Want to add 4th drive on a system with just 3 SATA ports.

[archeopetrix]

I have Gigabyte GA-G33M-S2H mobo with following features
3x internal SATA II ports
1x eSATA port on the back panel
1x PCI Express x16 slot
1x PCI Express x1 slot

I already have 3 sata drives connected to all three internal SATA ports.
And now I want to connect 4th internal SATA drive (Seagate Barracuda 7200.12).

Can I use eSATA port on the back panel to connect this 4th (internal, Seagate Barracuda) drive ? If yes, then how? Are there eSATA enclosures available which can hold 3.5" Seagate Barracuda internal drives? Do such enclosures require external power source with AC adapter?

Or are there simple eSata cables available that can connect my Internal 3.5" Barracuda to eSata port and let the power source be the normal Sata power rail from PSU. (This i would prefer over the enclosure/case if it exits)

What are Sata port multipliers? Can I use them instead of using eSata port for adding 4th sata drive?? Do these sata port multipliers connect to mother board using PCI Express slot or through one of the 3 onboard SATA ports??

Sorry for the noob question. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Hawkeye22]

You can purchase an eSATA enclosure for your drive. You may have to enable the port in your bios first. Most enclosures have an external power source.

Sata port multipliers share the bandwidth amongst separate ports. Most motherboards don't support that.

I have had one of these in black for 3 years now and it has worked flawlessly.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817392002

 

[SBMfromLA]

If you are dead set with keeping the 4th drive internal (instead of USB enclosure), why not just get SATA to eSata cable so you can plug it into the mounted drive and have the long back come out the back of the computer and plugged into the eSata port on the back of motherboard?