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    eSATA via ExpressCard adapter

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Rich.Carpenter, Jan 11, 2009.

  1. Rich.Carpenter

    Rich.Carpenter Cranky Bastage

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    Is there any performance loss in connecting an eSATA drive via an ExpressCard adapter as opposed to a typical eSATA port on the notebook motherboard? Does ExpressCard use a different bus that is limited somehow or anything?
     
    Rich.Carpenter, Jan 11, 2009
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  2. D3X

    D3X the robo know it all

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    Very little performance loss.

    ExpressCard is basically a card format of PCIe. It will allow very fast transfers and will be no different than a port directly connected on the motherboard(through the PCIe bus controller). From my experience it's up to around 110MB/sec compared to USB 2.0 which tops out at 33MB/sec. I have a expresscard slot for my MacBook Pro which I use for both Windows and OS X.
     
    D3X, Jan 11, 2009
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  3. Rich.Carpenter

    Rich.Carpenter Cranky Bastage

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    Sorry, but does that mean there *would* be some performance drop-off, even if it is slight? From the rest of your post I got the impression that there would be none, and that ExpressCard basically utilizes the same bus, and therefore should see the same performance.

    Heck, I haven't seen 110MB/sec even on my desktop eSATA (usually around 90), but I'm only running a C2D E6300, and I don't know what impact that might have.
     
    Rich.Carpenter, Jan 11, 2009
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  4. D3X

    D3X the robo know it all

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    Well no that's not what I meant. It also depends on the manufacturer and which eSATA controller/driver is being used. Some perform better than others and I'm simply leaving that difference up in the air. It's still a heck of a lot faster than USB or even Firewire 400 at 90MB/sec. The transfer speeds are also dependent on the drive itself beyond 80MB/sec so it's hard to compare the reason.

    Personally anything faster than 33MB/sec would be a srastic improvement.
     
    D3X, Jan 11, 2009
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