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eSATA?

fightinfilipinofightinfilipino Angry as Hell#BLMRegistered User regular
edited October 2007 in Help / Advice Forum
i'm planning to build myself a new system in around a couple of months (waiting for Microsoft to sort itself out on Vista), but in the meantime would like to use an eSATA external hard drive with my current system. the drive does also work with USB 2.0, but that's pretty slow for my needs...

my current computer is somewhat old, based on an Athlon XP. it has internal SATA ports, but nothing in the way of eSATA. is it worth it to pick up an eSATA PCI card for my current system? do new mainboards sold these days come with eSATA as a standard onboard port? and is PCI express becoming the new standard for expansion cards now?

basically, should i just bear with the USB interface and wait until i get a new computer, or should i drop some extra cash for an eSATA card (using "oldschool" PCI) now?

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  • Uncle LongUncle Long Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Well, I don't see why you'd need to access your data any faster than a USB 2.0 port can handle. But, maybe there is a reason. Is there a reason?

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  • KMFurDMKMFurDM Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited October 2007
    I would just wait. What are you doing with the drive that requires a better transfer rate right now?

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  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    eSATA cards are like, $15, and when I tossed one into my machine my speeds improved by about 40-50% on transfers.

    It was worth it for me, but I have no plans on upgrading for at least a year. if you're waiting like, a month, don't bother.

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  • fightinfilipinofightinfilipino Angry as Hell #BLMRegistered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Uncle Long wrote: »
    Well, I don't see why you'd need to access your data any faster than a USB 2.0 port can handle. But, maybe there is a reason. Is there a reason?

    because transferring 200 GB of data over USB is mind numbing? :o

    in my really quick survey of new mainboards out there, i didn't really see any boards with built-in eSATA ports...i wanted to make sure i wasn't missing anything.

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  • KMFurDMKMFurDM Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited October 2007
    eSATA is really just an adapter attached to a slot cover or they can be built into the I/O connectors on the back. If you get a cheap motherboard it probably wont come with one but if you look at the Deluxe or Premium boards of most manufacturers you should have better luck.

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  • Uncle LongUncle Long Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    fightinfilipino wrote: »
    Uncle Long wrote: »
    Well, I don't see why you'd need to access your data any faster than a USB 2.0 port can handle. But, maybe there is a reason. Is there a reason?

    because transferring 200 GB of data over USB is mind numbing? :o

    in my really quick survey of new mainboards out there, i didn't really see any boards with built-in eSATA ports...i wanted to make sure i wasn't missing anything.

    What are you doing that requires regularly transferring that much information, if you don't mind my asking?

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  • KMFurDMKMFurDM Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited October 2007
    That sure is a lot of porn.

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  • DaedalusDaedalus Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    You don't need a PCI card, just a bracket that has the port and an internal SATA cable that would plug into an internal SATA port. Should be like $5 on newegg.

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  • stigweardstigweard Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    fightinfilipino wrote: »
    Uncle Long wrote: »
    Well, I don't see why you'd need to access your data any faster than a USB 2.0 port can handle. But, maybe there is a reason. Is there a reason?

    because transferring 200 GB of data over USB is mind numbing? :o

    in my really quick survey of new mainboards out there, i didn't really see any boards with built-in eSATA ports...i wanted to make sure i wasn't missing anything.

    Asus p5b-e. I've had mine for nearly a year now and it has an eSata port. I'm sure there are plenty of other boards out there that do as well.

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  • fightinfilipinofightinfilipino Angry as Hell #BLMRegistered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Uncle Long wrote: »
    What are you doing that requires regularly transferring that much information, if you don't mind my asking?
    KMFurDM wrote: »
    That sure is a lot of porn.


    ehehehe :P

    i have a good amount of miscellaneous data that i'd like to back up on a fairly regular basis. nothing too intensive, but i'm impatient and have an external drive that can use eSATA. if i can, i want to use the drive's full speed.

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  • wunderbarwunderbar What Have I Done? Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    fightinfilipino wrote: »
    Uncle Long wrote: »
    What are you doing that requires regularly transferring that much information, if you don't mind my asking?
    KMFurDM wrote: »
    That sure is a lot of porn.


    ehehehe :P

    i have a good amount of miscellaneous data that i'd like to back up on a fairly regular basis. nothing too intensive, but i'm impatient and have an external drive that can use eSATA. if i can, i want to use the drive's full speed.

    I will say it again, if you are planning on upgrading in a couple months anyway, just wait. honestly. In the long run, it won't make *that* much of a difference.

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