[Solved] SATA connectors question (Quick Question)

> is there a difference between elbow SATA connectors and the ones with identical straight ends?

Depends on what you mean:

For the SATA connectors that attach to hard drives,
there are right-angle, left-angle and straight connectors.

The right- and left-angle connectors are highly recommended
because they tend to stay put while inserting one's hand(s)
into a case, e.g. for routine maintenance, upgrades,
trouble-shooting etc.

If you bump the straight-line connectors, the resulting torque
on the cables may cause the connector to mis-align or even break
the housing on the hard drive: I have seen instances
of the latter damage.

If you mean the difference between the I-connector and L-connector
at the other end of a SATA cable, the latter is for standard SATA connections
and the former is for eSATA aka external Serial ATA connections.

The eSATA connector was designed for cables that carry a slightly
higher voltage, so that eSATA cables can extend longer than
internal SATA cables.

Also, good eSATA connectors should have a metal shield
on the connector housing, which is designed to
discharge any static buildup before the signal pins connect:
this facilitates "hot-swapped" external enclosures -- much like
USB connectors which can be inserted and removed while
the system is running.

See www.cooldrives.com for lots of close-up photos:

http://www.cooldrives.com/sata-cables.html

I hope this helps.

MRFS