how to tell if motherboard is SATA or IDE friendly?

[David Armour]

Hello,

I'd like to add a second hard-drive to my Gutsy system. And I've read that SATA
drives are nominally 'easier' to self-install (don't need to set jumper
switches), although I've also seen various messages that suggest Ubuntu & SATA
don't always play 'nice' with each other. (!)
 
But my dealer asked me if my motherboard supported SATA, and I haven't been able
to find a on-line source for determining that. System/Preferences/Hardware
Information and System/Administration/System Monitor supply lots of info that
might mean something to someone, but apart from telling me that I've got a
"Duron(tm)" processor rated at 1.6 GHz... 

Do I have to look for something on the motherboard? 

Any suggestions gratefully received.