ATA is a standard interface for storage components on IBM-type PCs. ATA/66 uses 80-wire cables for faster data transfer rates. SATA replaced PATA with smaller, faster cables. Older hard drives need PATA cables and some motherboards may not support SATA.
Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) is an interface standard for attaching storage components to an IBM-type personal computer. ATA/66, standardized in 1999, is a variety.
The original ATA interface used 40-wire parallel cables and had the ability to accommodate two drives on a single cable. This was achieved using a master/slave configuration. This basic model withstood the ATA/33 specification. With the introduction of ATA/66, 40-wire cables were replaced by 80-wire cables for even higher data transfer rates, theoretically reaching up to 66.6 megabytes per second (MBps). Both cable types continued to use 40-pin connectors.
The many designations for the various flavors of ATA that have developed over the years can be hard to keep straight. Other designations for ATA/66 are ATA-5, the standard it falls under, and Ultra ATA/66. The specification also corresponds to Ultra Direct Memory Access (UDMA) transfer modes 3-4. If that isn’t enough to confuse even a computer enthusiast, the name is sometimes used interchangeably with Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics (EIDE) and ATA Packet Interface (ATAPI-5). The ATAPI-5 standard incorporates additional commands to control CD-ROM and tape storage drives that use the specification.
All parallel ATA cables are limited to 18 inches (45.7 centimeters) in length. This makes them bad candidates for external devices and can also create difficulties inside the computer. Ultra-wide cables block airflow and are difficult to route.
This problem was finally solved by the latest generation of serial ATA (SATA). Four-wire SATA cables are thinner, with a smaller interface and faster data transfer speeds than the original ATA. The original ATA is now referred to as parallel ATA (PATA) to differentiate it from SATA.
Older hard drives built to the ATA/66 specification still require legacy PATA cables. If upgrading to a SATA drive, computer users need to be sure their motherboard supports SATA. Motherboards manufactured before 2004 may not include this support. Unlike ATA, SATA uses point-to-point control, which means that each drive has its own cable. For this reason, SATA-enabled motherboards typically have several SATA interfaces or the ability to run a redundant array of independent disks (RAID).
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