eSATA???

[Wolverine690]

I was looking at External Hard Drives b/c I'm needing something to dump a bunch of info onto something when I'm formatting my machines or just don't want to waste a disk or dig out my flash drive.

Anyhow I saw this term eSATA, which I've looked up but really haven't found anything real specific about it & from what I have found it sounds like it's no different from SATA connections it's just the term given to exteneral SATA connections.

So is this correct?

Also I'd like some suggestions on some External HD's looking for 100-300GB's Storage, 5400rpm or 7200rpm speed, but I'd like to stay with 7200rpm & I'd like if possible to stay under $100.

Thanks...

[greenmaji]

eSATA is just external SATA (and it happens to be the fastest external format you can use)

depending on the use.. Id probibly grab a 320Gb T7K500 and slap it in a eSATA external enclosure.

[Bios24]

You are correct, eSATA is just external SATA. Same connection, same cable. It acts just like USB or Firewire.

I've had pretty good luck just grabbing cheap enclosures on eBay. Just look for a model you like with the features you want.

As for the hard drive if you are going USB/Firewire it really doesn't matter, because it'll never use the bandwidth. eSATA acts just like an internal hard drive, so you'll want a faster drive. For under $100 I'd pick up a Seagate 320gb 7200.10 from Newegg. For under $100 including the enclosure get a 200-250gb.

[jivetrky]

As for eSATA, yes it's basically just an external SATA connector

Here's on on the Asus Striker:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.asp?Image=13%2D131%2D074%2D02%2Ejpg%2C13 %2D131%2D074%2D03%2Ejpg%2C13%2D131%2D074%2D04%2Ejp g%2C13%2D131%2D074%2D05%2Ejpg%2C13%2D131%2D074%2D0 6%2Ejpg%2C13%2D131%2D074%2D07%2Ejpg%2C13%2D131%2D0 74%2D08%2Ejpg%2C13%2D131%2D074%2D09%2Ejpg&CurImage=13%2D131%2D074%2D02%2Ejpg&Description=ASUS+Striker+Extreme+LGA+775+NVIDIA+nF orce+680i+SLI+ATX+The+Ultimate+Gaming+Motherboard+ %2D+Retail

It's the 2 red connectors under that small LCD



As for external drives....I'd say just check newegg for an external enclosure that you like and then find the biggest hard drive you can get for the price. It's just a backup drive so you don't need mega performance or anything.

I just have a $25-$30 case I got from ebay and a couple year old 200GB SATA drive. Works great.

[Wolverine690]

yeah I gathered from what I found from searching the net for info on it that it was the same thing but then I found a few forums & then a few comments on newegg from people that had me thinking it wasn't the same which now really makes me laugh b/c in one of them a guy was all ****ed b/c the site (newegg) says it was a SATA external connection and some how he thought it was eSATA, so he gave bad review b/c of this...I know some people who post on newegg are just complete idiots but wanted to be sure...and now I am that guy along with some others are freaking stupid.lol

[Wolverine690]

well this is what I'm looking at....what do you think anyone know anything about this housing?

housing
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817348016

HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148144

[Bios24]

Enclosure is a generic, it should do the job just fine. You might also pick up an eSATA backplate if you don't have one cause it looks like the enclosure doesn't come with one. Maybe an eSATA 5.25 or 3.5 bay cover? That would make it even easier to hook up.

[greenmaji]

the houseing also works for USB2.. not bad.. but the computers are going to need SATA (with an adapter, backplate as descibed above, the plug is a little different) or USB2 to be able to use the external HD, so keep that in mind.

[jonnyboy88]

I don't know if you picked up on this yet or not, but internal SATA connections (regular SATA) and eSATA (external SATA) use different plugs and cables. They don't really clarify this well on Newegg, sometimes they use the term "external SATA" for regular SATA that has a connection to something outside.
For example, these are two different products which use two different SATA connections (check the pictures):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817145660

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817332012

More info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESATA#External_SATA

Hope this helps.

[xam5]

What is the transfer rate of eSATA compared to that of usb 2 or firewire?

[jivetrky]

USB 2.0 has a bandwidth of 480Mb/s or a maximum of 60MB/s (Megabytes per second). But you will probably never see that speed on a USB drive. I think realistically it's probably about half that for average transfer speeds.

Firewire has a bandwidth rating of 400Mb/s (Megabits) or a max of 50 MB/s
I've never used firewire so I'm not sure how it actually performs.

There's also several other Firewire versions that offer much more bandwith..But I doubt you'll find much that uses them, surely not External Enclosures.

Then there's eSATA which has the same bandwidth as internal SATA....so up to 300MB/s (megabytes).


The only downside to eSATA is that the cable length is limited to 2 meters, whereas Firewire400 can do 4.5 meters and USB can do 5 meters.

Also eSATA is still rather new, so if you would be wanting to use your External drive in other computers, you'd want to have USB. There are enclosures that have both, so that would probably be the best way to go.

[gvblake22]

I have a Thermaltake Max 4 (http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/product/Storage/USBnSATA/n0003us/n0003us.asp) and like it a lot, works great with my 320GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 drive whether on eSATA or USB :)

[blackbird007]

+1 for esata and hitachit T7K500

[xam5]

Can anyone recommend a good esata and usb 2 enclosure which features a fan?

[jonnyboy88]

AMS Venus DS3:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817332012

[xam5]

Thank you Jonny.