New Harddrive - will it work with this MB and drive enclosure

[Mary Fowler Leek]

My sincere thanks for taking a look at the following and advising me if
these items are compatible. ... Mary



I want to install a new hard drive to my 1.5 year old desktop which has ...

This motherboard:

ASUS PTGD-LA (Goldfish3)

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?lc=en&cc=us&docname=c00361570



..... can you tell by the description if it will it support this new hard
drive?

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000KS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136014&ATT=22-136-014&CMP=OTC-d3alt1me


..... and using this external enclosure:

in the Enclosure description below, it cautions ... " For eSATA, make sure
the motherboard supports it." (I don't know how to tell if my MB will
support eSATA)

Rosewill RX353-S SLV Rigid Aluminum Body and ABS plastic panel 3.5" eSATA
and USB 2.0 External Enclosure
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817173041

Need extra space? Have an old hard drive lying around? Then the Rosewill
External Serial ATA enclosure is perfect. Combine extra hard drive storage
without having to open up the computer. Using either eSATA or USB 2.0, just
attach any 3.5" SATA hard drive (up to 500GB) and viola, extra storage
without opening the computer. The RX353-S also adds a small noise imprint.
By utilizing a small internal fan, the RX353-S cools the hard drive while
also keeping the noise to a minimum. And for cooler environments, you can
just shut the fan off. Another perk of using an external hard drive is that
it’s hot swappable, meaning it can be plugged or unplugged without shutting
the computer down. For eSATA, make sure the motherboard supports it.

 

[DL]

Your sys supports sata1 (150) providing the sata hd is backward compatible,
most new ones are, its OK, however you do not have an eSata connector so the
external enclosure is incompatible.

Why not install the drive internally, unless of course you have a reason for
external

 

[Mary Fowler Leek]

Thank you for advising me regarding the enclosure. If I get an enclosure
that says it provides a SATA connector, then that will work with this drive?

Could I connect to my current system, using the USB 2 connector on this
enclosure? I don't care so much about the speed difference, as the enclosure
will just be used for a backup with a new system one day.

"Using either eSATA or USB 2.0,
just attach any 3.5" SATA hard drive (up to 500GB) and viola, extra
storage without opening the computer".


Mary

 

[BR549]

The enclosure you provided the link for has a SATA connector plus one for
USB Your problem is that your computer doesn't provide for an external SATA
cable connection, so you will have to use the USB connector from the
enclosure to your computer.

 

[Anna]

My sincere thanks for taking a look at the following and advising me if
these items are compatible. ... Mary



I want to install a new hard drive to my 1.5 year old desktop which has
...

This motherboard:

ASUS PTGD-LA (Goldfish3)

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?lc=en&cc=us&docname=c00361570



.... can you tell by the description if it will it support this new hard
drive?

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000KS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA
3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136014&ATT=22-136-014&CMP=OTC-d3alt1me


.... and using this external enclosure:

in the Enclosure description below, it cautions ... " For eSATA, make
sure the motherboard supports it." (I don't know how to tell if my MB will
support eSATA)

Rosewill RX353-S SLV Rigid Aluminum Body and ABS plastic panel 3.5" eSATA
and USB 2.0 External Enclosure
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817173041

Need extra space? Have an old hard drive lying around? Then the Rosewill
External Serial ATA enclosure is perfect. Combine extra hard drive storage
without having to open up the computer. Using either eSATA or USB 2.0,
just attach any 3.5" SATA hard drive (up to 500GB) and viola, extra
storage without opening the computer. The RX353-S also adds a small noise
imprint. By utilizing a small internal fan, the RX353-S cools the hard
drive while also keeping the noise to a minimum. And for cooler
environments, you can just shut the fan off. Another perk of using an
external hard drive is that it’s hot swappable, meaning it can be plugged
or unplugged without shutting the computer down. For eSATA, make sure the
motherboard supports it.

Mary:
The responses to your query that you've received up to this time aren't
completely accurate, so let me attempt to clarify...

1. First of all, that Rosewell unit is a very nice piece of work. I had
occasion to work with one only a few weeks ago and found it well-constructed
and effective in what it does.

2. While your motherboard does not support the SATA-II specification of a 3
Gb/sec data interface (it supports the earlier SATA specification of 1.5
Gb/sec), your WD SATA-II HDD will work just fine with the Rosewell unit
since it will be backwards compatible.

3. The eSATA ("e" for external) port is simply an improved SATA connector
that has been designed as an external port. (A "normal" SATA connector will
not be able to be plugged into an eSATA port). While its design supports the
3 Gb/sec data interface, it will work just fine with either a SATA-I or
SATA-II HDD.

4. A number of motherboards (alas, too few!) are equipped with an eSATA port
so that a SATA external device can be directly connected to the eSATA port.
Your motherboard, unfortunately, does not contain an eSATA port. However,
the Rosewell unit (which is equipped with an eSATA port) comes with an eSATA
adapter bracket that is designed to be installed as the I/O bracket on the
backplane (back panel) of your computer case (the general area where the
connectors for the PCI/AGP card are located). So you must have an available
slot in that area in which to install the eSATA bracket. Installing the
bracket is a very simple operation; usually just one screw is all that's
necessary and in some cases depending upon the design of the computer case
even that's unnecessary.

5. Assuming you can install that eSATA bracket, the internal SATA data cable
attached to the eSATA device is simply connected to one of your
motherboard's SATA connectors. The Rosewell device includes an eSATA cable
which is connected on one side to the Rosewell unit and the other side to
the eSATA bracket.

6. The Rosewell device is a combo unit in that it also has USB capability,
so that you can use the unit as you would any USB external HDD.

There are significant advantages in using an external SATA HDD with a direct
SATA-to-SATA interface...
1. The performance of a SATA HDD is substantially superior to that of a USB
external HDD. Substantially superior.
2. The system treats the external SATA HDD as an internal HDD, so for
example, you can either install an operating system on the external SATA HDD
or clone the contents of an internal HDD containing an operating system, and
in both cases the SATA HDD will be bootable, unlike a USB external HDD which
is not bootable.

The bottom line to all this - at least with respect to my advice to you - is
that if you're able to install the eSATA bracket on your computer case I
think you would be wise to purchase that Rosewell unit. The newegg price is
very reasonable. I'm assuming that since your motherboard contains four SATA
connectors you would have one available to accommodate that external
connection, i.e., the SATA data cable running from the inner side of the
eSATA bracket.
Anna

 

[Mary Fowler Leek]

My thanks to everyone for your help. Thank you, Anna, for clarifying things
for me. I CAN install that bracket so I'm in business. And thank you for
explaining the differences, other than speed, in using a SATA connection
versus the USB port. I've learned a lot today!

Mary