eSata Port?

[I'm a Mac]

Does anyone have a clue if it is possible to connect an esata device to an iMac? I've seen usb to esata adapter but are they as fast? Is it worth it compared to firewire 800?

I do hd video on my portable hdd, so i need something fast.

 

[JML42691]

I am not positive, but I imagine that you would lose the speed in an eSATA to USB adapter, as the max speed on a USB is something like 480 mbps, while eSATA is much faster. I do not know of any way to get a direct connection for your computer though.

 

[Consultant]

For the fastest speed use firewire 800. USB is fairly slow.

 

[Airforce]

Does anyone have a clue if it is possible to connect an esata device to an iMac? I've seen usb to esata adapter but are they as fast? Is it worth it compared to firewire 800?

I do hd video on my portable hdd, so i need something fast.

It will be bottlenecked. Not worth it. Just go with Firewire or USB instead of eSata.

 

[Cave Man]

Consultant's right. Use FW 800; otherwise you'll have to hack into your iMac to run the SATA connector to an eSATA connector, then you'd lose your internal drive (if I'm not mistaken).

 

[I'm a Mac]

OK thanks. I'll go for a firewire 800 one. The G-tech ones are really cool looking...but the lacie has more storage for your buck....

 

[Sped]

Although I think Apple needs to get with the times and dump FW400 for eSATA, the review benchmarks I've seen don't show eSATA with much advantage over FW800. As I understand it, eSATA only gets up to its maximal transfer rates in RAID setups.

 

[CanadaRAM]

The only Macs that can take an adapter card to connect via eSATA are those with slots: PCI/PCI-X (G3/G4/G5 towers) PCI-e (G5, MacPro), PCMCIA Card/CardBus (Powerbook G4 15" and 17") and ExpressCard/34 (MacBook Pro)

 

[justperry]

G-tech "Clone"

OK thanks. I'll go for a firewire 800 one. The G-tech ones are really cool looking...but the lacie has more storage for your buck....

I bought a G-tech last year on Ebay,expensive,but last time I was in Singapore and I saw a "cloned" One.
I bought the empty casing for about 70 U$ and later on I found out that it was 100 % sure made by the same company,brushed aluminium,same screws and so on.
Buying this casing saved me a lot of money and it came with Firewire 400/800,esata,Usb,lots of ports and a lot cheaper.
Sadly my Mac died last Month and I am in an internet cafe so I can not check the brand,and I can not remember.
If you need the brand I will post it later,probably a few days later.
Cheers Perry

This is the One
IceCube Generation II SATA (USB2. 0/FW400/800/ eSATA) Enclosure

 

[Leon Kowalski]

... the review benchmarks I've seen don't show eSATA with much advantage over FW800.

That's been true in the past, but until very recently, high-capacity HDs
weren't fast enough to saturate a FW800 link on sustained transfers.

However, the latest big drives (e.g., Seagate's 7200.11 series) can
schlep >100 MB/s across the heads -- and they're only going to get
faster as perpendicular recording densities increase. The 7200.11's
are Seagate's second-generation P.R. drives, and they're 35%
faster than the first-generation 7200.10's (105 MB/s vs. 78 MB/s).

Also, a dedicated HD interface has huge performance advantages
over a shared firewire connection. Firewire disk performance takes
a big hit when you connect a camera, camcorder, or audio source
to the bus. The benchmarks never show that.

...bandwidth is your friend,

LK

 

[occamsrazor]

I'm using eSATA with my G4 via a PCI card. It is really great to be honest.
I've a couple of 2-drive enclosures in RAID-0 config and the speed is excellent.
Plus eSATA is just SATA with a different connector, so there's no conversion taking place.
I need to upgrade my machine and want the new AL iMac, but the lack of eSATA is a bit of a killer for me, having already invested in these eSATA encosures. O the other hand, the MacPro is just too expensive for me.
Sigh.
A FW800 to eSATA converter would be most welcome in the meantime... but I haven't seen any.
Ben

 

[occamsrazor]

This may be a semi-solution - a FW800 to eSATA converter just announced:

http://www.firmtek.com/seritek/seritek-spyder/

 

[marc-levin]

some e Sata cards you can check out, with reviews.

Does anyone have a clue if it is possible to connect an esata device to an iMac? I've seen usb to esata adapter but are they as fast? Is it worth it compared to firewire 800?

I do hd video on my portable hdd, so i need something fast.

+++
The USB adapter, will just allow you to connect an e Sata cable to your machine, but then it will run at USB speed. On the apple store site, there is one port card for the psi slot on a MacBook Pro made by Griffin, which are lot of people seem disappointed with.

But there are some internal cards (about $199) which many seem pretty pleased with. You can check these out on the Apple Store, along with reviews from apple users.

However, the best will be when Apple installs or offers e Sata ports on their machines.

 

[knewsom]

You'll want to use a dedicated FW 800 drive. The G-Tech drives are great, but if you need redundancy you'll have to get a multi-drive array - a RAID. I don't recommend a DROBO for editing. Too slow - no point even for using it on FW800. Ask how I know. A good FW800 drive should be fast enough.

 

[c32077]

I've got a newer MacBook Pro (purchased in August 2009). I was thinking about a new Drobo S with the eSATA port and using my slot to connect through.

Good Idea? Bad Idea?

I've heard Drobos were slow, but I thought the newer ones might be a bit faster with the eSATA.

Anyone with a clue about how well this new Drobo S would work with a MacBook Pro.

I need some kind of redundant backup. I lost 3 years of work recently to crash and I'm not interested in doing that again. I've got two externals right now. One running Time Machine and another Running Super Duper. Both are just about at capacity or already there.

I'm no programmer or huge techie. I have heard you can build your own and save money, but I just want something that works without my having to babysit it.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[BayouTiger]

I am considering moving from my 2006 Mac Pro to an i7 2TB iMac. I have been reluctant to move since I have all 4 bays taken with the following:
256 SSD - Boot
1TB WD Green - Data / Pictures
1TB WD Caviar Black - Scratch
2TB WD Green - iTunes Library

I have added a LaCie 4Big Quadra with 6TB which I am using for Time Machine and slowly moving my storage over to it. The big LaCie is crazy fast on eSata and can saturate the FW800 easily.

I figure the big savings in going with the iMac over the Pro allows me to justify the extra cost of the LaCie. I know new MP's are coming soon, but I am sure they will still carry the big premium over the "lowly" i7. I think if I sell my faithful Woodcrest MP, 30" and 23" ACD's, the 6TB LaCie and 2TB iMac make a pretty hard to beat combo.

 

[Badger^2]

You should start a new post -- not bump one from 2007

 

[BayouTiger]

You should start a new post -- not bump one from 2007

The topic is actually even more relevant today than in 2007, since with the i7 the iMac becomes a real beast.

 

[skadd]

When Sata Revison 3.1 gets finished, eSata will be faster than usb 3.0.

eSata (revision 3.1): 6 Gb/s
Usb 3.0: 4,8 Gb/s