My notebook came with an eSATA port but not Blu-ray, so I used this cable and a power brick from a SATA to USB kit to connect a relatively cheap desktop drive to my HP dv4z. I've also used it to connect various SATA HDs to run diagnostics. USB is adequate for optical drives but this cable keeps my notebook's two USB ports free for other things. For external HDs you really, really want SATA. Tripp Lite P952-003 eSATA to SATA Signal Cable, 7P-M/7P-M - 3ft
This SATA to ESATA cable works very well. It is well made and has the metal plates on one side, which is the only difference between SATA and SATA II cables. SATA II is twice as fast as the original SATA. 300 mbps vs 150 mbps.
Who needs it? Two classes of people. One that has an external SATA II drive with a SATA connection, not an ESATA. True, it makes no sense, but I bought a used high quality External SATA II Drive off of Craigs---- from a seller who did not mention the fact. He even tossed in an ESATA cable, but the drive, for some unknown reason uses an external SATA connection in the "L" shape, not the straight ESATA connection. My PC connections are all ESATA, so I needed this hybrid. This 3 foot cable gives me enough room to vary the location a little. The other cable I found locally, 1.5 feet in length doesn't.
The other type of person is a tech, who should have this cable in case they run into a situation like mine. Remember, you can't order it quickly without a lot of postage. Or, you could ask the person to return in a week...
Very nice cable for connecting a Sata hard drive externally to the eSata connector on a desktop or laptop. I have a PCMCIA eSata(2 i/o's) card on my laptop and can connect two internal hard drives or combos of external drives and swap files, wipe drives, clone drives, etc.. This cable is essential for working on these internal drives without locking into a desktop case.
I had an older external SATA drive using the old "L" shaped SATA connector and when I upgraded my laptop, of course I had no way to connect to my old primary hard drive. Despite being told by techs at 2 decent Mac stores that no one made this cable, I bought it here even though I wasn't sure it was the right cable (bad product description), but with an express card it worked like a charm; plug and play.
Obscure item. But if you were stupid enough to early adopt SATA before they changed the plug standard, like me, then this is the solution.
One world:One plug
I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of this cable. I have discovered when using this eSATA-to-SATA cable with my external eSATA/USB 2.0 hard drive enclosure, instead of the computer's built-in eSATA port, that my data transfer rates have increased significantly. Go figure!
The cables worked great for connecting external drives to my laptop and desktop PCs. The speed of the eSATA blew away both firewire and USB connections. It's like havimg another internal drive for my laptop and great for backing up files on my desktop PC.
this item came 5 days ahead of schedule was to arrive on 2-9-11 but it came 2-4-11 great item... heavy duty cord i thought it was going to be some cheap piece that wasn't going to last a few weeks but i was dead wrong once again a really great item - Sata - External Hard Drive - Converter Cable - Esata Cable'
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