eSATA external HDD

[davidd]

Hi

My new laptop is on order, and in the specs it says it has a eSATA/USB combo port. As I understand it, this means that you can have a single connection that provides SATA connection for high-speed data transfer, and also power for the drive through the USB part. With a normal eSATA port you also need a USB cable to get the power for the drive.

I have been searching for cables to take advantage of this, as I have a 500Gb 2.5" HDD in a caddy, and I would like to be able to have the SATA transfer speed. The caddy has a mini USB port and a standard eSATA port.

It seems what I need is either
1. A special cable with an eSATA/USB combo plug on one end, and seperate (split) eSATA and mini USB plugs on the other end, or
2. A new drive caddy housing with a eSATA/USB combo port, and a cable with the combo plus on both ends.

Does anyone know where I might find either of these items? Do I have the options correct, or have I misunderstood the situation?

Thanks for any help.

[ameerat42]

Nope, except to say look at a couple of links - and be aware there's SATA 3.
Cables
http://www.lindy.com.au/cables_disk_drive_sata_sas.htm
http://www.google.com.au/images?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=cTo&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&q=e-sata+cables&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=iLgqTOGmJ8arccCC9ZoD&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5&ved=0CEgQsAQwBA

About Sata 3
http://www.serialata.org/documents/SATA-6-Gbs-The-Path-from-3gbs-to-6gbs.pdf

(Reason I answered is to keep a tab on the thread, so lettuce know what you do, pease.) Am.

[davidd]

Hi

been doing some more searching, with some results.

1. http://www.delock.com/produkte/gruppen/Kabel/Delock_Power_Over_eSATA_Y-_cable_USB_mini_and_eSATA_male_1m_84388.html

2. http://www.darkwire.com.au/html/2_5__hdd_case_esatap___usb2_0.html

It seems they're both from the same company, in Germany.
Haven't yet found a local(ish) distributor for the cable option, but the caddy / case option would be the cleanest, with only one cable.

[ameerat42]

David. Yours look suspiciously like these
https://www.lindy.com.au/online/arrshop.exe?anonymous=true&cat=qz
(Note: ".au")
Am.

[davidd]

Well, I made the decision and ordered option 2 above, the caddy with full eSATA combo cable, the one-cable solution is the neatest.

It will be interesting to see how much faster it is than normal USB when it all arrives. :D

[peterb666]

Well, I made the decision and ordered option 2 above, the caddy with full eSATA combo cable, the one-cable solution is the neatest.

It will be interesting to see how much faster it is than normal USB when it all arrives. :D

Interesting. I was under the impression that you could use that connector for either eSATA or USB. From vague memory, an eSATA connection shoud provide power so this is quite puzzling.

I would expect that this housing provides the opton of connecting the SATA drive via either eSATA or USB, it isn't some sort of combined connector.

[davidd]

Hi

no, a standard eSATA connection does not provide power, you need a seperate USB cable (or other power source) for power. The port on the computer can be used for eSATA, USB or combined (Power-over-eSATA).
If your drive caddy can accept eSATA combo then you only need the one cable.
If you look at the link, it explains that you only need the one cable. You can use standard USB or normal eSATA plus USB as well.

[maccaroneski]

It will be interesting to see how much faster it is than normal USB when it all arrives. :D

David, it is a large order of magnitude faster.

Basically it will be the same as the speed difference between say your internal hard drive and an external USB hard drive.

[campo]

It will be interesting to see how much faster it is than normal USB when it all arrives. :D

I recently went eSATA...and when i transferred all of my RAW files (600GB), it was transferring at about 120MB/sec (real world speeds, not theoretical)...pretty amazing how fast they can move data now!

[peterb666]

I recently went eSATA...and when i transferred all of my RAW files (600GB), it was transferring at about 120MB/sec (real world speeds, not theoretical)...pretty amazing how fast they can move data now!

I am currently transferring files from my old desktop computer (and making a backup in the process). I am in the final stage of copying from my external USB hard drive and it is going at the rate or around 23 MB /sec. It is going to take about an hour to do 88 GB.


120 MB /s would have been nice. BTW, the old PC does not have an eSATA output.

[peterb666]

Would an eSATA external drive pefrom at a similar level to an internal hard drive in a laptop? I am just thinking it would be more convenient for me to work off a 1TB eSATA external drive and maybe have another as a spare for backup. As these drives now cost around the $100 mark, it seems like a good way to go.

Cheers

PeterB666

[maccaroneski]

Would an eSATA external drive pefrom at a similar level to an internal hard drive in a laptop? I am just thinking it would be more convenient for me to work off a 1TB eSATA external drive and maybe have another as a spare for backup. As these drives now cost around the $100 mark, it seems like a good way to go.

Cheers

PeterB666

I would think so. On my desktop, the internal drives connect to the motherboard via Sata sockets, and the eSata sockets also connect my external drives to the motherboard. To me, the internal and external drives perform at the same speed.

[campo]

I was hoping for the same performance when i synced with my laptop and it's eSATA, but alas, my laptop HDD/hardware isn't as fast :(

[davidd]

Hi

well, the new gear arrived (laptop and drive caddy), so it's all up and running. I have a 500Gb Seagate Momentus 2.5" drive in the caddy, and am using the eSATA combo cable supplied with the caddy. I haven't done any timed tests yet, but the transfer speed is noticably faster than with plain USB. Having only one cable for the eSATA connection is the best part.

[ving]

been running an external esata for photos... rocks!