esata & sata adapter

[neworldman]

Hello,

Merry Christmas. I just got a hard drive dock that has a esata output. My new pc doesn't have a external esata input. But it has 8 sata internal motherboard inputs. Can I just get a cord adapter with esata on one end a sata on the other? Will this work? Also what is the difference between esata and sata? Does esata have faster file transfer speed then sata? I have four 2tb hard drives to format. Will it be faster with esata or sata then with usb 2.0? Or does formatting not matter for transfer speed?


Thanks


This is my dock

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153071&cm_re=sata_to_esata_do...-071-_-Product


This is my PC

http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/ZT-Affinity-7437Ti-2.80Ghz-Intel-Core-i7-Desktop-...2/product.html

[mrswla]

esata stands for external sata. so they are one in the same, except one is for external drives. You will need something like this: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&expIds=17259,24472,26696,27147,27585&suge...d=0CCwQ8wIwAg#

[neworldman]

esata stands for external sata. so they are one in the same, except one is for external drives. You will need something like this: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&expIds=17259,24472,26696,27147,27585&suge...d=0CCwQ8wIwAg#

Great thanks. Can I also format two hard drives to NTFS at the same time? Or is it better & faster to do one at a time? Also is esata faster to format drive then usb 2.0?

[mrswla]

"USB 2.0 has been available for many years and it’s not an exaggeration to say that this interface is available on each and every computer--whether we’re talking about desktops, notebooks, or servers in the Windows world or on Apple systems. And although USB 2.0 is reliable, highly compatible, and easy-to-use, it does have a disadvantage that forced the industry to move on: USB 2.0 is limited to 480 Mb/s, which translates into 30-35 MB/s maximum bandwidth for typical storage applications. This is certainly more than enough for most device types and for casual storage use, but as soon as you want or need to move many gigabytes of data on a regular basis, you’ll want more throughput.

Finally, we have eSATA, which stands for external Serial ATA (SATA). This is a modification of the SATA standard that most computers use to attach hard drives and optical drives, adjusted to support longer cables for external devices through modified electrical specifications. In addition, connectors are physically different to avoid mixing them up. The cable length of up to 2m is sufficient for storage applications, but both FireWire and USB still support longer cables that are 4.5m and 5m in length. However, eSATA is as fast as internal SATA, which translates into a maximum of 300 MB/s for 3 Gb/s SATA connections."

Pulled from http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb-firewire-esata,2534.html.

So, in theory, esata is a hell of a lot faster than usb.

[edDV]

...
However, eSATA is as fast as internal SATA, which translates into a maximum of 300 MB/s for 3 Gb/s SATA connections."

Pulled from http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb-firewire-esata,2534.html.

So, in theory, esata is a hell of a lot faster than usb.

The interface can run at those speeds but not any current mechanical drive except in spurts from the memory cache. Realistic max is 60-90MB/s or about double USB2 for the same type of drive.

Exceptions are WD Raptors that can push 150 MB/s at the fast end of the drive and solid state drives.

Note that with typical mechanical drives, the PATA 100-133 drives are about as fast as SATA 150-300 for sustained transfer.

[mrswla]

edDV, that's exactly why I said "in theory".

[budwzr]

There's also esata-p, which is an external sata "combo" slot that supplies power (on the same cable) so you can hook up a portable drive. The "combo" also means regular USB can be connected as well.

I have this esata-p combo plug on my laptop (Qosmio), and I use a Seagate 1TB GoFlex portable with an optional esata-p connector.

The Seagate drives come with a USB connector just like any other hard drive, so you're still compat with USB devices for no extra charge. I think the cable I bought was like $25, but if I stick with Seagate the money is well spent, and Seagate is the top drive maker AFAIK, unless they sold out to China recently.

You have to be careful, some of these American brands go kaput quietly and sell off the brand name overseas. Like I noticed "Pioneer" all of a sudden started making TV's a couple years ago. And I saw a "Rolodex" pencil sharpener once.

[mrswla]

Like I noticed "Pioneer" all of a sudden started making TV's a couple years ago.

Sorry to go off topic, but Pioneer plasmas were rated among the best before they quit making them!

[Moontrash]

i'm surprised that dock didn't come with that adapter posted. My ext case came with one. With my esata I get an average of about 60 to 78 mb's per second...with usb2 I get 23mb max...on any pc I'm on...23

[budwzr]

Yeah, just run an sata cable to the MoBo, or get a slot adapter if you want it to look pretty..

[p_l]

I had essentially the same setup and needs as you. I got one of these (one plug now, one for later) and it works great.



Even cheaper here: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10407&cs_id=1040707&p_id=...=2#description

[Wile_E]

...
However, eSATA is as fast as internal SATA, which translates into a maximum of 300 MB/s for 3 Gb/s SATA connections."

Pulled from http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb-firewire-esata,2534.html.

So, in theory, esata is a hell of a lot faster than usb.

The interface can run at those speeds but not any current mechanical drive except in spurts from the memory cache. Realistic max is 60-90MB/s or about double USB2 for the same type of drive.

Exceptions are WD Raptors that can push 150 MB/s at the fast end of the drive and solid state drives.

Note that with typical mechanical drives, the PATA 100-133 drives are about as fast as SATA 150-300 for sustained transfer.

The Samsung F3 drives are also among the fastest mechanical drives.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2009/10/06/samsung-spinpoint-f3-1tb-review/5

Forget using USB 2.0 for hard drives, it is just too slow to transfer lots of data. If you had to copy a full 2TB of data over USB, it would take you all night and then some. USB 3.0 is much faster, but USB protocol uses a lot of overhead in it's transfers, so you never see the maximum throughput. eSATA is currently the best to use.

[budwzr]

esata is 6 times faster than USB2
USB 3 is 10 times faster than USB2

[Moontrash]

They're about equal in speed

test

[edDV]

Also SATA/eSATA uses a hardware controller separate from CPU. USB2/3 uses a software controller.

[budwzr]

I guess the Seagate website is FOS then.

[edDV]

I guess the Seagate website is FOS then.

The rated USB2/3 is max burst rate for the interface, not the drive. USB2 sustained rates after overhead top out around 30Mb/s even though the same drive will do double that over eSATA.

[budwzr]

Ah-hah, I didn't want USB 3 because the cables are about the same price and I wanted to put my newfandangled esata slot to highest and best use.

I think I DID notice that at first the datarate is over 100, but it fizzles back down to 60ish.