The SATA connection connects hard drives to modern PCs and laptops. The SATA standard consists of a data cable and a power cord that can be used separately or combined into a single cable.
Are you looking for an internal or external SATA cable? We have listed the best selling cables of various lengths. When ordering your cable, be sure to order the correct version of cable. Version II can be used up to 3Gb/s speed, version III can be used up to 6Gb/s speed.
Best SATA Cables:
What exactly is SATA?
SATA or Serial ATA is a computer connection specially designed for fast transfer of data between the computer motherboard and storage devices such as a hard disk and DVD or Blu-ray player. The SATA connection is the successor to the older parallel ATA. The Serial ATA connection has a number of advantages over the parallel ATA connection. The most striking is the much smaller cable. With parallel ATA a flat cable is used that has 40 or 80 wires. With Serial ATA, because the data bits are not sent parallel to each other but serially one after the other, only seven conductors are required for a data connection.
In addition, by using modern chipsets, a much higher transfer speed can be achieved. A SATA connection is also hot plugable. This means that a computer does not have to be switched off to connect or remove a hard drive or other peripheral devices. Many people already know the principle of hot plugable from connecting and disconnecting an external USB hard drive. When removing a hard disk, it is important to first disconnect the disk by software, to prevent data loss.
SATA data labels
Manufacturers release new, faster peripherals every year. This is why the SATA standard has been upgraded since its introduction in 2000. These upgrades are shown in Roman numerals with a version number.
Currently, SATA II and III are mainly used. These have a maximum transfer policy of 3 and 6 gigabit per second (Gb/s) respectively. If you have a flash drive version III and want to connect it to a version III connector on your motherboard, it is important to order a version III cable.
If you use a version II cable, you will not be able to achieve the maximum transfer speed, which results in a lower performance of your computer system than when using a version III cable.
Cable versions are backward compatible. So you can use a version III cable to a version II connection. The connector is the same for both versions. A SATA Cable may have a maximum length of 100 centimeters. This large maximum length facilitates the placement of storage equipment in a system cabinet. By using this new standard, computers and storage equipment can be built a lot more compact.
Sata Power Cables
Plugging the power supply will no longer use the familiar 4-pole Molex connector but a 15-pole connector. The use of a multi-pole power connector has a number of advantages and allows for the use of a power disable signaling compatible with the SAS standard.
The use of multiple parallel connector pins to supply power reduces transition resistance. Three supply voltages have been defined: 3.3, 5 and 12 volts. Many hard drives do not use the 3.3 volts jack. This allows a SATA device to be powered by a Molex jack, which only delivers 12 and 5 volts. For this purpose, better to use adapter plugs and adapter cables.
Conversely, you can power a Molex powered device from a SATA connector. For this purpose, we suggest using adapter plugs and adapter cables with one or more Molex 4-pole power connectors. For connecting power supply to SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) better to use sales cords, with which you can supply one or more SAS devices from a single SATA power connection.
SATA standards – eSATA and eSATAp
In addition to the internal cable, there is also a cable suitable for connecting external equipment, the eSATA cable. The “e” stands for external. This cable is specially designed to connect external equipment outside of a computer box. For this purpose, the eSATA cable is equipped with additional shielding to prevent external interference. The eSATA deliberately deviates from the normal Serial ATA plug to ensure that the correct cable is used for the right purpose.
eSATAp is an extension of the eSATA standard, which includes the transmission of power for the external equipment via cable and connector, in addition to data. In addition to the normal connectors, there are space-saving connectors that can be found in laptops. These are the Smart SATA and the Micro SATA connectors. To connect equipment with a Slim or Micro connector to a standard connector, you can buy adapter plugs and cords. If you do not have a SATA connection on your PC as standard, order a PCI card. You can insert this PCI card into a PC expansion slot, creating an internal or external Serial ATA connection.
