What's the difference between SATA and SAS Hard Drives?

When we talk about computer storage, hard drives are the main focus. The entire system's data is stored and processed through these storage devices. Whether the data consists of work-related applications or processing high-end games, hard drives ensure that the system works efficiently.  However, it is necessary to choose the right kind of hard drive for your system. SAS and SATA Hard Drives are two different types of hard drives used with different connectors on them. Before diving into the differences, let’s define what each of these terms means.

 

What is SATA Hard Drives

SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) hard drives can read and write data to and from data storage including SSDs or HDDs. These storage devices can be found on servers, laptops, desktops, and gaming consoles. These drives are also compatible with PlayStation 3 and 4 and Xbox 360 and One. Moreover, SATA hard drives are available in different form factors. For instance, desktop SATA drives are available in 3.5-inch form factors, whereas SATA HDDs for laptops are more compact and come in 2.5-inch HDDs. Further, SATA can be implemented in two ways i.e., SATA connector and SATA cable that has a connector attached to it which goes through the motherboard and meets another SATA connector. Also, these connections have two conductors one for sending data while the other for receiving data. All of this consists of one cable.

What is SAS Hard Drives

SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) hard drives accommodate high speed at a high level of reliability making it capable of catering to intensive workloads. Further, there are two types of SAS HDDs i.e., 10K and 15K. Also, these devices can accommodate around 10000 to 15000 revolutions per minute, respectively. Also, the storage capacity for SAS HDDs ranges from 300GB to 900GB. As for power consumption, these drives consume 5 to 7 watts when they are not being used whereas, 10-14 watts while working through the applications.

 

Key Differences Between SATA and SAS Hard Drives

Choosing between SATA hard drive and SAS Hard drive can be a difficult choice as both of these drives are different in more ways than one. For instance, SATA can host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as optical drives, optical drives, and solid state drives, whereas, SAS HDDs can support SAS technology for transferring data among devices.

 

Following are the few differences between SATA and SAS HDDs.

Specifications	SATA	SAS
Abbreviation	Serial Advanced Technology Attachment	Serial Attached SCSI
Capacity	Higher capacity	Lower capacity
Reliability	Less reliable	More reliable
Speed	Slower	Faster
Bandwidth	Less Bandwidth	More Bandwidth
Cable size	1-meter long cable	10-meter-long cable
Pricing	Economical	Expensive
Application	Suitable for consumer use	Suitable for enterprise usage

 

Get the best deals on SATA and SAS Hard Drives

To enhance your system’s performance, we offer the best deals on hard drives from top brands including Dell, HP, IBM, Hitachi, and more. Also, you can find the Best Hard Drive For NAS at very competitive prices with free ground shipping in the USA. In case of any queries regarding the hard drives, please reach out to our computer experts through live chat.