Is eSATA a bottleneck for a 7200rpm external HD ?

[Tomaz]

I'm thinking about putting myb 7200rpm 100GB harddrive into an eSATA enclosure and connect it to my MbP through the expresscard slot. I know that FW or USB have bus speeds below the HD speed (Mbit/s), how about eSATA? Would an external harddrive connected through eSATA be as fast as the same internal HD ?

Thanks for your help! ;-)

 

[Super Macho Man]

It is not a bottleneck. Should be very close to the same performance as an internal SATA HD if not the same.

 

[Tomaz]

Great, that's exactly the answer I was hoping for. Thanks!

So next question, are all eSATA cards Mac compatible?
This one i.e.:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2930508&CatId=1455

 

[n0d3]

The drive is the bottleneck in most cases.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Apiotek/EC0003D/

I'm using the one above and it works fine, no panics no nothing. Just had to update the firmware via Windows the first time I bought it, not sure if the ones shipping have been updated.

From what I've read, the one you've listed works as well, might want to Google a bit more though.

 

[Tomaz]

The drive is the bottleneck in most cases.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Apiotek/EC0003D/

I'm using the one above and it works fine, no panics no nothing. Just had to update the firmware via Windows the first time I bought it, not sure if the ones shipping have been updated.

From what I've read, the one you've listed works as well, might want to Google a bit more though.

Thanks for the link, I just ordered one ! ;-)

 

[n0d3]

Thanks for the link, I just ordered one ! ;-)

No problem! Here was a little review I did when I got the card.

http://forums.hardwarezone.com/showthread.php?t=1530147&page=1&pp=15

 

[Tomaz]

No problem! Here was a little review I did when I got the card.

http://forums.hardwarezone.com/showthread.php?t=1530147&page=1&pp=15

Thanks, great review!

I have no clue if my enclosure supports 3GhZ or just 1.5GhZ, but apparently even the slower enclosure was faster than your internal HD, is that correct? So the internal was 5400rpm and the external 7200rpm ?

 

[n0d3]

Thanks, great review!

I have no clue if my enclosure supports 3GhZ or just 1.5GhZ, but apparently even the slower enclosure was faster than your internal HD, is that correct? So the internal was 5400rpm and the external 7200rpm ?

Yup thats right, there shouldn't be much difference between 3Ghz and 1.5Ghz since the bottle neck is with the 7200rpm drives...unless you're using the faster 10krpm WD Raptors.

The external drive was definitely faster than the internal one.