eSATA on VPC-Z (and S/Y series) - an eSATA ExpressCard Review

[JP$]

Can anyone confirm if esata carries power?

Mine does not. I too have to use USB to power the drive.

[TofuTurkey]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum.
I've googled and found this thread discussing about eSata Express card.

I've just bought Esata Express Card, and I'm having slow transfer problem.

I'm using a syba express card eSata, it's using silicon image 3132.

The problem is when I used in my laptop HP 6930 Vista, the transfer rate is slow, around 15 MB/s, the same if I use USB.
But if I used other laptop ACER windows 7, the transfer rate is high around 50 MB/s, as for USB only 15 MB/s.

Does any one could give me advice on what I should do?
I've googled enough for almost 2 days without luck

I'm wondering if it's because the throughput of the HP's expresscard slot is limited, e.g. it's not connected via a PCI port, unlike the Acer's. I'm not sure it's a driver problem, I don't think it's an OS issue. If it's an on-board hardware limitation, then I guess there's pretty much nothing we can do about it...

I've seen on this forum a couple of people testing to see what sort of interface the express slot uses, though I can't seem to remember which thread...

[Numer0bis]

Can anyone confirm if esata carries power?

As far as I know esata does not carry power, you need to power your drive externally.
And according to wikipedia:

"For small form-factor devices (such as external 2.5-inch disks), a PC-hosted USB or FireWire link supplies sufficient power to operate the device. Where a PC-hosted port is concerned, eSATA connectors cannot supply power, and would therefore be more cumbersome to use. Note that this problem has been solved by the introduction of eSATAp.[16] Some e-sata ports double as eSATA/USB."

[pyr0]

I'm wondering if it's because the throughput of the HP's expresscard slot is limited, e.g. it's not connected via a PCI port, unlike the Acer's. I'm not sure it's a driver problem, I don't think it's an OS issue. If it's an on-board hardware limitation, then I guess there's pretty much nothing we can do about it...

I've seen on this forum a couple of people testing to see what sort of interface the express slot uses, though I can't seem to remember which thread...

I doubt that this could be a hardware issue. Since the card actually works, it is clear that it is connected properly through the pci-e x1 bus. I would advise try other drivers / mod inf files if needed and give feedback (driver version, benchmark e.g. HD Tune etc.).

[TofuTurkey]

I doubt that this could be a hardware issue. Since the card actually works, it is clear that it is connected properly through the pci-e x1 bus. I would advise try other drivers / mod inf files if needed and give feedback (driver version, benchmark e.g. HD Tune etc.).

I don't know much about expresscards, but from here: ExpressCard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, it looks like it has two modes: a USB mode and a PCI-E mode. Looks like either the laptop is stuck in USB mode, or it only has that mode.

================================================

I am now a deity! Kneel, kneel all ye lowly humans, kneel to the turkey! Hahaha! Ahem...

As one of the privileges accorded to my station, I have my very own religious text. That's right, I call it, "The Gooble Goobledegook Text". And now I shall read from the third chapter, verse six, sentence two:

"And even though we live in times of turmoil, we must never neglect nor harm the turkeys living amongst us. Yea, keep them well-fed, and they shall bring blessings upon us all."

Gooble gooble.

[pyr0]

I don't know much about expresscards, but from here: ExpressCard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, it looks like it has two modes: a USB mode and a PCI-E mode. Looks like either the laptop is stuck in USB mode, or it only has that mode.

You are right, ExpressCard features both PCIe and USB capabilities. But the chips inside those cards do not connect through the USB interface, only through PCIe. I read that in the datasheets of the Silicon Image and JMicron chips.
Because of that, it is clear that if the card actually works, the connection through the PCIe bus is working properly, too.

[User Retired 2]

Can anyone confirm if esata carries power?

The 7 e-sata pins are GND/TX-/TX+/GND/RX+/RX-/GND. THe combo ports that come on some notebooks have e-sata+USB, with special cables that draw power from the USB component. These AKE cards definitely do not provide that.

[versager]

Guys, what would you think of this product here:
Express eSATA II SATA Port x1 Express Card 34mm Mac on eBay (end time 14-Nov-10 14:45:37 GMT)
Has anyone tried/used it, if so what was the performance like?
The description seems to be pretty much detailed, but still, I'd like to hear about from someone's experience who had a chance to work with that card

[pyr0]

Iti is a litttle bit expensive, but I can recommend that card. It has the Silicon Image chip on board so it will be exactly the same card like the delock I reviewed (clone, another sticker). In terms of functionality, this is the best flush fit card I know.

[Hayte]

The 7 e-sata pins are GND/TX-/TX+/GND/RX+/RX-/GND. THe combo ports that come on some notebooks have e-sata+USB, with special cables that draw power from the USB component. These AKE cards definitely do not provide that.

Yeah I've been trying to find a slim power over eSATA expresscard but I don't think they exist.

You can get eSATA/USB combo expresscards which supply power like this one but its not slim. Its got that big plastic thing that juts out which means the (rather inflexible) eSATA cable juts out even further.