SATA-2

[LiamC]

I found this post over on Ace's about SATA-2. The answer from Maxtor seems a little disturbing. This could be another case of marketing triumphing over truth.

Basically it is saying that parts (all?) of the SATA-2 spec are optional--like support for faster transfers etc. I realise that at this point in time, the interface speed is meaningless but...

Does anybody know what is mandatory and what isn't?

http://www.aceshardware.com/forum?read=115094413

..."> Will SAS1 be able to run SATA2 drives at full speed (300MB/s)
> or will it run it at SATA1 speed (150MB/s)?
>
> Are there any native SATA2 drives or info on future ones available?

Here's a reply from Maxtor's Martin Czekalski

"The SAS 1 specification does include the signaling definitions for support of SATA 3Gb speeds. I would expect most HBA and expander silicon vendors to support this, but to know for sure you will need to ask your favorite HBA and expander supplier. Also keep in mind that SATA2 is a collection of specifications, all of which are optional. A device can call itself SATA2, but only support 1.5Gb/sec. For 3Gb/sec it must support the Gen2 Phy specification."

So Maxtors MaxLine III can claim to be a SATA2 device eventhough it only supports 150MB/s. It's USB2 vs. USB2.0 all over again. '...

 

[Santilli]

Liam, unless you raid, none of that stuff is going to matter. Those drives aren't going over 100 mb sec, anyway.

s

 

[blakerwry]

liam, S-ATA II is not S-ATA 2.0

S-ATA II is a set of optional extensions to S-ATA 1.0 it includes features like staggered spin up, NCQ/1st party DMA, specs for using backplanes, and a few more extra bits of icing.


It has nothing to do with speed. There is a mention of this information with a link to an article in the toolbox section or you can goto serialata.org to get a better idea of the specs.

 

[LiamC]

Hi all,

Bill will do fine--LiamC just came about because I needed a DJ nick many years ago and i used it online then--maybe I need a new nick. Suggestions?

PS thanks for the info blakerwry

 

[timwhit]

How about Bill? I don't think anyone is using it currently.

 

[blakerwry]

I'd prefer you stick to LiamC actually. ;-)

 

[Tea]

Have you retired that Athlon Classic yet Bill?

 

[LiamC]

I don't think I'll usurp "Bill" as a nick, it might upset a few of the old-timers! :lol: Says he who just celebrated his 42nd (21 again--woohoo!)

Hi Tony. Yep. Sent it off about a 6 months ago to a worthy home. It was a fine machine. Up there with one of the best machines that I've owned. Ran it at 650MHz for nearly all it's life, and it never missed a beat. That, a K6-200 and a T'bird AXIA 1 Gig that spent all it's life at 1400 or 1500 MHz are the pick of the machines that I remember most.