The Disadvantages

Hard drives are currently the only thing that is being supported by SATA. That means you cannot buy CD or DVD drives that can support this new standard. In addition, Windows XP does not natively recognize SATA drives so you will need to install SATA drivers manually.

As with any new technology, Serial ATA drives and controllers will be significantly more expensive than their Parallel ATA counterparts, at least until Parallel ATA devices are phased out. Although there is a reduction in cable size, the point-to-point connection means you now have to use two cables for two drives, instead of just one with Parallel ATA.

How Will I Benefit?

Of course, you are probably wondering, "What do I get out of this?".

Well, not only is Serial ATA fully application transparent, it will also give you a boost of about 5% in speed, compared to your current PATA drive. The higher data rates cannot be fully utilized yet.

The smaller and more flexible cable are an advantage when it comes to air flow and thermodynamics. It also allows the possibility of higher data rates in the future that PATA drives will never be able to achieve. Hard drive manufacturers will also have an easier time with the smaller pin counts as they allow for faster and cheaper production.

Of course, being jumperless, SATA allows easy installation of hard drives. You won't run into the nightmare of installing a new hard drive only to boot up and discover that you forgot to configure its jumpers.

But mainly, you will know that your hard drive will never be the bottleneck in your computer. And there is always bragging rights. Do I hear SATA-RAID throw-downs? Sorry, I'm a nerd.