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Comparing SAS and SATA, Enterprise and Desktop Hard Drives for Server RAID Systems

Content Type: Product Comparison   |   Article ID: 000005782   |   Last Reviewed: 02/12/2025
Note Information on this page is applicable for boards based on Intel® C602 Chipset. Please check applicable products on the bottom of this page.
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This page offers key information to help you understand the differences between the two technologies. As technology rapidly advances, the information on this page may be dated and not comprehensive.

The table below provides system integrators with the key information they need to determine their hard drive requirements.

SAS vs. SATA

Requirement SAS SATA
Operational Availability 24 hours/day - 7 days/week 8 hours/day - 5 days/week
Workload 100% 10–20%
Cost Sensitivity Moderately sensitive to cost Sensitive to low cost
Performance Latency and Seek 5.7 msec @ 15K rpm 13 msec @ 7200rpm (or smaller)
Command Queuing and Reordering Full Limited
Rotational Vibration Tolerance Up to 21 rads/sec Up to 5 to 12 rads/sec
Typical I/Os per sec/drive 319 77
Duplex Operation Full Half
Reliability Bad Sector Recovery Typical timeout is 7–15 seconds only. Timeouts are up to 30 seconds.
Misalignment detection Dedicated Servo and data path processors Single combined servo/data path processor or none
Vibration Sensors RV Compensation Feedback Mechanism No RV Compensation
Variable Sector Size Uses a 528-byte sector and allow the I/O controller Does not use a variable sector size (locked at 512 bytes)
MTBF 1.2M hours at 45 degrees C 700K hours at 25 degrees C
Internal Data Integrity Checks End to End Limited, none in the memory buffer
Maximum Operating Temperature ~60 degrees C ~40 degrees C
Warranty ~5 years ~ to 3 years
Features Spindle Motor Higher RPM
Tighter run-out
Spindle anchor at both ends
Moderate to lower RPM
Lower specification for run-out
Spindle anchored at one end
Media Full media cert Lower media specification and density
Head Stack Assembly Structural rigidity
Lower inertial design
Lighter weight design
Higher inertial design
Actuator Mechanics Larger magnets
Air turbulence controls
RV sensors and closed loop RV
suppression
Smaller magnets
No air turbulence compensation
No RV sensors or suppression - limited to
servo wedge track alignment
Electronics Dual processors
(dedicated servo and data path processors)
Performance optimization
Advanced error handling
Advanced firmware algorithms
Single processor

No performance optimization
Standard error handling
Standard Firmware algorithms
Customization FW Code Extensive Limited
Variable Sector Sizes Yes No
LEDs Yes No
Note
  • Vendor implementations of these features vary between drive models. (Typical MTBF, operating temperature, and operating rotational vibration vary depending on the manufacturer). Generally the high end of the feature spectrum includes enterprise-class SAS hard drives, and the low end includes desktop-class SATA drives. Enterprise-class SATA drives fall somewhere in between.
  • SAS and SATA drives should not be used together in the same RAID array and should not be mixed in the same backplane.

Enterprise-class versus Desktop-class Hard Drives (PDF) icon
Size: 284 KB
Date: April 2016
Revision: 2.0

Note PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader*.

 

 

 

 

Related Products

This article applies to 107 products.

Discontinued Products

Intel® Server Board S1200BTLRM Intel® Server System R1304BTLSHBN2 Intel® Server System R1304BTLSFAN Intel® Server Board S5520HC Intel® Server Board S1200BTLR Intel® Integrated RAID Module RMS25PB040 Intel® Server System R1304BTLSHBN8 Intel® Server Board S3200SHV Intel® Server Board S5000VSASASR Intel® Server Board S3420GPLC Intel® Workstation Board S5000XVN Intel® Integrated RAID Module RMS25PB080 Intel® Integrated RAID Module RMS25CB080 Intel® Server Board S5000VCL Intel® Server Board S1200BTS Intel® Integrated RAID 2U Midplane1 Intel® Server Board S5000PALR Intel® Integrated RAID Module RMT3CB080 Intel® Server Board S5000XALR Intel® Server Board S5000PSLROMBR Intel® Server Board X38ML Intel® Server Board S3420GPV Intel® Server Board S5000PSLSATA Intel® Server Board S3420GPRX Intel® Server Board S1200BTL Intel® Server System SC5400RA Intel® Server Board S1200KPR Intel® Integrated RAID Module RMT3PB080 Intel® Server Board S1200KP Intel® Integrated RAID Module RMS3VC160 Intel® Server Board S3420GPLXSASM Intel® Integrated Server RAID Module AXXRMS2MH080 Intel® Integrated RAID Module SROMBSASMR Intel® Server Board S5500BC Intel® Integrated RAID Module RMS25KB080 Intel® Server System R1304BTLSHBNR Intel® Server Board S5000PSLSASR Intel® Workstation Board S5520SC Intel® Server Board S5500WB Intel® Server System R1304BTLSHBN9 Intel® Server Board S3420GPLX Intel® Server System R1304BTLSFANR Intel® Integrated Server RAID Module AXXRMS2LL080 Intel® Integrated RAID Module RMS25KB040 Intel® Integrated Server RAID Module AXXRMS2AF080 Intel® Server System S7000FC4UR Intel® Integrated RAID Module RMS25JB040 Intel® Server Board S5000PSLSATAR Intel® Server Board S5500HCV Intel® Integrated Server RAID Module AXXRMS2AF040 Intel® Server Board S5400SF Intel® Server System R1304BTSSFANR Intel® Workstation Board S5000XVNSASR Intel® Workstation System SC5650SCWS Intel® Server Board S1200BTSR Intel® Server System SC5650HCBRP Intel® Server System R1304BTSSFAN Intel® Server Board S5000PAL Intel® Server Board S5520UR Intel® Server System R1304BTLSHBN Intel® Integrated RAID Module RMS25JB080 Intel® Integrated RAID Module RMS25CB040 Intel® Workstation Board S5000XVNSATAR Intel® Server Board S5000VSASCSIR Intel® Server Board S5000VSASATAR Intel® Server Board S5520URT Intel® Server Board S5000VSA4DIMMR