CD-ROM Drive Question:

Short for SerialATA, SATA 1.0 was first released in August 2001 and is a replacement for the Parallel ATA interface used in IBM compatible computers. SerialATA is capable of delivering 1.5 Gbps (1500 MBps) of performance to each drive within a disk array. It has the benefit of being backwards-compatible with ATA and ATAPI devices, and offers a thin, small cable solution, as seen in the photo on the right. This cable helps make a much easier cable routing and offers better airflow in the computer when compared to the earlier ribbon cables used with ATA drives.
eSATA connectionSATA also supports external drives through External SATA more commonly known as eSATA. eSATA offers many more advantages when compared to other solutions. For example, it is hot-swappable, supports faster transfer speeds with no bottleneck issues like USB and FireWire, and supports disk drive technologies such as S.M.A.R.T..