Datasheet

Product Description
19
 NOTE
ATA-66 and ATA-100 are faster timings and require a specialized cable to reduce
reflections, noise, and inductive coupling.
The PATA interface also supports ATAPI devices (such as CD-ROM drives) and ATA
devices using the transfer modes.
The BIOS supports Logical Block Addressing (LBA) and Extended Cylinder Head Sector
(ECHS) translation modes. The drive reports the transfer rate and translation mode to
the BIOS.
For information about Refer to
The location of the PATA connector Figure 2-4, page 39
1.5.3.2 SATA Interfaces
The ICH7-M’s SATA controller offers two independent SATA ports with a theoretical
maximum transfer rate of 3.0 Gbits/sec on each port. One device can be installed on
each port for a maximum of two SATA devices. A point-to-point interface is used for
host to device connections, unlike PATA which supports a master/slave configuration
and two devices on each channel.
For compatibility, the underlying SATA functionality is transparent to the operating
system. The SATA controller supports IDE and AHCI configuration and can operate in
both legacy and native modes. In legacy mode, standard ATA I/O and IRQ resources
are assigned (IRQ 14 and 15). In Native mode, standard PCI Conventional bus
resource steering is used. Native mode is the preferred mode for configurations using
the Windows* XP and Windows Vista* operating systems.
The board ships with a 1 x 4 power connector and a power cable for powering internal
SATA storage devices. SATA power delivery is rated as follows for any combination of
hard drives and/or optical drives:
• 5 V rail: up to 3 A
• 12 V rail: up to 1.5 A
For information about Refer to
Obtaining AHCI driver Section 1.2, page 14
The location of the SATA connectors Figure 2-4, page 39