For almost 20 years the Parallel ATA interface (or IDE as we all know it) has been the dominant connection type for mass storage data transfer in PCs. Now it's reaching its performance limit, the time has come for a new interface to enter the fray; Serial ATA (SATA).

Serial ATA 1.0 goes past the current 133MB/s transfer rate limit of ATA with a maximum transfer rate of 150MB/s. Not a huge increase, but SATA is expected to come on stream in three stages; the current 1.0, followed by SATA II Phase 1, which will provided hot swapability and other features more in tune with server and network solutions, then finally SATA II Phase 2, which will hopefully see transfer rates of 300MB/s.

However, for most people the biggest plus point of SATA drives isn't the increased bandwidth they offer but the ease of installation and the thinness of the data cables. Serial ATA uses a much thinner and more flexible cable than IDE, with very small connectors that are easier to fit. The same applies to the power connector; gone is the old 4-pin Molex and in its place is a thin, 15-pin edge connector.

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Also, because the motherboard connectors take up so little space, manufacturers have the chance to put more of them on the board, which allows for single-device-per-port application and no more master/slave worries.

The first SATA drive to hit the street is the serial version of Seagate's popular Barracuda V ATA drive, which is available in both 80GB and 120GB models. The ST3120023AS has a capacity of 120GB which, like the parallel version of this drive, is achieved by using two 60GB platters. It also features an 8MB buffer, something that contributes more to this drive's improvement in performance than the addition of SATA. It has a spin speed of 7,200rpm.

With SATA still in its infancy, it comes as no real surprise that the ST3120023AS is beaten in performance tests by other 8MB buffered hard drives already available, but it does offer much better error correction than any ATA drive out there.

One thing that the whole of the Barracuda series is known for is quietness of operation, and the ST3120023AS upholds this tradition. It does run a little warmer than its ATA brethren but with adequate ventilation, helped by the thinner cable, this shouldn't pose any problems.

Seagate provides a rather measly one year warranty with the ST3120023AS (Western Digital 8MB buffer drives come with three year warranties) but like all of its current drives this one comes with Seagate's 3D Defense System, a drive protection package that goes from the delivery packaging (called SeaShell) through to an array of data protection utilities built into the drive, plus a range of diagnostic software utilities.

The addition of SATA doesn't do much in the way of improving the performance of the Barracuda series - the drives aren't yet using all that bandwidth - but the 8MB cache certainly does. This always was a quiet family of drives, but other manufacturers have now caught up and offer equally quiet drives with better performance. But for ease of installation and neatness of layout, nothing beats Serial ATA, and the performance is likely to swiftly improve as more drives with this interface hit the market.