If I want to use eSata for my next external HD, how hard is it to set up? I see the enclosures, and then there are the drives you buy, but do the drives just slide into the enclosures? Do I need to connect wires or dismantle anything? I'd like to be able to expand my external over the long term without buying occupying more space by just sliding more/bigger drives in the enclosure (I see there are enclosures that can house multiple drives), and eSata seems like how things will be going in the future, I just don't know how complicated it is to set up. Thanks.
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How does eSata work?
- Thread starter NJPitcher
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Primary question: do you have an eSATA port on your computer? Without that, it's a pointless thing to pursue.
Assuming you do, it's like any other enclosure - the drives just slide in or screw down, and it'll take you all of about 2 minutes to add a drive to an enclosure*, and then you use the eSATA connector instead of the USB or FW one. Make sure the hard drive is a SATAII one to get the best use of the connection.
*Basically, you unscrew maybe 4 screws to open the enclosure, set in the drive, plug it in (might be easy, might take an extra 5 seconds), screw the drive to the board with 4 screws, slide the enclosure back together, and screw it back up. Two minutes.
Assuming you do, it's like any other enclosure - the drives just slide in or screw down, and it'll take you all of about 2 minutes to add a drive to an enclosure*, and then you use the eSATA connector instead of the USB or FW one. Make sure the hard drive is a SATAII one to get the best use of the connection.
*Basically, you unscrew maybe 4 screws to open the enclosure, set in the drive, plug it in (might be easy, might take an extra 5 seconds), screw the drive to the board with 4 screws, slide the enclosure back together, and screw it back up. Two minutes.
Just be sure to check into your drives physical speed to determine whether or not it's worth it.
eSata is up there with most drive peak transfer rates - so your gains may be negligible with certain drives. I mean if you have a 1.5Gb or 3.0Gb connection, but your drive can only max upload 90MB a second - then you've bottlenecked at the drive itself, and won't see much better performance over a FW800 with the same drive. (around 80MB)
FW800 may be a cheaper (and still plenty fast) alternative for you.
Knowing that 8 Bits (little b) to a Byte (big B), so 1000Gb/sec is 125MB/sec.
If Comcast gives you 8Mb connection speed - you can download 1MB/sec.
Maths.
eSata is up there with most drive peak transfer rates - so your gains may be negligible with certain drives. I mean if you have a 1.5Gb or 3.0Gb connection, but your drive can only max upload 90MB a second - then you've bottlenecked at the drive itself, and won't see much better performance over a FW800 with the same drive. (around 80MB)
FW800 may be a cheaper (and still plenty fast) alternative for you.
Knowing that 8 Bits (little b) to a Byte (big B), so 1000Gb/sec is 125MB/sec.
If Comcast gives you 8Mb connection speed - you can download 1MB/sec.
Maths.
Good advice.
I would venture to say many older hard drives will not see speed gains with SATA. No reason to spend hard earned $ for negligible speed (data transfer) increases.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817198015
I was thinking about buying those two (that works, right? I just put the one in the other and I have myself a hard drive?) Or would I just be better off buying something like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148248 ?
Now that I look around, it actually seems roughly the same to buy a prefabbed HD, rather than the enclosure and internal separately, or am I doing something wrong?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817198015
I was thinking about buying those two (that works, right? I just put the one in the other and I have myself a hard drive?) Or would I just be better off buying something like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148248 ?
Now that I look around, it actually seems roughly the same to buy a prefabbed HD, rather than the enclosure and internal separately, or am I doing something wrong?