Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) is used for the storage components found within a computer. ATA-6, specifically, is one type of ATA that can be used in computers and it designates a newer, quicker model in comparison to older ATA-1+ models. An ATA cable, whether ATA-6 or another version, is easily noticed because it is a very wide, flat cable that is composed of 40 or 80 wires. These wires run parallel in a ribbon sheath. The connector on an ATA cable has 40-pins that can attach to a hard disk drive. On the other end the cable can attach to the EIDE interface on the motherboard.
What is ATA-6?
ATA-6 is the sixth generation of ATA. It’s other name is Ultra ATA/100 because its theoretical transfer speed is 100 megabytes per second. On top of that, it was also given the name ATA Packet Interface (ATAPI) 6. This is the specification used for commands that are specific to the CD-ROM function.
Going along with ATA-6 is something known as Ultra Direct Memory Access (UDMA)-5. This is the type of memory addressing used within the ATA-6. This includes a 48-bit Logical Block Addressing. This is important because LBA is written into the Bios. ATA and LBA have had a relationship going back to ATA-2 when a 28-bit LBA was used. These days, though, the 58-bit is used because it allows for a much faster data access.
The evolution of ATA is incredible. When ATA-1 was released, it was able to support hard drives of up to 137 megabytes. These days, though, the ATA-6 can handle up to 144 petabytes. In other words, an ATA-6 is able to support a drive that has about one million gigabytes.
ATA-6 is the last generation of drives and players built that use the conventional parallel ATA. The new ATA standard is to go with narrow, 4-wire cables in a classification known as Serial ATA (SATA). This allows for faster data transfer. The ATA-6 uses the older version, but all future versions–ATA-7 and ATA-8 so far–rely on the new technology.
When building a new computer, look for the ATA-7 or ATA-8 because these are the fastest that are currently out there. However, if you are in the market for an older drive, be sure to look for one that is compliant with ATA-6 because this will give the fastest speed possible. If your motherboard is compatible with SATA, though, go with that because it is even faster than the ATA-6.
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