Power cable - start of the beginning

Power is one of the most important components that ensure the efficiency of not only the computer, but also any other technology. Therefore, for the smooth operation of a variety of devices, it is simply necessary to have high-quality cables, through which an electric current would be delivered. The power cable for the computer is made by several different technological solutions.

One such solution is the SATA cable, which is a serial interface for exchanging information with a hard drive with an integrated power cord. Its development has become a logical continuation of the parallel interface development.

The structure that this power cable has is different from the structure of any one functioning before it. So, SATA uses a connector for seven contacts (while its predecessor was characterized by the presence of forty contacts). This makes it possible to greatly simplify wiring in the computer. Also, this power cable does not interfere with the free distribution of chilled air, which should protect the components from overheating.

Physically, the SATA power cable is implemented in such a way that it is practically not affected by the multiple connection-detachment. Specificity of supplying voltage of three different values allows you to safely move from using older technologies to new ones.

This power cable does not allow two devices to be connected to the same loop at the same time. A prerequisite is the availability of a separate SATA for each of the connected devices. This allows you to significantly increase the processing speed of information, and also eliminate the problem of connecting several devices using the Slave / Master technology.

The main disadvantage of the SATA power cable is the impossibility of "hot swapping". This makes the work inconvenient and time-consuming, compared to the connections that are made by a parallel cable.

Today, there are as far as version development of the SATA cable. In the very first development, the transmission was realized at a frequency of one and a half gigahertz, which determined the throughput of about one hundred and fifty megabytes per second. But for her there was one drawback - large performance losses (about twenty percent), since for every eight bits of useful information there were two bits of service information.

The second version of the development of the SATA cable allowed to provide operation at a frequency of twice as large - three gigahertz, thereby doubling the bandwidth. In addition, the new version could work together with the old, thanks to the speed matching function.

July 2008 was marked by the release of a new, third version. The frequency was doubled compared to the second version, which naturally increased the bandwidth to six hundred megabytes per second.

The use of a serial bus to replace the parallel allowed to increase the frequency of data transmission and significantly improve the reliability of power.