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    USB/eSATA combo port

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Ganesh Ranganathan, Sep 29, 2008.

  1. Ganesh Ranganathan

    Ganesh Ranganathan Notebook Consultant

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    Hi,

    I have a Dell Studio 15 which according to its manual is supposed to have a eSATA port. But when I chatted with Dell, they said that the Studio doesnt have any such port on it. :confused:

    I did a bit of googling and found that there is usb/eSATA combo port in the studio and indeed one of the USB ports looks a bit different and also the USB connector is a lot tighter on it than the other ports.

    My question is, will I be able to connect an external HDD with an eSATA port to the laptop or will it require some external interface. In case if I am successfull in connecting the external HDD, will an USB/eSATA combo port give the same data transfer rates as a standalone eSATA port? Please help as I have to decide the connector for my external HDD depending on your answers. Thanks :)
     
    Ganesh Ranganathan, Sep 29, 2008
    #1
  2. sesshomaru

    sesshomaru Suspended Disbelief!

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    Yes, and Yes. You don't need any adapter, and the combo port will give you the same data transfer rates as a dedicated eSATA port.
     
    sesshomaru, Sep 29, 2008
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  3. wishmaker619

    wishmaker619 Notebook Guru

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    hi Ganesh
    i have HP Pavilion Dv5, my laptop also have an USB/eSATA combo port,
    so here it is
    -No, you won't need any external interface to connect your HDD
    -No idea about the transfer rate dude, because this is my first laptop so i can't compare, you understand right !!!!.. but it is way faster than the common USB transfer rate.....

    i am sure somone else on this site will answer that question

    hope this helped
    AD
     
    wishmaker619, Sep 29, 2008
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  4. wishmaker619

    wishmaker619 Notebook Guru

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    ooops din't check this post
    my bad ........
     
    wishmaker619, Sep 29, 2008
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  5. Ganesh Ranganathan

    Ganesh Ranganathan Notebook Consultant

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    Thanks Guys :) , do you have an idea of what all good external eSATA hard drives are available in India? I am tempted to buy the Western Digital Passport model, but its a USB device... :( There are a couple of FireWire ones available, but even thats slow compared to eSATA. A few other posts I read around here that most SATA HDDs dont have a significant practical speed difference compated to IDE. Only the theoretical speeds are different.

    Could you please tell me the actual data transfer rates for a USB,FireWire and an eSATA HDD. Thanks :)
     
    Ganesh Ranganathan, Sep 29, 2008
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  6. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    Ready made external HDDs with eSATA are hard to find. It may be easier to find a USB / eSATA enclosure and install your own HDD.

    I put some comparison results between USB and eSATA in this thread. I don't have any corresponding results for Firewire. It should be somewhere in between.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Sep 30, 2008
    #6