Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
need esata expresscard for MBP
- Thread starter bchamorro
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I have the same need and have searched both NewEgg and Amazon, always reading the reviews carefully. It seems as though this one is the only item that works well with a MBP, according to the reviews. However, some people say that the real-world speed is actually no better than Firewire 800. Also, that one is $82, which seems a bit steep. (I don't need 2 ports.)
Does anyone have this card or another one that works well with Leopard on a MBP? And what kind of speeds do you get? Is it faster than Firewire 800?
Does anyone have this card or another one that works well with Leopard on a MBP? And what kind of speeds do you get? Is it faster than Firewire 800?
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
As per the interface, eSATA can achieve 375MB/s, while FW800 only 100MB/s.
So the throughput is really a factor of the HDD used. For example, if you stuff a Velociraptor in an external enclosure, you'd see a difference, as it can handle the maximum burst rate. FW800 can't.
If configured for RAID, 2 drive RAID 0 in particular, and the difference becomes obvious, as the avg. transfer rate is well over 100MB/s.
Hope this helps.
So the throughput is really a factor of the HDD used. For example, if you stuff a Velociraptor in an external enclosure, you'd see a difference, as it can handle the maximum burst rate. FW800 can't.
If configured for RAID, 2 drive RAID 0 in particular, and the difference becomes obvious, as the avg. transfer rate is well over 100MB/s.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for the tips. If I attach a LaCie 7200rpm drive that has both eSata and FW 800 ports, should I bother getting the expresscard, or will FW 800 be just as fast with that drive?
I don't know what HDD they used, but if it's a single drive, FW800 would likely be just fine.
Cheaper too.
I don't know what HDD they used, but if it's a single drive, FW800 would likely be just fine.
Yeah, it's a single drive, and I just noticed that it's FW400, not 800. So maybe the Expresscard is worthwhile after all?
In the case of FW400, yes.
Unless you don't mind ssslllooowww.
OK. Thanks! Now if anyone knows anything about the expresscards...
Newegg does offer a few.OK. Thanks! Now if anyone knows anything about the expresscards...
Rosewill RC-605 SATAII ExpressCard 2 x SATA - Retail for $29.99
Overall, it has decent reviews in the "Customer Review" tab.
VANTEC UGT-ST450CB SATAII ExpressCard 2 x eSATA - Retail for $34.99
No customer reviews though, and an additional $5.00.
SoNNeT Tempo SATA ExpressCard/34 Model TSATAII-E342P - Retail for $92.95
Again, no customer reviews, but the cost may have something to do with it.
It does support up to 10 drives via port multiplier enclosures, and Sonnet Tech generally produces decent stuff.
From what I gathered from the customer review section, I'd think the Rosewill would be fine.
And the price is decent too.
Newegg does offer a few.
Rosewill RC-605 SATAII ExpressCard 2 x SATA - Retail for $29.99
Overall, it has decent reviews in the "Customer Review" tab.
VANTEC UGT-ST450CB SATAII ExpressCard 2 x eSATA - Retail for $34.99
No customer reviews though, and an additional $5.00.
SoNNeT Tempo SATA ExpressCard/34 Model TSATAII-E342P - Retail for $92.95
Again, no customer reviews, but the cost may have something to do with it.
It does support up to 10 drives via port multiplier enclosures, and Sonnet Tech generally produces decent stuff.
From what I gathered from the customer review section, I'd think the Rosewill would be fine.
I really appreciate you looking those up. I had found the same ones in my own searching, but didn't get a sense that any one of them was a sure-fire good deal for Mac. For example, one person wrote about the Rosewill:
I don't want something that is going to crash my computer, of course. So I was just hoping someone had a solid firsthand recommendation.
I understand....one person wrote about the Rosewill:
I don't want something that is going to crash my computer, of course. So I was just hoping someone had a solid firsthand recommendation.
But reading further into the other reviews, it seemed that it wasn't a common occurrence, and would be solvable via drivers. Others who bought it for use in a Mac seemed quite happy with it.Besides, ultimately, there is no such thing as "absolutely problem free" when it comes to electronics.
I understand.
Besides, ultimately, there is no such thing as "absolutely problem free" when it comes to electronics.
Hmm, you're right. I completely missed that note from the manufacturer about the driver. Maybe this is the one to get, then. Thanks!
Any Sil3132 based eSATA express card should work.
I am using one made by some Taiwanese company. Works like a charm on my new MBP =)
I used to use it in Vista too with my old laptop.
There are two versions of the card. RAID and non-RAID. I went for the non-RAID one as I don't need RAID and don't want to install extra RAID software in my mac.
http://www.siliconimage.com/support/index.aspx?pid=32&cid=3&
You can download the drivers for Sil3132 here.
Edit: Oh ya~ avoid using Seagate FreeAgent series of eSATA drives with it. I read somewhere that there are compatibility issues.
I am using one made by some Taiwanese company. Works like a charm on my new MBP =)
I used to use it in Vista too with my old laptop.
There are two versions of the card. RAID and non-RAID. I went for the non-RAID one as I don't need RAID and don't want to install extra RAID software in my mac.
http://www.siliconimage.com/support/index.aspx?pid=32&cid=3&
You can download the drivers for Sil3132 here.
Edit: Oh ya~ avoid using Seagate FreeAgent series of eSATA drives with it. I read somewhere that there are compatibility issues.
Sorry to awaken this old thread, but can anyone tell me if this no-name eSata Expresscard34 will work with my MBP?
-----
PCMCIA/EXC Serial ATA : Express Card - eSATA II - 2port Silicon Image
Express Card - eSATA II - 2port Silicon Image
Features
This ExpressCard/34 eSATA can upgrade your notebook computer to have two SATA II 3Gbps channels. This card provides a 1X 2.5Gbps ExpressCard/34 interface on the host side and dual, fully compliant SATA II 3Gbps ports on the device side to access Serial ATA mobile external and internal storage devices such as hard disk drive, ZIP drive, CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-ROM.dual channel eSATA II from ExpressCard slot directly
- Chipset : Silicon Image SIL3132
- Supports 1-lane 2.5Gbps ExpressCard/34
- Compliant with PCI Express Specification, revision 1.0a
- Supports SATA II transfer rate of 3.0Gbps
- Fully compliant with SATA 1.0 specifications
- Supports two independent SATA channels
- Independent Link, Transport, and data FIFO
- Independent command fetch, scatter/gather, and command execution
- Supports Legacy Command Queuing (LCQ)
- Supports Native Command Queuing (NCQ)
- Supports Non-zero offsets NCQ
- Supports Out of order data delivery NCQ
- Supports FIS-based switching with Port Multipliers
- All external ports are compatible to eSATA Specification System Requirement
- Two SATA2 Shielding & Durable connectors (eSATA)
- 48 bits LBA can Break Capacity-Limit to Support HDD larger than 137GB
- Fully Plug & Play and Hot plug capability
- Supported Windows 2000/XP/Vista
---------------------------
The chipset seems pretty standart, it mentions windows support, but the card is no name, so pretty hopeless to google...
-----
PCMCIA/EXC Serial ATA : Express Card - eSATA II - 2port Silicon Image
Express Card - eSATA II - 2port Silicon Image
Features
This ExpressCard/34 eSATA can upgrade your notebook computer to have two SATA II 3Gbps channels. This card provides a 1X 2.5Gbps ExpressCard/34 interface on the host side and dual, fully compliant SATA II 3Gbps ports on the device side to access Serial ATA mobile external and internal storage devices such as hard disk drive, ZIP drive, CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-ROM.dual channel eSATA II from ExpressCard slot directly
- Chipset : Silicon Image SIL3132
- Supports 1-lane 2.5Gbps ExpressCard/34
- Compliant with PCI Express Specification, revision 1.0a
- Supports SATA II transfer rate of 3.0Gbps
- Fully compliant with SATA 1.0 specifications
- Supports two independent SATA channels
- Independent Link, Transport, and data FIFO
- Independent command fetch, scatter/gather, and command execution
- Supports Legacy Command Queuing (LCQ)
- Supports Native Command Queuing (NCQ)
- Supports Non-zero offsets NCQ
- Supports Out of order data delivery NCQ
- Supports FIS-based switching with Port Multipliers
- All external ports are compatible to eSATA Specification System Requirement
- Two SATA2 Shielding & Durable connectors (eSATA)
- 48 bits LBA can Break Capacity-Limit to Support HDD larger than 137GB
- Fully Plug & Play and Hot plug capability
- Supported Windows 2000/XP/Vista
---------------------------
The chipset seems pretty standart, it mentions windows support, but the card is no name, so pretty hopeless to google...
Yes, that card works in Macs.
You just have to find the right drivers.\Silicon Image's OS X driver site (note that there's different drivers for SL, and they're a Beta without RAID support).
There's been one person who had issues with them in SL, but it was a PCIe card (same chip) in an '09 MacPro). But the LaCie drivers (same chip) got it working in that case.