What is SATA?
Q: What is SATA?
A: SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) is a standard that has been defined to connect storage devices or optical drives to a computer.
Q: What was the standard used before SATA?
A: The most common standard that was used beforehand was called ATA or IDE; it has been renamed PATA.
Q: How do the cables of SATA and PATA differ?
A: The main difference between the two lies in the cables; SATA cables have seven wires, while PATA cables have 40 or 80.
Q: Is it common for desktop computers to use SATA?
A: As of 2022, almost all desktop computers have a SATA interface.
Q: Are there any computers that still use PATA?
A: Yes, some old computers still use PATA and are mostly used for industrial applications and embedded systems.
Q: Do laptops usually have a SATA interface?
A: No, some laptops do not have a SATA interface; they have an M.2 NVME interface to connect NVME SSDs which are based on the PCIE standard. Some laptops also have an embedded flash memory.
Q: Will laptop computers continue to use SATA in the future?
A: Most likely no; in the future, laptops (and some computers) will replace their current interfaces with M.2 NVME SSDs instead of using SATA.
