Regarding eSATA.

[oops2001]

Hello,
I need to buy a portable hard drive and I know my MOBO(DG45ID *INTEL*) has an eSATA port. But I am confused with eSATA nd normal USB thing. Are they backward compatible? Will I be able to use eSata on normal USB 2.0 ports? I am lost..please clarify..
thankyou.

 

[jsc]

eSATA is another different drive interface. It's a lot faster than USB 2.0. Many external drives support both. They are incompatible.

 

[oops2001]

SO should I stick to normal USB interface for a portable hard drive as I ll be taking data from non-eSata mobo's too.

 

[Crashman]

SO should I stick to normal USB interface for a portable hard drive as I ll be taking data from non-eSata mobo's too.

No, you should get a drive that supports both so that you can have the higher speed at home and the higher compatibility elsewhere.

 

[sminlal]

A lot of external hard drives have both an eSATA and a USB connector on them. eSATA is a lot faster then USB 2.0, so it's better to use that with your desktop system. But it's nice to have a USB connector on the drive too so that if you ever need to you can plug it into a system that doesn't have eSATA (a laptop, for example).

 

[oops2001]

Best answer selected by oops2001.

 

[oops2001]

So I should be looking for an external hard drive that supports esata and usb both.
I guess now I got it,
Thanks a lot guys