The hard disk drive is one of the most essential parts of any machine. It is considered as a “brain” that controls most of the basic elements, so, without the hard disk drive, the machine cannot run properly.
The need to enhance the performance of the hard disk drive has given birth to the Serial ATA, or SATA. In this article, let’s answer the question “What is the ASMedia Serial ATA?” to find out whether you should consider having it.
What you must know about ASMedia Serial ATA?
What is the ASMedia Serial ATA?
Firstly, we will answer the question of what the ASMedia Serial ATA is. Unlike the traditional disk drive cable IDE, SATA is designed to optimize the efficiency and speed when loading information. While the IDE ports can load information at 133MB/s, the SATA can transmit data from 150 up to 300 MB/s.
So, what exactly ASMedia Serial SATA is? The Serial ATA, or SATA, is a product designed to load 8 times faster than the IDE’s original speed.
ASMedia is a Taiwanese integrated circuit design company controlled by Asus. The company specializes in USB, PCI Express, and SATA controllers manufacturing. After 16 years of experience, ASMedia has gained much popularity because of its high-quality and innovative products.
Put it simply, ASMedia Serial ATA is one of the most famous series from ASMedia Technology Incorporation. Serial ATA Controllers has always been ASMedia’s strength. There are some types of Serial ATA (SATA) overall such as SATA RAID controller, PCIE controller, etc.
Which features make ASMedia Serial ATA a great product?
High-speed interface
Designed as the clock architecture with crystal mode, the new ASMedia Serial ATA can load at 30 MHz crystal or single-ended clock input. Thus, the interface speed can reach to 6Gbps, allowing faster performance in data loading.
Large application storage
ASMedia Serial ATA is designed with 2TB drives, which allows the large storage for your hard drive. This advantage expands the performance booster and port expansion for both internal systems and external applications.
Firmware approachable by merchant commands
Most people misunderstand the definition of “firmware”. Contrary to what people may think, “Firmware” is by no means software. It’s a term referring to a particular computer class that controls the device’s specific hardware at the low level. Every high-tech devices like mobile phones, PC or car is equipped with a firmware chip.
For simple electronic devices, the firmware is in charge of controlling the mainboard chip, so the firmware is the most essential element. For example, firmware can be the portable controller of the keyboard, LCD screen, or memory card.
Thus, the firmware is much necessary for any device. With the new figure of “firmware approachable by merchant commands” of ASMedia Serial ATA, users can smoothly go to vendors’ shops and request the latest update or reparation. Then, they can have their hard drive checked without any cliche process!
FAN control support
While operating, the device can release heat, and the hotter the machine is, the more dangerous it becomes. Why? The overheat computer can be broken down, automatically shut down, lost all the data, and exploded in rare cases. So, it is required to have a FAN inside any electronics device to cool down the hard disk while running.
The ASMedia Serial ATA controller can actively control the FAN and coordinate the cooling process so that you don’t need to worry whether the FAN is operating appropriately or not. For example, the FAN will be controlled to run at a suitable speed, not too fast, not too slow.
Plug-in device detection
Sometimes the user needs to plug in an external device such as USB, memory card, etc. and the “device undetectable” case is what triggers people most. The device is accepted or not, totally depending on the compatibility of the external device and the hard drive.
Thus, sometimes if your device cannot be accepted, it’s literally nothing that the non-IT-savvy user could do.
ASMedia Serial ATA is designed with a higher detection ability to a plug-in device so that the triggering cases as above will likely decrease and give the user a more enjoyable experience.
Support 3.3 V IO and 1.2 V Core power source
Most computer nowadays uses 1.3V or 1.7 V Core power which provides faster and more stable data loading. As a result, most controllers are designed to work with these modern cores.
So, if the old, quite weak 1.2V Core computer needs new controllers, it’s probably no compatible controller to purchase.
Understanding that trouble, ASMedia Serial ATA controllers are compatible with the 1.2 V Core power source and 3.3 V IO. The computer with strong, modern Core or the old Core can both adapt this controller efficiently.
Support Native Command Queue
One of the new features that have been added to ASMedia Serial ATA is Native Command Queuing (NCQ). This component allows the efficiency boost in your hard drive by reordering the codes.
With this Native Command Queue, the data loading speed will rise remarkably up to 3Gbps, leading to the performance enhancement for your computer.
What are ASMedia Serial ATA’s strengths and weaknesses?
Pros
– Enhance the loading speed up to 6Gbps
– Have a 2TB storage space which boosts the efficiency
– Support many features like Native Command Queue, Port Multiplier, etc.
– Have 2 ports SATA for 1.5, 3.0 and 6.0 GHz signalling
– Comply SATA PHY 1m/2m
Cons
– Sometimes incompatible on Linux device
– Consume much time when applying on Linux device
– Cannot work on some power inputs, so it’s recommended to buy the brand’s power supply
Conclusion
Through this article, we have just clarified the question “what is the ASMedia Serial ATA?”. After 16 years of experience, the company has gained trust and favour from customers for their quality products.
Personally, if we are about to choose a Serial ATA controller, this product is a great choice because of its large compatibility with different devices and a wide range of supporting ports which can provide us a satisfying experience.
We hope that you can choose the most proper product for your device. Good luck with your shopping!
