Type of connection of the drive to the computer.
— IDE. Standard for connecting internal (see "Type") optical drives. Provides data transfer rates up to 1 Gbps and allows you to connect up to three devices per loop (two full-function and one read-only). For a long time it was the main one for PCs, but today it is considered obsolete and is being replaced by the faster and more reliable SATA.
—
SATA. The most common modern standard for connecting internal (see "Type") drives; replaced IDE, it has a higher data exchange rate (up to 5.9 Gbps, depending on the version) and resistance to interference, but does not allow connecting more than one device per loop.
—
USB 2.0. The most common modern standard for connecting various external peripherals to a PC, including and optical drives. The vast majority of PCs and laptops are equipped with USB ports, due to which external drives with this interface are the most versatile today. Version 2.0 provides data transfer rates up to 480 Mbps.
—
USB 3.2 gen1. A version of the standard that provides data transfer rates up to 5 Gbps. Previously labeled as USB 3.1 gen1 and USB 3.0.
eSATA. A type of SATA interface designed to connect external (e — external) drives. Not compatible with regular SATA. The data transfer rate is up to 2.4 Gbps, which is significantly higher than that of USB 2.0 (a
...nd 3.0 appeared significantly later), but the interface itself is less versatile and, as a result, much less common.
