The main difference between AHCI and IDE is that the AHCI is a newer interface to transfer data between the system memory and SATA storage media while IDE is an older interface used to transfer data among the computer and the storage drive.
Though they are used interchangeably, there is a difference between AHCI and IDE. IDE is an older interface to connect storage devices to a computer’s system bus. Also, its wires are bulkier and are more expensive. In addition, it does not provide much data transfer rate. On the other hand, AHCI is a newer interface to exchange data between the device and the SATA supporting storage device.
Key Areas Covered
1. What is IDE
– Definition, Functionality
2. What is SATA
– Definition, Functionality
3. What is AHCI
– Definition, Functionality
4. What is the Difference Between AHCI and IDE
– Comparison of Key Differences
Key Terms
AHCI, IDE, Parallel ATA, SATA, Storage
What is IDE
IDE stands for Integrated Drive Electronics. It is also called parallel ATA. It is an interface based on IBM PC Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) 16 but bus standard. It is an interface between the computer bus and the disk storage drives. It is a parallel connector and requires all the parallel signals to arrive at once. On the other hand, IDE does not provide a high-speed data transferring.
What is SATA
SATA stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. It is also called Serial ATA. It is a computer bus interface that is used to transfer data between computer bus and storage devices such as hard drives, optical drives, and solid state drives. It is a serial connector, and it is more advanced than IDE. It is inexpensive and reduces the cable size. Most importantly, it allows faster data transferring at a higher signaling rate. SATA has replaced IDE in many desktop and laptop computers.
What is AHCI
AHCI stands for Advanced Host Controller Interface. It allows the device to exchange data between system memory and SATA storage media. Most motherboards have AHCI enabled by default. It requires to switch to AHCI before the OS is installed. It is supported on operating systems such as Windows, Linux, OpenBSD, NetBSD, FreeBSD etc.
Figure 1: IDE and SATA
AHCI provides multiple advantages. It supports newer technologies such as native command queuing. Furthermore, it supports hot plugging, which means to add or remove the component while the computer is executing. It is also faster than IDE.
Difference Between AHCI and IDE
Definition
AHCI is a technical standard defined by Intel that specifies the operation of Serial ATA (SATA) host controllers in a non-implementation-specific manner. IDE is an interface standard for connection of storage devices such as hard disk drives, floppy disk drives, and optical disk drives in computers.
Long Form
Moreover, AHCI stands for Advanced Host Controller Interface while IDE stands for Integrated Drive Electronics.
Features
AHCI supports new features such as native command queuing and hot-plugging hard drives. IDE does not support native command queuing and hot-plugging hard drives, but it is compatible with older devices. This is a major difference between AHCI and IDE.
Speed
Another difference between AHCI and IDE is that the AHCI works faster than IDE.
Operating System
AHCI is supported by Windows Vista and newer versions of Windows, Linux, OpenBSD, NetBSD, FreeBSD, OS Z, eComStation and Solaris 10. IDE is supported by most operating systems.
Conclusion
The difference between AHCI and IDE is that AHCI is a newer interface to transfer data between the system memory and SATA storage media while IDE is an older interface used to transfer data among the computer and the storage drive. In brief, AHCI is much faster than IDE.
Reference:
1. “Advanced Host Controller Interface.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Sept. 2018, Available here.
2. “Serial ATA.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Aug. 2018, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “IDE vs SATA” by husin.sani (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr
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