Which Hard Drive should I pick?

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PC eye

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911aaron said:
I found it
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812226006
:)

One question still goes unanswered though:
Could I transfer the external hard drive between two computers? Use it sorta like a USB flash drive?
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All an eSata port does is add an extension cable that plugs directly into the board while the drive is in an external housing. The case here already sees an eSata port at the top of the case along with extra audio jacks and a pair of usb ports.

For other cases you would use a PCI adaper with one or two ports seen on that for a case lacking a port. An eSata capable external drive is generally preferred over a usb model since you have a direct plug in rather then counting on the usb bus for access time while a usb external is far more convenient while transfering files between let's say a laptop and desktop being more portable.
 
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SirKenin

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dudesmellthisxe5.jpg
 
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fortyways

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The expansion card sees your case as seen there and the seen SATA sees your motherboard's SATA connector so your seen external hard drive can see SATA through the seen expansion card.
 
Cleric7x9

Cleric7x9

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PC eye said:
All an eSata port does is add an extension cable that plugs directly into the board while the drive is in an external housing. The case here already sees an eSata port at the top of the case along with extra audio jacks and a pair of usb ports.

For other cases you would use a PCI adaper with one or two ports seen on that for a case lacking a port. An eSata capable external drive is generally preferred over a usb model since you have a direct plug in rather then counting on the usb bus for access time while a usb external is far more convenient while transfering files between let's say a laptop and desktop being more portable.
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an eSata port is different from an internal Sata port. you cannot use the same cable, so saying "all it does is add an extension cable" is a little simplistic, because that would imply you could simply plug your eSata device directly into your motherboard if you wanted to, which is not correct
 
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PC eye

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Cleric7x9 said:
an eSata port is different from an internal Sata port. you cannot use the same cable, so saying "all it does is add an extension cable" is a little simplistic, because that would imply you could simply plug your eSata device directly into your motherboard if you wanted to, which is not correct
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Where are you coming up with that? An eSata port uses a different type of connector while still seeing a cable go directly to the board. The addon cards see the standard sata type connector there.

The external drive still sees a direct connection to the board with two cables instead of one. A usb or firewire model uses a totally different bus for those while external can still be removed from the casing and installed internally. Did you know that? Probably not. And did you know that not all external drives are sata.
 
Cleric7x9

Cleric7x9

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PC eye said:
Where are you coming up with that? An eSata port uses a different type of connector while still seeing a cable go directly to the board. The addon cards see the standard sata type connector there.

The external drive still sees a direct connection to the board with two cables instead of one. A usb or firewire model uses a totally different bus for those while external can still be removed from the casing and installed internally. Did you know that? Probably not. And did you know that not all external drives are sata.
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yes, im aware that not all external drives are esata, not sure why you brought that up. and please stop using 'see' in place of 'have,' it makes it very hard to understand what you are saying when you misuse verbs. and sata uses a bus just the same as USB does. a usb port connects to the motherboard just as a sata port does. it just so happens that a sata port is faster, but not because it bypasses anything, but because its a FASTER bus. and all i said was that an esata port connector is different than a sata port connector. you are arguing things (poorly) that nobody even said.
 
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PC eye

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You still missed the point being made. And eSata drive still plugs directly into the board's own sata port by way of having two cables(one to eSata port or addon card with standard sata ports seen there) while an external drive plugging into a usb port or using a firewire connection is then on a totally different bus.

Data has to cross over from one bus to another when going to copy files from drive to drive whether internal to external or reverse. Now was that difficult to follow?
 
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TrainTrackHack

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Why are you going with this dumb eSata flame war? Just get an external HDD that plugs into a USB port. At least it will work on every computer (unless you have windows 3.1 installed)... I've been very happy with mine, never had a problem. Also, don't you need to us an external power source if you have an eSata portable... SATA ports can't supply the voltage required to spin the platters, can they?

Not every computer out there sees an eSata port, which is why I would rather see a USB HDD being bought, as seen. And yes, a USB HDD can be seen used just like a USB flashdrive, as seen here, here, and here:
<imagine a buncha screenshots>

:p -jKz-
 
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PC eye

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Some others like to see threads torn up rather then staying on topic I guess. The only thing seen with usb or firewire drives is a slight delay when first going to browse or copy files to them or from them. An eSata drive being connected directly by way of two not one data cable despite seeing the break for the two types of plugs is simply quicker to access being plugged into a sata port.

When copying or moving large files or a large volume of files the time is less with an eSata while transferring files back and forth between systems is obviously easier since 98SE up supports usb not 95 or 3.1. External drives see their own power source being the ac to 12v wall adapter while the data cable(s) allows Windows to control the drive.
 
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TrainTrackHack

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Umm what delay? Didn't notice...

How exactly would copying of a large colume of files be faster when using an eSata external? AFAIK harddrives simply ain't fast enough to be limited by USB 2.0 standard, am I not right?:confused:

Anyway, I do have a portable HD that plugs into USB, no separate power cables needed. As a matter of fact, most external HDDs I've seen out there don't need a separate power supply.
 
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PC eye

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The WD usb external model here has a small ac wall adapter for power and the single usb cable going to a port. It does take just a second or so longer since an eSata or drive that has cable plugging into an expansion with standard ports on it is under the onboard sata controllers directly.

When and if you unplug and then replug a usb drive with the original factory Fat32 partition on it there's the automatic delay seen when Windows has to redetect the drive and the software installer comes up. When reformatted to NTFS the autorun.inf file will see the autoplay popup seen when putting a disk in an optical drive on XP. On Vista the recognition is instantaneous there.
 
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SirKenin

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When you add any new device to any external or internal port in Windows, the first time it's installed it detects the devices and installs the drivers. There will be a delay there. This holds true regardless of the file system on the drive, because the file system has absolutely nothing to do with the drivers being loaded. This is an issue with the controller drivers being loaded, something that is completely and totally file system and interface independent.

The next time, provided it's plugged into the exact same port, the loading will be almost instantaneous, regardless of whether it's eSATA or USB 2.

It doesn't matter if it's FAT, NTFS or CDFS, autorun.inf or no autorun.inf, if autorun is enabled in Windows, a menu will pop up, even if it's just to say "open folder to view files". If it doesn't, MS offers a tool on their website to fix this feature.

There exists no drive on the market that I know of that is capable of saturating a USB 2.0 bus continuous. It is conceivable that could change in the near future. The sole exception may be transfers of very large, contiguous files.

USB 2.0 can easily power a 2.5" drive. On the rare exception that it can't, the USB cable will have two plugs on it to plug into two USB ports for the extra power. 3.5" drive results vary. Typically they need a power adapter.

eSATA can not power an external drive.

Most external enclosures will offer both USB 2 and eSATA if they offer eSATA connectivity. Thus, it's not an issue if you choose to use the eSATA capability on one computer, USB 2 on the other.

The portable drive can be completely blank and Windows will still autodetect it and install the drivers. The exception is Windows 98. However, the manufacturer provides a driver disk for the rare occasion that a person is using a Windows 98 computer. The same holds true for USB thumbdrives.
 
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PC eye

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The Disk Management tool will see any drive detected while the software that comes preinstalled on the external drives is due to the factory Fat32 partitions for use with both Windows and Mac. Mac can't use NTFS while it can access Fat32 with the software companies preinstall. This is why Windows users are advised to see the partition redone as NTFS for instant availability being native to 2000, XP. and Vista.

When an installed drive still seeing the factory partition is unplugged before starting the system and then replugging it in while Windows is up the autorun file will see the installer come back up again once the drive is detected. Sometimes seeing the drive shut totally when the system is shutdown requires a restart of the system and a second shutdown if you had unplugged the drive instead of leaving it plugged in at all times.

The main item that will come up with a usb model while generally still reliable is simply seeing the occasional glitch seen with any usb addon device. An eSata drive on the other hand goes direct to a sata port on the board. That will always be instant recognition just as if the drive was installed internally. Drivers for usb devices occasionally need to be refreshed or reinstalled when some drive or device fails to be immediately seen.
 
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