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    Will I get max eSATA speed thru a pcmcia card?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by mgray, Nov 5, 2008.

  1. mgray

    mgray Notebook Geek

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    I'm not the most technical guy so bear with me please.

    I'm considering my options in regards to external HDDs (internal in enclosure). Since my Z96j doesn't come with an eSata port, I was wondering if it would be worth getting one thru my pcmcia slot?

    What I'd like to know is if the pcmcia will reduce the speed of eSata any? In other words, will I see the 150/300 sata speeds if going thru the pcmcia slot?

    I haven't done much shopping yet, but I've come across this http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2254078 it says it supports the 150 speed, but I don't see 300 mentioned anywhere, so does that mean it wont work with Sata300??

    Thanks
     
    mgray, Nov 5, 2008
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  2. namaiki

    namaiki "basically rocks" Super Moderator

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    related - definitely better performance than usb2
     
    namaiki, Nov 5, 2008
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  3. mgray

    mgray Notebook Geek

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    Sorry, I believe that I have an ExpressCard/54, not PCMCIA
     
    mgray, Nov 5, 2008
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  4. namaiki

    namaiki "basically rocks" Super Moderator

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    Right... well, expresscard has more bandwidth than PCMCIA, so there probably won't be any issues with performance.

    Also, sata300 is generally backwards compatible with the older standard.
     
    namaiki, Nov 5, 2008
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  5. Cheffy

    Cheffy Notebook Evangelist

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    Most HDD do not exceed the 150 mb/s rate anyway, so there is no real concern over that limiting you.
     
    Cheffy, Nov 5, 2008
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  6. mgray

    mgray Notebook Geek

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    mgray, Nov 5, 2008
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  7. Andy

    Andy Notebook Prophet

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    The 7200.3 tops out at 90MB/s. And the max throughput frequency of SATA2 is 300MB/s and of SATA1 is 150MB/s. So, even if the drive runs in SATA1 mode, the HDD performance will not be bottlenecked by the bandwidth.

    The drive will perform fine. (You would need to worry about SATA2 only if you get a X25M....)
     
    Andy, Nov 5, 2008
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  8. mgray

    mgray Notebook Geek

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    Ok thanks Andy, clearly I'm now over my head as I don't understand the difference of it being advertised at 300Gbs, but hearing that Sata2 is 300Mbs and you saying it will top out at 90Mbs....lol....any chance you can explain the different rates in a somewhat easy fashion?

    Thanks
     
    mgray, Nov 5, 2008
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  9. Andy

    Andy Notebook Prophet

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    300Gb/s - Bandwidth
    300MB/s - Throughput Frequency/Max Transfer Rate

    Now the HDD has a transfer rate of 90MB/s max.

    SATA2 is 300MB/s.

    HDD maxxes out at 90MB/s. So, 210MB/s from SATA2 gone waste....

    If HDD is in SATA1 mode (150MB/s), still 60MB/s gone waste....(150-90)

    Bottom Line: SATA2 or SATA1 --> It is not going to affect the performance of the HDD.

    (An HDD which has a max transfer rate of say 200MB/s, will be bottlenecked by SATA1, since that HDD will not be able to exceed ~150MB/s and will not be able to reach its peak of 200MB/s, and would need SATA2 to perform at its best.)
     
    Andy, Nov 5, 2008
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  10. xepherys

    xepherys Notebook Guru

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    mgray-

    Check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SATA#SATA_3Gb.2Fs.

    They use 3Gb/s in a rather misinforming manner. 3Gb/s is the signaling rate, not the data transfer rate. So yes, it may run at a maximum theoretical throughput of 300MB/s... but that theoretical limit is not really reachable with current SATA and magnetic-disc technology. It's not false advertising, it's just not a reasonable thing to expect most people to understand.

    So... you'll get roughly 90MB/s in practice. If the ExpressCard slot interfaces over PCIe (which most modern laptops do), the bus itself has a maximum throughput of ~300MB/s, SATA standards not withstanding. So, yes... using that eSATA solution should net you 100% of the available throughput of the drive... about 90MB/s
     
    xepherys, Nov 5, 2008
    #10