-
Help a girl find a quality ESATA card?
Hi all,
I’m hoping you can give me a hand since you all seem very knowledgeable here. I saw several other posts here in this forum about ESATA cards, and those giving advice warned of getting “garbage” cards and seemed to know the subject up and down. I’m hoping I’ve come to the right place, as the AVS HTPC forums were no help and I’m confused after researching for over a week. For some background, I have:
An Apple Mac Pro
A PC consisting of:
-Intel Core i7 920
-Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 motherboard
-12 GB Corsair Dominator DDR3 1600 SDRAM
-Coolermaster V8 CPU fan
-BFG Geforce 9600 GT OC2 graphics card
-2 Velociraptors in RAID 0 running Windows Vista x64
-Asus Xonar Sound Card
-5-drive Hotswap ESATA enclosure w/ SI port multiplier (I have around 15 hard drives between 500 GB and 1 TB that I swap in and out of the enclosure)I do a lot of HD video editing and work with audio as well, thus my need for all the storage space. My old PC had an Asus A8N32-SLI motherboard with a built-in ESATA port. It worked well for me, and apparently supported port multipliers w/ FIS switching. While I’m very knowledgeable about most things involving PCs and Macs (I have built PCs for a living in the past), I’m what you might call an ESATA retard. It wasn’t until I built a new PC and purchased a Mac that I bothered to research ESATA controllers and cards and realized not all controllers used by motherboard manufacturers support port multipliers, let alone FIS switching. I guess I was just lucky with my Asus. It blows my mind that even the new Core i7 motherboards with Intel ICH10R controllers don’t support FIS switching.
Anyway, I needed to upgrade as I’ll be doing even more HD video work in the future both on my Mac and PC, and since my PC motherboard has an Intel ICH10R controller on it (which supports PMs, but only with command based switching as far as I can tell), and a JMicron JMB322+JMB363 (also called GIGABYTE SATA2, which is also just command based switching as well), I apparently need a quality ESATA card for each, which is why I’ve come here.
I initially asked for help on the AVS HTPC forums, but was told there that the best cards around are the:
– Addonics ADSA3GPX1-2E
– NORCO NORCO-4627
– Rosewill RC-214
– Those with Sil3132 controllersI assume this is not true from my readings here, where I’ve seen the Addonics called “junk”. That left me to research on my own. It is VERY tough when researching individual ESATA cards to find whether they are based on the Sil3132 controller, or even whether they support port multipliers! Forget about most manufacturers telling you if they support FIS. I’ve now been researching for over a week and am still unsure, so I’m hoping you kind people can point me in the right direction.
The only cards I have managed to confirm support FIS are the Vantec V13-1110 and the IOgear GICe711S3W6. Are these decent cards?
I guess perhaps I should tell you what I need at this point:
-I only need one ESATA port on the card, two or more would be ok but not necessary as the hotswap enclosure works fine.
-I do NOT need it to support RAID. None of the drives in the enclosure are in a RAID array. They are all separate, and I back them up in another manner.
-RAID support is fine, although I would prefer the card not have to display its status in the boot process, thus slowing down my boot process. I would also prefer not to have to set my drives up as a JBOD.
-I have a PCIe x1, x4, and x16 slot available for the card in my PC.
-I would like the fastest, best quality card around, with price as NO OBJECT. Overkill with RAID is unnecessary, but if the cards with 4-ports and RAID will be significantly faster, let me know.
-My ideal situation would be two fast, quality ESATA PCIe x4 card with 2 external ports and without RAID options. Obviously I would be willing to get whatever will serve me best, however.I think that is it. I would like to purchase two of the cards, one for my MAC and the other for my PC, so they must be compatible with Vista x64 as well. By the way, compared to my old motherboard solution do you think i’ll notice a difference with a PCIe ESATA card?
I considered the CalDigit Fasta-2e and almost bought it, but was glad I didn’t when I noticed it did not support FIS switching. I also looked at the FASTA 4e, but cannot find anywhere that tells whether it does or not. As you can probably tell, I’ve done a lot of research but am confused. Can one of you kind people here help a girl out and suggest what you think would be the best (or top 3-5) card(s) for my needs? It will be forever appreciated. I’ll be your best friend!?!?
Thanks so much for taking time out of your day to read this!
YvonneProud owner of a happy pet Cthulhu!
-
10 Replies
-
Yvonne,
I have a great idea for you, or so I think…
Because you have a mixed bag of hardware that really requires a very specific solution, may I suggest that you call Jared at CalDigit and converse with him on the phone about your needs.
Jared is a very nice and very knowledgeable person, who can either answer all of your questions, or direct you to another person who can. Jared is the Cow host of the CalDigit Forum on the Cow, and he’s a great guy (Cow), and a call will be well worth the dime.
BTW, CalDigit is a wonderful company with all kinds of terrific storage solutions, and they may have just the ticket for you if you ask. They have more than just theFasta-2e, and who knows, you may find they have solutions for you that you never knew existed.
David
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.
-
Honestly that is a lot of gear to work through.
Give the folks at Maxx Digital a call and they can set you up with the best card solution for your needs. They’ve set up all my storage needs for the past two years now and we’re just in the midst of setting up a beautiful 24TB SAN system that expands out to 128TB.
Really good folks and generally some of the best prices around too.
http://www.maxxdigital.com 714-374-4944
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
-
The above referrals are on the money.. I to have heard great things about MaxDigital and someday I hope to have enough money to make the phone call worth while..
until then, I use the Addonics 4 port esata PM card with the Addonics 4 bay esata budget case.
Makes for a great 2TB raid.(4×500). All for less than a Grand.. The only time I have had trouble with it is when I bumped the connections.between the raid enclosure and the computer. esata connections don’t bump..when running….
It is not a raid 5 like my old Medea,, so I backup everything… and it has been one heck of a raid for the price.
FCP, Mac Pro, Mac Book Pro, HPX500, HVX200, Betacam, Dvcam
Write for the Edit, Shoot for the Edit, Edit…..KISS Principle -
Hello and thank you for the info. I’m just curious, in your opinion, do you think I would see any significant performance increase between one of the cheap “garbage” cards like the Vantec I mentioned (or take your pick of other cheap ones) and a high end card like a CalDigit? I’m just curious whether speeds would be significantly better with a better quality card. And what about my old motherboard sloution for that matter? Do the PCIe cards provide an advantage over something like that?
Again, thanks so much for the info you’ve given me and feel free to weigh in on what you think would be my best option if you haven’t already. I must say, I was hoping to hear from Bob Zelin, as I’ve read quite a few of his posts while researching and he sounded like he knew the subject up and down. He also called cards like the Addonics “junk”, which prevented me from purchasing one of those or another cheap solution.
Anyway, I can’t thank you all enough and keep the opinions/advice coming if you have the time!
Yvonne
Proud owner of a happy pet Cthulhu!
-
[Yvonne Schultz] “do you think I would see any significant performance increase between one of the cheap “garbage” cards like the Vantec I mentioned (or take your pick of other cheap ones) and a high end card like a CalDigit?”
You know Yvonne, the speed difference is pretty much going to the same overall, the real difference is more about reliability and sustained throughput. The cards that Bob Zellin and the rest of talk about are cards that are known quantities, made specifically for video storage and/or server storage, which are essentially built for mission critical situations. The cheaper cards are built for consumer applications and purposes, not the day in and day out constant transmission of huge data streams that are the world of professionals working with multiple video streams.
CalDigit for example has a technology called ASTT or Active Sustained Transfer Technology, which is unique to the CalDigit products. It eliminates performance drops and maximizes the sustained data rate. You just don’t find that kind of stuff in the consumer hardware available at Fryes and Best Buy because people doing word processing, gaming, and sending emails just don’t need it.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.
-
Hi and thanks for the info. I called CalDigit and spoke with a few people there last night. Unfortunately, I was told that they are no longer selling the Fasta-4e, do not have any in stock, and do not know of anyone who does. The card did support FIS switching, FYI. They told me they would be coming out with a new generation of ESATA card in the next couple of months. Too long for me to wait, unfortunately.
I also contacted Maxx Digital, and was told that their only ESATA cards come as a package with Multiple Drive Enclosures. I got the feeling they didn’t want to mess around with someone just buying a card, and it was too small an order for them to accommodate me, but who knows. Looking on their website as well, I don’t see any separate ESATA cards for sale.
So I guess both of those companies are a bust. I was really hoping to go with CalDigit too, as they were very helpful and friendly on the phone and their products looked to be of excellent quality.
Anyway, does anyone have any other recommendations? I’m getting a bit frustrated with the search here. I was hoping to get a card by the weekend. Should I just go with a cheap solution like Vantac or IOgear? I had really wanted to avoid that after seeing people here being advised the cheaper cards are “junk” and to “throw them in the garbage”, LoL.
A friend of mine advised me to purchase one of these cards from a seller on Ebay, but the brand of card doesn’t appear to be listed. Any thoughts on this one:
https://cgi.ebay.com/4-PORT-3G-S-RAID-5-SATA-eSATA-PCIe-PCI-Express-x8-Card_W0QQitemZ250341574844QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item250341574844&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318
Further assistance would be greatly appreciated guys…..thanks for everything……I hope to hear back from you soon. Thanks again for taking time out of your busy schedules to help a girl out!
Yvonne
Proud owner of a happy pet Cthulhu!
-
I’m surprised neither of them will sell just a card, but then these guys do build systems that optimize the card to the hard drive unit.
You can always go the MacMall.com, bhphoto.com route. I run a simple LaCie 4 port eSATA card we’ve had for two years or so and it still works just fine. The cards are so cheap these days, not really sure what the differences would be.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
-
Well, I went with the Vantec V13-1110 for now. Anyone heard anything or have any opinions on it? Cost around $60. I’m so disappointed I couldn’t purchase a higher end card, especially the CalDigit. What kind of company doesn’t have any of one of their flagship products in stock and can’t tell you where you might purchase one? Hopefully the Vantec isn’t a total piece of garbage. I looked at reviews for the IOgear and they were less than stellar. At least the Vantec supports FIS switching. Wish me luck, and feel free to weigh in with any further thoughts….
Thanks again all…..
YvonneProud owner of a happy pet Cthulhu!
-
Looks like I went totally wrong with the Vantec. It causes all sorts of problems with my new PC. Freezes, BSODs, black screens until I turn the enclosure off two out of every three times I try to use it, random restarts, corrupted data, conflicts with my video card, and to even get it to work I have to keep restarting the PC until it decides it wants to show up. And this is with the newest drivers for Vista x64. I’m totally frustrated and furious. They state right on their website that it is Vista x64 capable and FIS capable as well. Not so. It waits until one drive is finished transfering before starting another drive’s transfer. All around a total piece of garbage. I called their tech support three days straight and was told someone would call me back as they were “busy”. Left my name and number all three days but….you guessed it……no call back. Finally the following week I demanded to speak to someone. Got a guy on the line who knew nothing. I knew more than he did. He didn’t even know what FIS was! He told me that they hadn’t really tested much on Vista x64 and it was Vista’s fault. He told me to buy XP! Ridiculous! When I asked why they listed it as Vista x64 compatible, he had no answer. I asked if I could return it to them and get my money back since thay had falsely advertised it as having features it did not, but was told they couldn’t do that. He actually had the nerve to tell me that I could order ANOTHER one and see if that would work! Totally ridiculous! As you can probably tell, I’m furious…….and unable to access my data! Can anyone advise me on any other cards that support port multipliers, FIS, and Vista x64? Caldigit and Max have both turned me away. Anyone left that makes quality cards? Geez, I’m seriously considering buying a new motherboard at this point with an ESATA port, but that will cost upwards of $300 and be a TON of work tearing everything apart. Any advice please?
Proud owner of a happy pet Cthulhu!
-
So I’m going to purchase a new eSATA card. I’m trying to decide between the Sonnet Tempo SATA E4P and the CalDigit Fasta-4e cards, both of which I’ve found in stock at a retailer. Any idea which is better quality, offers better performance, etc? Opinions would be HUGELY APPRECIATED so I don’t end up with another Vantec, LoL. Thoughts?
Proud owner of a happy pet Cthulhu!
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up