Re: Will eSATA make USB3 be stillborn?

In article <lloydparsons-C83BBD.11050819032009@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Lloyd Parsons <lloydparsons@xxxxxxx> wrote:

In article
<10b6ec81-99ba-443d-aff1-48892e6bb95a@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
-hh <recscuba_google@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

[snip]

As such, perhaps this thread should instead be called: "Will eSATA
make USB3 be stillborn?" ... so noted, and so changed.



-hh

One question on eSATA. How plug 'n play is it with computers? With the
DirecTV HDDVRs that support eSATA, the success rate is hit or miss
depending on exactly which enclosure/drive combo is used. And most of
the consumer eSATA branded drives that you see in the stores and online
don't work.

But I don't know how that compares in the computer world. I use FW or
USB2 myself, and both of those are literally plug 'n play with no issues
whatsoever.

It's not great. You'll need a third-party driver for an eSATA card,
which already introduces additional complications (at least by Mac
standards, where FireWire and/or USB are on-board and supported by
first-party drivers). Some cards aren't bootable. Some cards don't
support deep sleep. Hot swapping sometimes works in slightly different
ways (might have to power cycle an entire enclosure, with some
cards/drivers). Some cards have to be configured via web interfaces or
in other odd ways. Some cards might not get along with some port
multiplier chipsets. There are issues with specific enclosures not
liking specific drives. And real-world performance may or may not match
specs.

Most of these issues can be avoided by buying equipment combinations
that are known to work together and/or by not buying the cheapest stuff
you can find even though it theoretically has the appropriate specs. And
things aren't as bad as they were a couple of years ago.

But from the perspective of a Mac user, the level of black magic and
goat sacrificing necessary with eSATA is much more similar to what
dealing with SCSI was like in the mid-90s than the nearly flawless
plug-and-play provided by USB and FireWire. (Windows users are used to
these sorts of problems in other contexts, and so have a higher
tolerance.)

Slade and his Windows-apologist compatriots will, of course, deny all of
this, but it's based on a fair bit of experience researching and
purchasing components to build high-performance external eSATA arrays
for HD video editing. Don't get me wrong: eSATA's the best game in town
for the budget-conscious external RAID consumer. But it's still rather
rough around the edges.

--
"The game of professional investment is intolerably boring and over-exacting to
anyone who is entirely exempt from the gambling instinct; whilst he who has it
must pay to this propensity the appropriate toll." -- John Maynard Keynes
.

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