Hard drives turn a corner

Serial-ATA technology set to take off, predicts analyst

The hard drive market is set for a revolution far sooner than once thought, as super-fast Serial-ATA (S-ATA) technology takes off.

According to market analyst iSuppli, S-ATA hard drives will begin to replace parallel drives in desktop systems en masse this year as manufacturers deliver on their promises.

It also maintains that the performance of S-ATA drive technology will make it a common sight in entry-level servers.

S-ATA offers a significant performance leap-over parallel ATA drive, with first-generation products boasting data transfer speeds of 150Mbps.

Firms including Seagate, Western Digital and Maxtor have all announced product releases.

"There are two key reasons why S-ATA drives are set to become a desktop standard," said Matthew Wilkins, senior analyst at iSuppli. "The first is performance, with current generation drives offering 150Mbps transfer rates.

"The second is the reduced size of S-ATA drive particulars, which include a lower-pin count and thinner cabling.

"The smaller size of these drives opens the way towards much smaller PC design and the cabling allows for much better airflow around the chassis. Lowering the temperature inside the box is vital as today's processors keep getting faster and hotter."

The other key advantage to S-ATA is its future scalability, with second-and third-generation drives already mapped out.

Next year, second-generation drives will be twice as fast, offering data transfer speeds of 300Mbps while third-generation drives - currently due for release in 2007 - will hit 600Mbps.

At the moment, there are a small number of S-ATA hard drives available and others have been demonstrated, but volume availability is not there yet.

Seamus Twohig, product marketing manager at Ideal, said: "Seagate was the first to market and any delays have been because it has had to supply a market hungry for early products, almost as a sole supplier.

"Volumes are small at present and will not increase until other vendors enter the market, in June or July, and relieve the pressure."