PATA or Parallel ATA, is the old standard for connecting Disk Drives, while SATA is the newer ones. PATA , in comparison with SATA, has 1) Bulky Connectors which could restric
…t airflow, maximum length is restricted to 18 ". 2) PATA requires 5 V to run against SATA's 250 mV. 3) PATA is slow, with max transfer speed of 133 MBps while SATA is currently at 400 or 500 MBps. SATA: Often abbreviated SATA or S-ATA, an evolution of the Parallel ATA physical storage interface. Serial ATA is a serial link -- a single cable with a minimum of four wires creates a point-to-point connection between devices. Transfer rates for Serial ATA begin at 150 MBps and SATA II 300MBps. One of the main design advantages of Serial ATA is that the thinner serial cables facilitate more efficient airflow inside a form factor and also allow for smaller chassis designs. (MORE) 
