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    Vaio VPCZ11 has no eSATA port?

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by gwjr, Apr 16, 2010.

  1. gwjr

    gwjr Notebook Enthusiast

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    I've had my eye on the Sony Vaio VPCZ11 however, I would like to add an external hard drive for data storage, is the USB port the only way of hooking up an external hard drive? How come a high end notebook like this doesn't have a eSATA port? :rolleyes:
     
    gwjr, Apr 16, 2010
    #1
  2. count_schemula

    count_schemula Notebook Deity

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    I think it has a firewire port, which has always been faster than USB2 in my experience.
     
    count_schemula, Apr 16, 2010
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  3. Qwaarjet

    Qwaarjet Notebook Deity

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    most don't have a firewire port. at least the US models don't.
     
    Qwaarjet, Apr 16, 2010
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  4. bryan1988

    bryan1988 Notebook Consultant

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    are there any external hardisk running fire wire port? because sony is 4 pin not 6 pin. any recommendation?
     
    bryan1988, Apr 16, 2010
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  5. Malarkey

    Malarkey Notebook Guru

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    It has no eSata, which is nuts. I just bought an E series and it has one...

    I like the Z and still think it's the best out there, but any laptop released in 2010 that's aiming for the high end market really should either have USB 3 or eSATA.

    I overcame this by using the Expresscard slot.

    It DOES have a gigabit network port, which helps a lot.
     
    Malarkey, Apr 16, 2010
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  6. TheLastOracle

    TheLastOracle Notebook Enthusiast

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    The Z's firewire port is for Video file transfer and has only 4 pins. The missing 2 pins are power pins. If you really want an eSATA port, get an eSATA expresscard/34, then the Z will read the external SATA device. However, the I/O speed can not compete with the internal SATA II. I may be wrong, because I don't know data transfer speed of the card bus of the expresscard/34. Correct me, if you know. The internal SATA II is 3GB/s.
     
    TheLastOracle, Apr 16, 2010
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  7. ZugZug

    ZugZug Notebook Evangelist

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    It's Gb/s, not GB/s. ExpressCard in PCI-e mode is limited to 2.5Gb/s. Practical ceiling is probably lower but might exceed 1.5Gb/s of SATA I.

    But it's a meaningless exercise: good luck finding hard drives sustaining these speeds.
     
    ZugZug, Apr 16, 2010
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  8. Malarkey

    Malarkey Notebook Guru

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    Expresscard tops out at 2.5GB/s, so eSATA would be quicker but an Expresscard to eSATA works pretty well.

    I've used a Rosewill adapter and had mixed luck with it.

    Anyone else using an Expresscard SATA/eSATA solution? Which card, and how do you like it? going to buy another soon, so both good and bad experiences would be useful. Also, I'd love to be able to hotswap, which the Rosewill doesn't like.
     
    Malarkey, Apr 16, 2010
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  9. TheLastOracle

    TheLastOracle Notebook Enthusiast

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    I have an eSATA expresscard/34 from Other World Computing. It costs only $19. It works fine and fast for my MacBook Pro. I have not tested it for Z. I may try it this weekend, if I get time.
     
    TheLastOracle, Apr 16, 2010
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  10. gwjr

    gwjr Notebook Enthusiast

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    So get an eSATA expresscard/34? Sounds like that would work for me, thanks.
     
    gwjr, Apr 16, 2010
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  11. joseph_lin

    joseph_lin Notebook Consultant

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    I have one, it is ok. Mine is generic esata express card from amazon for around $19, the speed is around 45MBps, not as fast as desktop esata but is faster than usb2.0. You can get better speed if you pay more I believe.
     
    joseph_lin, Apr 16, 2010
    #11