Help w/ upgrading PC w/eSATA?

Hi,

I'm wanting to upgrade my data storage options and was hoping to ask for some help. Right now I've got a primary desktop that I download audio and video to and a secondary laptop in my bedroom that I watch movies and listen to music with. I've got two 1TB external hard drives (data is same on both, one is redundant backup) hooked up to the laptop and transferring data from the desktop to the laptop externals is getting to be a pain due to slow USB 2.0 speeds. The laptop externals are also filling up so I'm looking to split the data on them into audio on one and video on the other and buy a new 2TB HD to be the backup.

As a result of the above, I'm looking for an eSATA or USB 3.0 hard drive to speed up the data transfer off the desktop. The problem is that I don't think my desktop has an eSATA port to hook up a new external HD to and I know it doesn't have USB 3.0. What do I need to give my desktop eSATA and/or USB 3.0 capability? My laptop has an eSATA port and an expresscard slot that I could buy a USB 3.0 adaptor for, so any suggestions as to pros/cons of USB 3.0, eSATA external HD or docking station to use w/ internal HD's would be appreciated too. Price, ease of use, etc.

Link to thread I bought my desktop from- http://slickdeals.net/f/2632045-V...for-429-FS

Thanks a bunch for any help.
J

Add eSATA to your desktop with this:
Nippon Labs eSATA Bracket Two SATA II internal cable to 2 port ESATA bracket for SATA I and SATA II Hard Drive Model ESATAB-2P [newegg.com] - $5.49 Shipped

I know you want eSATA/USB3.0 storage solution. Wouldn't it be easier to set the desktop as a file sharing server and increase its storage by adding a 3TB or even 4TB internal drive so you can stream audio/video files from that computer to your laptop with network?

For backup you can keep using the 2 USB2.0 external drives plugged into the desktop and sync the files regularly. I just can't imagine myself moving two external hard drives and the power bricks from one computer to another on regular basis. Yes the USB2.0 connection is slow but if those external drives are not moved frequently while the data are backed up daily in the background, who cares? Synctoy from M$ can do the schedule sync pretty easily.

why not add the drives to your network does your router have a usb port?

or buy this

http://www.amazon.com/IOGEAR-Wire..._pr_sims_t

eSATA can handle 300 MBps (MegaBytes per second) and USB 3.0 can wheel and deal up to 625 MBps.
Thunderbolt is a very respectable 10Gbps when it comes. As Intel puts it, that's enough to "transfer a full-length HD movie in less than 30 seconds".
Gigabit Ethernet transfers data at up to 400-480 Mb/s for all practical purposes.
For eSata you need a bracket and preferably AHCI in the bios for immediate recognition of drives.
Otherwise reboot to get the drive recognized.
You may need a low profile bracket:

http://slickdeals.net/f/4015092-2...99-ac-fs-m

http://slickdeals.net/f/3925092-G...Store-Only

Based on future laptop offerings, it seems like eSATA may not be around for long - ones that I have seen coming out soon are getting rid of eSATA in favor of USB 3.0 only.

So I'd focus more on USB 3.0.....

Quote from beanier : My laptop has an eSATA port and an expresscard slot that I could buy a USB 3.0 adaptor for,

You'll want to do some research into the express card slot on your laptop, because some laptops have been report to have the express card port attached as a USB 2.0 device.

Quote from evongugg : eSATA can handle 300 MBps (MegaBytes per second) and USB 3.0 can wheel and deal up to 625 MBps.

Those are the bus speeds of each devices and not actual transfer speeds. Actual speeds would depend on the device and controller, but on average you're looking at between 50-100MB/s for read and write. There are no SATA 2.0 hard drives that can top out the 3 gb/s bus speeds.

Quote : so any suggestions as to pros/cons of USB 3.0, eSATA external HD or docking station to use w/ internal HD's would be appreciated too. Price, ease of use, etc.

eSATA has been around longer have more options available, and probably easier to find a cheaper price than USB 3.0. But USB 3.0 is fully backwards compatible with USB2.0; means you can plug the drive into any USB 2.0 port and still be able to access your data at 2.0 speeds.

another possibility is to get a NAS drive that does a mirror backup(RAID 1). something like the wd live duo [storagereview.com]. there are lots of options when it comes to NAS. Personally I am using the dlink dns-320 [dlink.com]($80) with 2-2tb Samsung spinpoints in RAID 1. ($50/piece, before the flood)