the parallel port was invented(many older printers were connected by the parallel port. Serial only transfered data one pit at a time rather than in a package of data. But special card enable SATA to use this technology more efficiently and quicker. Some predict with speeds past 300MBps. Gamers ough ya!! And because serial is simpler cabling you have thinner ribbons that does not empede air flow as the ATA ribbons are known for.

Good job, Hypocrisy_ce...!!