eSATA drives?

[allred]

Hi all,

I just want to check whether the following will work:

If I get an "Icy Box External Enclosure IB-360AStUS SATA + USB Combo - Black/LED (HD-004-BT)" or an "Icy Box IB-138SK-B 3.5" SATA HDD Caddy - Black (HD-006-BT)" http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/HD_Accessories.html and an "Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB 3200KS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM" http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Western_Digital_SATA.html will they work if I hook them up through my eSATA port on the I/O panel of my DFI Infinity 975X/G? I want to back up my Raptor RAID0 array to it. I only ask because I'm not sure whether SATA and eSATA use the same spec. If not I'll just get a USB Firewire combo from one of the HDD makers (probably Western Digital).

Cheers
Steve

 

[sruane]

eSata cable gas a different connector than internal sata.

 

[phreejak]

Here's the thing about eSATA and SATA enclosures and Manufacturer specs.

Internally, to use a sata drive in an enclosure, you wouldf, of course, need one with an internal sata connection. That being said, some enclosures will say that they have an eSATA external connection (to connect, of course, to an external eSATA port on your computer. However, if you glance over the various external enclosures that say they have this option available, you will find that some do not have a TRUE eSATA port connector but, in actuality, they have a regular sata port the is used externally and does not actually work with an eSATA port.

Ok, let me explain...

sata connectors are "L" shaped. eSATA connectors are straight. The trouble is that some external enclosure manufacturers do not distinguish between the two and will refer to an external sata connector as being eSATA (with the "L" shaped connector).

So, taking a look at a motherboard - the Abit AW9D-MAX for instance, has an eSATA coonector in the back and you wanted to use that, you would have to make certain that the enclosure you are purchasing uses the actual flat eSATA connector (and not an external "L" shaped sata connector). Look closely at the enclosure if it offers you a view of the back and the connector and make note of it's shape.

Some external enclosures, though, offer a PCI bracket with whatever connector it uses (eSATA or SATA) to allow an externally added connector to the back of your rig.

 

[valeriana]

...
Some external enclosures, though, offer a PCI bracket with whatever connector it uses (eSATA or SATA) to allow an externally added connector to the back of your rig.

That's what I did. I got a Vantec NexStar 3 with eSATA & USB, and it came with a SATA to eSATA bracket.

Now if only I could get the drive recognized...