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Answer» As is well known, SATA is the new hard drive in interface that is on all new PCs and laptops.
What about then variations of SATA? Does it matter?
Here are some quotes for a Wikipedia article.
Quote http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA
Serial ATA (SATA) is a computer bus interface that connects host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives and optical drives. Serial ATA replaces the older AT Attachment standard (ATA; later referred to as Parallel ATA or PATA), OFFERING several advantages over the older interface: reduced cable size and cost (seven conductors instead of 40), native hot swapping, faster data transfer through higher signalling rates, and more efficient transfer through an (optional) I/O queuing protocol.
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Connectors and cables present the most visible differences between SATA and parallel ATA drives. Unlike PATA, the same connectors are used on 3.5-inch (89 mm) SATA hard disks for desktop or server computers and 2.5-inch (64 mm) disks for portable or small computers.
Standard SATA connectors for both data and power have a conductor pitch of 1.27 mm (0.050").
A smaller mini-SATA or mSATA connector is used by smaller devices such as 1.8" SATA drives, some DVD and Blu-ray drives, and mini SSDs.[20]
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eSATAp stands for powered eSATA. It is also known as Power over eSATA, Power eSATA, eSATA/USB Combo, or eSATA USB Hybrid Port (EUHP). An eSATAp port combines the 4 pins of the USB 2.0 (or earlier) port, the 7 pins of the eSATA port, and optionally two 12-volt power pins.[28] Both SATA traffic and device power are integrated in a single cable, as is the case with USB but not eSATA. Power at 5 volts is provided through two USB pins; power at 12 Volts may optionally be provided. Typically desktop, but not notebook, computers provide 12 volt power, so can power devices requiring this voltage, typically 3.5" disk and CD/DVD drives, in ADDITION to 5 volt devices such as 2.5" drives.
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SATA and SCSI
Parallel SCSI uses a more complex bus than SATA, usually resulting in higher manufacturing costs. SCSI buses also allow connection of several drives on one shared channel, whereas SATA allows one drive per channel, unless using a port multiplier. Serial Attached SCSI uses the same physical interconnects as SATA, and most SAS HBAs also support SATA devices.
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Yes it does matter. The above article has conferences to other sources. Before you buy a SATA device, do some research first.
Biggest attribute that I look for other than capacity, 2.5 or 3.5", RPMs (if NON SSD), and cache size, is the Read and Write Performance throughputs. I have seen some drives that should be impressive that are not, and when later looking BACK at the attributes of the Read/Write I then realized why they were such a bargain and unloaded on the cheap. While these drives may be reliable, if you dont pay attention you could pick up a slow drive!
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