External Backup HD

rpstewart

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Normally I suggest getting a caddy and drive separately.

What interface do you want? USB will be more portable but eSATA is a lot faster - no need for an eSATA port as most of the caddies also come with a bracket to allow connection to an internal port.
 

matt631

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Not really bothered on what sort of connection i use. The fastest means of transfer i guess would be my methob of choice.. My motherboard is the EVGA 680i....

(what about a network drive as i have two network ports on the back of my mobo??)
 

rpstewart

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rpstewart

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You won't get anywhere close to 1Gbps with Ethernet, anything above 40% capacity and you start seeing packet collision issues which mess up performance.

Then you have to take into account the device itself, most of the reports I've seen suggest that 20Mb/s is about as much as you can get out of them, regardless of the speed of the ethernet port on them (the linked one is 100Mbit).

For speed eSATA is the way to go, it's the same speed as an internal SATA drive but with the convenience of USB2.
 

matt631

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ok that sounds like a plan then. can you just clarify what esata is and what sort of connections i would need to hook this up.. (as said above i have a evga 680i motherboard) and i dont have any spare pci card holders on the back of my machine. "well i do have one however theres a big graphics card that kind of leans into the 2nd slot so anything more than a cable coming from the PCI plate would be an issue
 

rpstewart

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eSATA is just external SATA, it's the same standard as internal SATA, same speeds etc but the connector is slightly different, unfortunately the EVGA board doesn't have one on the I/O backplate. The IcyDock caddy I linked to comes with a connector which links an internal SATA port to a PCI bracket but if you've not got any free slots that might be an issue. The cable and connector aren't that big so you may be able to remove it from the bracket and pass it out through another hole in the case but it'll be a bit of a bodge job.

If you google the model of the caddy it'll link you to a review with pics of the SATA bracket - I'm not sure if the link would be classed as a competitor due to further links to prices etc so I'll not link directly to be on the safe side.
 

matt631

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That all sounds good and i like the look of the caddy but its the wrong colour as i really need one in black (My whole setup is black so far) i was thinking about getting maybe this one

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-004-BT&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=72


My only question i have is does this unit also connect up via external sata as all it says is sata? (which of coarse is only an internal connection) and if so does it come with the required PCI bracket

Does anyone have one of these that could maybe provide the answer?
 

rpstewart

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That one is the one I mentioned in one of my earlier posts - you need to open it up to swap between eSATA and USB as the connection method. According to the manufacturer's product page it comes with a SATA bracket.
 

jbloggs

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matt631 said:
That all sounds good and i like the look of the caddy but its the wrong colour as i really need one in black (My whole setup is black so far) i was thinking about getting maybe this one

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-004-BT&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=72


My only question i have is does this unit also connect up via external sata as all it says is sata? (which of coarse is only an internal connection) and if so does it come with the required PCI bracket

Does anyone have one of these that could maybe provide the answer?
Click to expand...

I have this, using with it with a 320GB SATA 7200.10, it comes with (as probably already mentioned) a PCI SATA connection. However, I have connected it to my motherboard (back of) with an eSATA cable, and it works very well, 68MB/s Average read in HDTach, if I'm using USB2 get an Average read of 35MB/s, which is still very good, I think. The PCI SATA device also gave my an Average read of 68MB/s in HDTach.

Using the PCI SATA connection, this was not hot plugable, however, using the eSATA on back of motherboard it was. :)
 

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rpstewart

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From the photos I've seen the mounting for that caddy is very simple, just a pair of thin flat metal plates which the drive fits between so the worst case would be a simple drill job. However I don't see why the screw holes on the 750Gb drive would be any different from any other drive, the layout is a standard which has been in place for years.
 
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