Is eSATA really hot-swapable?

[mcurphy]

Originally posted by: Old Hippie

Is there any chance you could please provide a link to a Vantec eSATA card? PCI or PCI Express?

I'm gonna get one of these also and was researching them yesterday. Here's tests and more tests of the cards and places to buy. It looks like the PCI card, not PCI-E, is a little faster and cheaper. Some cards have more than one internal and external ports.

Thanks for the links. The more I read about eSATA, the more confused I become

In the first link provided, the author mentions

All of the products we are looking at offer eSATA support, but since I don't have any eSATA drives, I will be sticking to S-ATA

What does that mean?? What makes a drive eSATA?? I thought using an external hdd enclosure..just like the Vantec Nexstar 3 he has...would make a SATA drive inot eSATA??

Then, as he is testing the Vantec enclosure, he doesn't connect to one of his eSATA cards, but rather the bracket that is included.

For the eSATA method, you first need to install a connector inside of your PC, which plugs into an available S-ATA port. Once done, you can connect the drive to the card via a cable that converts the S-ATA to eSATA.

OK, now that is all fine and dandy, but I think he is misleading the reader in this statement. From other research I have done, it seems that just using the provided bracket with a NexStar 3 will not give you true eSATA, at least not hot swappable capabilities.

I was under the impression that if you wanted true eSATA, and it is not built into your mobo, you would have to purchase a PCI or PCI Express card to gain the true eSATA hot swappable capabilities. Is this correct??

Or if I purchase the Vantec enclosure, throw my 320GB WD SATA drive into it, and use the included bracket am I going to have eSATA, even though my Gigabyte S3 does not have eSATA?

Sorry if this seems like rambling! lol I'm hoping someone can give me a clear answer.

 

[Old Hippie]

I was under the impression that if you wanted true eSATA, and it is not built into your mobo, you would have to purchase a PCI or PCI Express card to gain the true eSATA hot swappable capabilities. Is this correct??

Yes. If you want the Hot Swap, and eSATA isn't in your MB, you need the card.

 

[mcurphy]

Originally posted by: Old Hippie

I was under the impression that if you wanted true eSATA, and it is not built into your mobo, you would have to purchase a PCI or PCI Express card to gain the true eSATA hot swappable capabilities. Is this correct??

Yes. If you want the Hot Swap, and eSATA isn't in your MB, you need the card.

:thumbsup: Thanks for the answer!


That is what I thought, but Vantec and all of these other enclosure manufacturers sure make it confusing. They imply that the enclosure will give you eSATA when using the bracket they included. :disgust: