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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Upgrade Cable Powered eSATA - STAE103

As part of the GoFlex Storage System, the GoFlex upgrade cable – eSATA enables you to upgrade the interface on your GoFlex or GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drive to eSATA connectivity. This cable is powered by an eSATA/USB combo port and requires no additional power. The GoFlex eSATA cable simply clicks in place, making it easy to switch between other GoFlex cables and devices. The GoFlex eSATA cable features LED lights to show drive activity and offers 6x faster performance compared to USB 2.0.

Brand: Seagate Model: STAE103 Number of items: 1 Dimensions: 6.54" h x 1.73" w x 5.20" l, .11 pounds Part of the GoFlex Storage System: works with all GoFlex and GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drives Delivers 6x faster performance than USB 2.0 Powered by eSATA/USB combo port, no external power required. This only works with a notebook Combo port not a desktop eSATA port.

Most helpful customer reviews 46 of 46 people found the following review helpful. But Beware. Need a POWERED eSATA Port. By R. Schneider This is a good product provided you and your equipment can get by the gotchas. 1. The cable is NOT eSATA. It is eSATAp. eSATAp is a combo USB/eSATA port found on newer portables. Regular eSATA ports found on desktops are NOT powered. I use mine between my tower and notebook. 2. The cable is short. 3. You can buy a PCIe card with eSATAp port(s) but the cable will likely be too short. 4. You could opt for the USB 3.0 version if you have USB 3.0 ports. You can add a PCIe card with USB 3. port(s) but the cable may be too short. I went this route with WD Passports but the USB cable was too short and proprietary. If the USB 3.0 cable is standard and removable, you may be able to add a longer regular USB cable. 5. I have found and ordered after much searching an adapter cable that plugs into the both a vacant USB and eSATA and port and then combines the two into what I hope is a female eSATAp port. If it works, it will solve both the power and cable length issues. This puppy is called a BYTECC USB + eSATA to USB/eSATA Cable. Hope it works. EDIT: 12/09/2010 - My BYTECC 18" USB + eSATA to USB/eSATA Cable Model USATA-118UE arrived today and it works. And it works well for me as my notebook has an eSATAp port so I have a one cable solution. I think this is the way to go other than adding a USB 3.0 PCIe expansion card.. I bought mine at opentip.com. An Amazon supplier, Zagall has it right here: USATA-118UE 18" USB + eSATA to USB/eSATA Cable NewEgg has it too. 51 of 55 people found the following review helpful. Just Be Certain You Have eSATAp Before You Buy! By Too Cold in Madison I like the GoFlex system and looked forward to increasing the transfer speed when connected to my home desktop by using this eSATA cable rather than USB 2.0. No such luck with my machine. You have to have a powered "eSATAp" port on your machine. Many eSATA ports are not powered, even on fancy expensive motherboards. Since the portable GoFlex (2.5") drives do not use AC adapters like the desktop ones, thus depending on the cable for power, you must have an eSATAp port. These are also referred to as eSATA/USB Combo ports. Time to buy an USB 3.0 card for my computer. 12 of 12 people found the following review helpful. Really fast By Wylie J. Hilliard This interface option is well worth the price. I wanted a fast portable external drive and the eSATA plug for the GoFlex drive is an excellent solution. On Windows 7, using USB 2.0 (I don't have USB 3.0 but do have built in eSATA) I was getting about 26MB/second. With the eSATA plug I am getting 78MB/second for a group of files, almost 3 times as fast. While I realize that SATA has a much higher maximum throughput, 3Gb/second, 2.5" drives do not. The applications that heavily access the drive seem to run as fast as they do on the internal drive. Pros: Speed, convenience, price Cons: I would like the cord to be a little longer or to be replaceable. See all 63 customer reviews...

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