Why bother with eSATA?

[eflat]

I want to get an external hard drive and was going to get an eSATA one which is the fastest external technology.

But then I figured why not just run an sata cable and power connector out of the back (or front) of the computer (it would not be too hard to make it look clean) and then just plug it in through there. Not only would it work as fast as an internal drive but it would not require its own power supply either.

And it's cheap to get an SATA --> USB connector to connect to a computer not setup for external SATA.

Does this sound like a good idea?

 

[JustaGeek]

What if you cat or dog pulls the cable...?

Is it easier to plug it back in, or to replace the motherboard?

Almost anything can be connected straight to the MB, but how practical is it?

Not a good idea, IMHO...

 

[n7]

I have six HDDs on my main system.

I hook up the seventh via eSATA.

You get the idea.

The whole reason i bought an enclosure w/ eSATA was so i could quickly & easily toss stuff on there & then head to a friend's to swap stuff, etc.

So why bother with eSATA?

Because overall, there's only so much space for HDDs in a case (though not an issue in my case), only so many SATA ports, & eSATA is incredibly convenient, etc.

 

[Old Hippie]

And it's cheap to get an SATA --> USB connector to connect to a computer not setup for external SATA.

You can do that anyway, but you're not gonna power a 3.5" external with a USB cable. You'll still hafta have external power. I see the cheap adaptors for 15 - 20 bucks.
True eSATA has hot swap capabilities.
I buy the external enclosures with USB and eSATA.

 

[Tristor]

because eSATA provides for more power over the line and an extra meter of distance from the southbridge. So, if you are going to run an external drive, you want to use eSATA. More specifically though, if you are using one of those sata to eSATA brackets, you get no gain over just plugging it straight into the mobo (you actually lose a bit since the cable will be longer in your case than is necessary and will cause you to lose external distance, since you only have 1m total).

 

[Zepper]

The eSATA spec has better shielding and higher current sourcing so you can run longer cables.Also you are sure of hot-swap support with true eSATA.

.bh.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

An external USB 2.0 HDD works well for many users. Speed is limited to about 30MB/s. The best argument for this technology is backward compatibility with all PCs. I have a few $10 Mad Dog units from Circuit City.

 

[eflat]

Hmmm. My goal was to have a drive that I could swap between computers and keep absolutely everything (except the OS and programs) on there so I could use either my laptop or desktop and always use the same drive. But it would suck to not have it running at full speed. Maybe I need to think about this more.

 

[Zepper]

You can get a SATA port exterder to a card slot plate like this: then you can plug your non-eSATA drive into it with no danger of breaking your mobo's SATA connectors - they have the same type bracket with a molex power connector too. You can also get a true eSATA card for less than $20. when Newegg puts them on sale - unfortunately OOS at this time - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16816132007.

.bh.

 

[Auric]

Ja, a port bracket but preferably with external power plug too and a shielded (eSATA) cable would do the trick. The drive could be ensconced in either an el-cheapo gutted external enclosure or an aluminum project box. The only drawback is potential wear of the drive plugs however that could be precluded by teh use of extension cables (short cables remain plugged in the drive).

For use betwixt computers with big-arse bays (or multiple drives on the same 'pooter), this mobile rack is great. You could use this for the PC and work out 'nutha connection method for the laptop.

 

[Synomenon]

If you want true hotswap support like USB, you'll need eSATA. You won't get that hotswapping feature if you use one of those SATA extenders that fit into one of the PCI brackets.