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Ordered this eSata PCI-E Card. Anyone tried it?

Dadioh

Dadioh

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 3, 2010
1,123
36
Canada Eh?
Ordered one of these for $25 off eBay. My current 1TB external drive has both USB and eSata connections and serves as my time machine for my Macpro1,1. Thought that for $25 it would speed things up a bit and give me some future eSata options for an external multidrive enclosure. Anyone used this one before? Did I waste $25 :(

Ordered from HK so will probably be a few weeks before I can answer my own question....

Features:
Support one-lane , 2.5Gbps PCI Express
PCI Express x1 interface , compatible with PCI Express x1, x4, x8, x16 slots.
Integrated Serial ATA Transport,Link and PHY logic
Compliant with Serial ATA 1.0a specification with support for full complement of SATA II optional features
Supports all Serial ATA II features, including 3.0 Gbps SATA II transfer speeds, Native Command Queuing, port multipliers with FIS-based switching, programmable output signal swing strengths for longer external cables or extended backplanes, hot plugging, enclosure management and ATAPI device support
Host Protocol
Drivers supports Just a Bunch of Disks(JBOD)
Supports DMA & PIO mode
Optimized for transaction-oriented designs; minimal host overhead
Supports two command-issuance mechanisms:
Efficient in both embedded and PC implementations
Reduces dependency on bridge behavior
JTAG boundary scan
Compatible with Mac Pro with PCI-E slots.
Not compatible with internal SATA bays in Mac Pro swap Drive Rack
Data Mode Only - controller and RAID array not bootable into Mac OS X
Support OS X 10.4 , 10.5 & 10.6

2 Internal SATA & 2 External Interface eSATA supporting/connect up to two SATA II devices (Jumper set)

Package contents:

1 x CD
100% new in Package
1 x SATA & eSATA PCI-E Card (PCB Colour : Red or Black)
2 x SATA II Data Cable
 

Attachments

  • esata_pcie.jpg
    esata_pcie.jpg
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We there any more of these cards from the ebay seller? If so can you post a link.
 
I was actually planning on ordering the same card when I get my mac pro. Once it has arrived, maybe post a review or PM me? I guess it either works or it doesn't, but I've read about people having bad experiences with some cards.
 
dimme said:
We there any more of these cards from the ebay seller? If so can you post a link.
Click to expand...

Wasn't sure about the rules in the forum for posting links. Pretty easy to find if you search eBay for "esata pcie osx"

I tried doing some googling to see if I could find any pictures that matched up with this one to see what controller it uses (but no luck). But they do say it supports 10.6 and also supports port multipliers so I could attach an external eSata raid setup (I think... I hope). But that is further down the line. For now it would just be 1 external hard drive for time machine.
 
Danekero said:
I was actually planning on ordering the same card when I get my mac pro. Once it has arrived, maybe post a review or PM me? I guess it either works or it doesn't, but I've read about people having bad experiences with some cards.
Click to expand...

Will do. Hopefully it arrives soon and I can report back here.
 
They look like the two I bought over a year ago for like $7.95 each and free shipping from Hong Kong. At that time they used the SIL3132 chip, and drivers were a nightmare. Now that the driver issue is fixed (I think) I have gone to a Sonnet E4P. Works fine and even gives me port multiplication, but not sure about booting - never tried. External storage and time machine use only.

If yours are like mine, you can use external or internal, but not both simultaneously because of the jumpers.
 
Looks like a standard SIL3132 card.

I've got that very card (only difference I can see is a black PCB) in my Pro. It supports PM, can't boot OS X, works very well with Sonnet drivers, supports only two drives at once (2 external, 2 internal, or 1 each), and maxes out at about 115MB/s.

I guess that's pretty much everything to say about that card.
 
Transporteur said:
Looks like a standard SIL3132 card.

I've got that very card (only difference I can see is a black PCB) in my Pro. It supports PM, can't boot OS X, works very well with Sonnet drivers, supports only two drives at once (2 external, 2 internal, or 1 each), and maxes out at about 115MB/s.

I guess that's pretty much everything to say about that card.
Click to expand...

Thanks. The listing did say red or black PCB so I guess I could end up with either. I was only planning on using external so I am ok with not using internal at the same time. Should still be faster than USB to the drive anyways.

Will try downloading the Sonnet drivers when it arrives.
 
Just a quick update. I ended up getting the black PCB version (like it matters :) I set the jumpers to use the 2 external eSATA ports, installed it, and ran the SIL3132_1.2.5.0 package. Added my Time Machine external drive and a disk dock (I use it for backing up on bare drives). It has been working flawlessly. And it solved 2 intermittent issues I was having. Once in a while my time machine disk would stop working (would get a complaint from TM and an exclamation mark on the TM icon). Ejecting the disk and restarting it would clear the issue. That hasn't happened once (touch wood) since I started using it on eSATA rather than USB. The other thing I noticed is that my bluetooth USB dongle (cheapo eBay one) would go insane once in a while and drop my bluetooth mouse and trackpad. I suspected maybe a conflict on the USB bus. Well that hasn't happened since the upgrade either.

So kinda glad to get the disks off the USB bus. Better transfer rates and solved two annoying issues.

Thumbs up on this card if anyone is considering picking one up cheap off eBay.
 
Dadioh said:
Just a quick update. I ended up getting the black PCB version (like it matters :) I set the jumpers to use the 2 external eSATA ports, installed it, and ran the SIL3132_1.2.5.0 package. Added my Time Machine external drive and a disk dock (I use it for backing up on bare drives). It has been working flawlessly. And it solved 2 intermittent issues I was having. Once in a while my time machine disk would stop working (would get a complaint from TM and an exclamation mark on the TM icon). Ejecting the disk and restarting it would clear the issue. That hasn't happened once (touch wood) since I started using it on eSATA rather than USB. The other thing I noticed is that my bluetooth USB dongle (cheapo eBay one) would go insane once in a while and drop my bluetooth mouse and trackpad. I suspected maybe a conflict on the USB bus. Well that hasn't happened since the upgrade either.

So kinda glad to get the disks off the USB bus. Better transfer rates and solved two annoying issues.

Thumbs up on this card if anyone is considering picking one up cheap off eBay.
Click to expand...

I ordered this same black version you mention here, and just installed it with the driver package you mention. I did not do any jumpers on the card, nor did I use the red jumper cables. I cannot for the life of me get the card to see my Gtech 3TB external drive. I see the card in my hardware, but it shows it as driver: not installed. I have rebooted the machine, etc, nothing. I am on Lion 10.7.2, and have a 2009 Mac pro.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
kkanuck said:
I ordered this same black version you mention here, and just installed it with the driver package you mention. I did not do any jumpers on the card, nor did I use the red jumper cables. I cannot for the life of me get the card to see my Gtech 3TB external drive. I see the card in my hardware, but it shows it as driver: not installed. I have rebooted the machine, etc, nothing. I am on Lion 10.7.2, and have a 2009 Mac pro.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

I only ran that card on snow leopard. I never did update my Mac pro to lion because I use 3 displays on my flashed 5770 and lion breaks that :-(

So it sounds like you need lion drivers for the card.
 
kkanuck said:
I ordered this same black version you mention here, and just installed it with the driver package you mention. I did not do any jumpers on the card, nor did I use the red jumper cables. I cannot for the life of me get the card to see my Gtech 3TB external drive. I see the card in my hardware, but it shows it as driver: not installed. I have rebooted the machine, etc, nothing. I am on Lion 10.7.2, and have a 2009 Mac pro.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

OK, I seem to have gotten it working. Not sure if it will last, since reports say Lion may remove the .kext upon restarts and place it in the incompatible software folder. But here's what got it working for me:

1) Remove the card and move all 8 jumpers on the card to the 1-2 position (you'll see a marking for the #1 pin). It seems the cards ship with the two internal data ports active. Moving the jumpers deactivates those and activates the external esata channels.

2) Download and install the Sonnet E2P Driver from here http://www.sonnettech.com/support/downloads/software/DSKCD-E2PE342PE_NEW.dmg which should update the SI3132 kext

Bob's your uncle. Hope this helps.
 
robogobo said:
OK, I seem to have gotten it working. Not sure if it will last, since reports say Lion may remove the .kext upon restarts and place it in the incompatible software folder. But here's what got it working for me:

1) Remove the card and move all 8 jumpers on the card to the 1-2 position (you'll see a marking for the #1 pin). It seems the cards ship with the two internal data ports active. Moving the jumpers deactivates those and activates the external esata channels.

2) Download and install the Sonnet E2P Driver from here http://www.sonnettech.com/support/downloads/software/DSKCD-E2PE342PE_NEW.dmg which should update the SI3132 kext

Bob's your uncle. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...


Many Thanks...
 
It works. I bought from amazon a different one. Make sure chip set is right. You will get around 380 read and 280 write speed.

HOWEVER, THESE CARD WILL SLOW DOWN YOUR GRAPHICS. WHEN YOU LOAD WEB PAGE, YOU WILL FIND IT SHARED GRAPHIC CARD"S bandwidth with CPU. I FINALLY, pulled out and using two SSD for a on board raid 0. This give me about 500 read and 380 write speed on SATAIII SSDs.

In the end pcie 1x SATAIII card is not a good working solution for me. Again on board SATA II raid 0 gave me the best results and not slowing down graphics.
 
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Also wanted to point out that I have 2 in my MP. One is a Dynex card from Best Buy and has worked just fine (but not bootable) since 10.5 through Lion.

The other one was a PC card (SIIG chip, I believe) but worked just fine. Got it free from a guy at work who was literally throwing out boxes of various PC parts and so on. Threw it in just to see if it would work and it did.

The Dynex one sells for like $20 or less, I believe for those of you looking to add eSATA.
 
On board SATA is better

Prince134 said:
It works. I bought from amazon a different one. Make sure chip set is right. You will get around 380 read and 280 write speed.

HOWEVER, THESE CARD WILL SLOW DOWN YOUR GRAPHICS. WHEN YOU LOAD WEB PAGE, YOU WILL FIND IT SHARED GRAPHIC CARD"S bandwidth with CPU. I FINALLY, pulled out and using two SSD for a on board raid 0. This give me about 500 read and 380 write speed on SATAIII SSDs.

In the end pcie 1x SATAIII card is not a good working solution for me. Again on board SATA II raid 0 gave me the best results and not slowing down graphics.
Click to expand...


Has anyone using pcie SSD noticed graphic display lag by change web page? i.e.. swipe safari page as I did?

You probably will stay with SATA ports. On board RAIDo is really fast, it give me SAMSUNG EVO both read and write speed over 500MB (R/W improved from my last post) and won't become pcie burden at all.
 
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