ESata/Sata question..

[bowshun]

I have an older Asus LGA775 board that has "Two serial ATA (SATA) connectors, each supporting two ports". One Sata cable is, obviously, connected to the internal HD. Does that mean I can connect two eSata external drives to the one remaining Sata connector using some kind of y-cable?

 

[RetiredChief]

No, unlike a PATA (IDE) connector on MB which can support 2 drives (a Master and a slave) each sata MB connector can ONLY suport one drive.

Best way to expand nr of sata ports is by getting a PCI or Pcii-e card.

Added
For example (Just picked one for example): 2 external plus 4 internal sata This is a PCI card but if you have a spare PCI-e you could get one to fit that slot.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815287006&cm_re=pci_to_sata_card-_-15-287-006-_-Product

With a spare pci-e 4x or higher slot you could get a Asus U3S6 card that provides two USB3 external ports and 2 Sata 6 internal ports (These are all backward compatable with USB2 and Sata 3 devices.

 

[COLGeek]

I am not 100% (but more like 99%) that the answer is NO. You could place those 2 HDDs in an external enclosure and connect to the one port if you are sure the motherboard's SATA port supports Port Multiplier functions. One like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817707174

 

[bowshun]

No, unlike a PATA (IDE) connector on MB which can support 2 drives (a Master and a slave) each sata MB connector can ONLY suport one drive.

Best way to expand nr of sata ports is by getting a PCI or Pcii-e card.

Added
For example (Just picked one for example): 2 external plus 4 internal sata This is a PCI card but if you have a spare PCI-e you could get one to fit that slot.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815287006&cm_re=pci_to_sata_card-_-15-287-006-_-Product

With a spare pci-e 4x or higher slot you could get a Asus U3S6 card that provides two USB3 external ports and 2 Sata 6 internal ports (These are all backward compatable with USB2 and Sata 3 devices.

Thanks. So what exactly do they mean by "..each supporting two ports"? What kind of "ports" are they referring to?

 

[RetiredChief]

COLGeek Is correct, I forgot about enclosures that allow for multiple HDDs off of a single port. I think the addon card would be more cost effective. Both cheaper and more versible.

Please provide specific MB and I can look at the Layout or Manual. But sounds like two controllers each providing t ports, ie do you have 4 sata connectors on your MB or just two.

 

[bowshun]

COLGeek Is correct, I forgot about enclosures that allow for multiple HDDs off of a single port. I think the addon card would be more cost effective. Both cheaper and more versible.

Please provide specific MB and I can look at the Layout or Manual. But sounds like two controllers each providing t ports, ie do you have 4 sata connectors on your MB or just two.

It's an Asus PTGD1-LA (Grouper) mobo. According to a printed info sheet I have, there are two SATA connectors.

I like the idea of an add-on card. I have a free PCI-e slot. But does that mean I can plug the remaining 1 SATA connector to the card (internally) and then plug in the two external HD's to the two bracket connectors?

 

[COLGeek]

Looks like your mobo has 4 physical SATA ports (2 controllers * 2 ports each = 4 physical ports) if the diagram I just saw based on your info is correct. If that is the case, you can install up to 4 SATA devices on your system.

If you want to use as eSATA devices, newegg sells adapters to do so. Other than your primary HDD, what else are plugged into your SATA ports?

 

[bowshun]

I'm looking at a (fuzzy) print out of the motherboard and it looks like there are 4 physical SATA connectors there. So now I'm still confused by "Two serial ATA (SATA) connectors, each supporting two ports"....

The external eSata hd's I'm thinking of buying come with their own cable & bracket, so couldn't I just connect each one to one of the 3 remaining SATA connectors on the mb?

 

[RetiredChief]

First, The free PCI-e slot, is it an X1, or x4, or x8, or x16.
Reason - the Asus U3S6 card will plug into an x4 slot or higher, but not an X1
Note : would need to load drivers for USB 3 and for Sata 6 (Comes woth card).
For a X1 slot you would need something like
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815158093&cm_re=pci-e_1x_to_sata-_-15-158-093-_-Product

2nd - No. You do not plug the Sata Connector on the MB into the Card. You would simply plug the card into the MB and then plug your Internal Sata Drives into the Card (Would still need to plug the Power from the PSU into the Drive. May need a molex to sata power adaptor.

 

[COLGeek]

I'm looking at a (fuzzy) print out of the motherboard and it looks like there are 4 physical SATA connectors there. So now I'm still confused by "Two serial ATA (SATA) connectors, each supporting two ports"....

The external eSata hd's I'm thinking of buying come with their own cable & bracket, so couldn't I just connect each one to one of the 3 remaining SATA connectors on the mb?

If what you have is like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812201015

...then yes. That is all you have to do.

 

[bowshun]

First, The free PCI-e slot, is it an X1, or x4, or x8, or x16.
Reason - the Asus U3S6 card will plug into an x4 slot or higher, but not an X1

2nd - No. You do not plug the Sata Connector on the MB into the Card. You would simply plug the card into the MB and then plug your Internal Sata Drives into the Card (Would still need to plug the Power from the PSU into the Drive. May need a molex to sata power adaptor.

It's a PCI x16 slot

 

[bowshun]

If what you have is like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812201015

...then yes. That is all you have to do.

Great. That looks good. Cheap too.

Thanks.

 

[RetiredChief]

Then the Asus card would work, that is what I plugged my U3S6 card into. One drawback is that you can not install a 2nd GPU to run SLI or Xfire - I'm not a gamer so I only need one GPU. But that card would give you the NEW standards for newer devices which are starting to appear.

 

[RetiredChief]

SCRATCH THAT,
Looking at the spec (could not find on Asus web sit) that X-16 slot is dedicated to a GPU to replace the on-board GPU, You would need to use a PCI (not -e) slot.

If you have a free onboard sata connector and are just looking for esata then the bracket pointed to would be best.

 

[bowshun]

Then the Asus card would work, that is what I plugged my U3S6 card into. One drawback is that you can not install a 2nd GPU to run SLI or Xfire - I'm not a gamer so I only need one GPU. But that card would give you the NEW standards for newer devices which are starting to appear.

Yeah, I'm not a gamer too so that's an alternative to consider. Thanks!

 

[bowshun]

SCRATCH THAT,
Looking at the spec (could not find on Asus web sit) that X-16 slot is dedicated to a GPU to replace the on-board GPU, You would need to use a PCI (not -e) slot.

If you have a free onboard sata connector and are just looking for esata then the bracket pointed to would be best.

Yes, that appears so about the PCI-e slot. Thanks for picking that up. No matter - I'll probably go with the bracket anyway.