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USB 3.0 + eSATA/USB combo or ExpressCard/34 and ExpressCard/54?

N

Nicole B

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I need to buy a laptop before Jan 17, what's the best option?

<Ports>

1)

• Data
o 4 USB ports( (1 USB v3.0 port + 3 USB v2.0 ports (2
eSATA/USB combo with USB Sleep and Charge)
o RJ-45 LAN port

http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/content/product/pdf_files/detailed_specs/satellite_A660-BT3G25.pdf

2)

• Data
o i.LINK™ IEEE-1394
o 4 USB v2.0 ports (3 USB + 1 eSATA/USB combo with USB
Sleep and Charge)
o RJ-45 LAN port

but

Expandability
• ExpressCard™ slot (ExpressCard/34 and ExpressCard/54)

http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/content/product/pdf_files/detailed_specs/qosmio_X500-Q930S.pdf
 
Last edited:
I'm not the person to ask, but I lit a candle. :001_smile:

Bump for Nicole's question.
 
I was just in the same boat and driving myself completely crazy looking for a notebook with eSATA, USB3.0 and Expresscard slot. It looks like most manufacturers are removing Expresscard from their notebooks.

The only name brand machines I've been able to find are the Sony Vaio F series (http://www.sonystyle.ca/webapp/wcs/...3&storeId=20153&langId=200&categoryId=1001559). Mine has 1x eSATA, 2x USB3.0, HDMI, 1394a and Expresscard 32.

To beef it up I've added Expresscards for Firewire800, 2x eSATA and a Lexar highspeed CF reader.

My onset RAID tower is eSATA and USB3. When shooting Red Drives it's FW800 card in the Expresscard slot and eSATA to the raid with USB3 to a drive dock for the walk away drive. If I'm on CF then it's CF reader in place of the FW800. When the Redmag's actually ship it will be eSATA to the reader, and either eSATA or USB3 to the RAID.
 
I like the new HP notebook series that has these connections as well as the full Dreamcolor monitor and calibration included. I don't have it here with me right now for the model name, but I'll dig it up.

Michael
 
Depends very much what you are going to use the laptop for. From my point of view, the most important ports are multiple eSATA (possibly from one onboard and the other via an Expresscard. Two onboard would be best).

My reason for wanting these are for downloading and simultaneously offloading data from the Red Station module onto storage.

Not needing to do that, I would certainly opt for at least one eSATA port and a USB 3.0 port. These will give you many options for externals.
 
It is really unfortunate that Apple has been snoozing on the whole USB 3.0 and eSATA thing because Macs deal with footage so much better than PCs.

C'mon Apple! Give us an on-set power machine we can actually use!

In the meantime has anyone ever seen an Expresscard 34 with both eSATA and USB3???
 
Brent J. Craig said:
...In the meantime has anyone ever seen an Expresscard 34 with both eSATA and USB3???
Click to expand...
I would buy one in a minute if they exist in a way that let's them be used simultaneously as input/output. Doubt that works though, because I have an Expresscard 34 with two eSATA ports that either works as a RAID or as one port at a time I/O.

What you suggest would probably require two different Expresscards AFAIK.
 
Brent J. Craig said:
In the meantime has anyone ever seen an Expresscard 34 with both eSATA and USB3???
Click to expand...

Not going to happen. At least not until someone implements an ExpressCard 2.0 slot and card to fit. ExpressCard 1.x is only 2.5Gbps -- not even up to snuff with the 3Gbps of a common SATA interface. So having two eSATA ports on an ExpressCard is only good for connecting multiple slow drives or using it for mirroring two faster drives. Seems rather silly to integrate a USB3 on top of that, which can burst at 4.8Gbps in "super-speed" mode.

ExpressCard 2.0 is defined, but so far I don't know of anyone using it and I think it's a DOA standard. As it was finalized quite some time ago. But once again, it's 5Gbps max and that can't accommodate a 6Gbps SATA connection, nor would it have enough bandwidth still for both 3Gbps SATA and USB3.

And this is why manufacturers are dropping ExpressCard. I fully support manufacturers dumping ExpressCard. But in Apple's case, they really need to give us eSATA. IMO, there's no reason a Macbook Pro doesn't have a mini-SAS connector on it for connecting a decent RAID or 4 full speed SATA devices. Same with the iMac.

USB3 sucks. It hasn't matured to a point of it being truly usable, IMO. In terms of storage performance, the best is still with SATA as you don't have the combined latency of translating the interface of an HDD plus the latency of the USB3 system itself.

Only 3 chip sets on the market at the moment to drive USB3. 4 if you count that NEC has two versions. The best is the new one from NEC, it seems that's what most of the new Sandy Bridge motherboards will be integrating, if they do. Intel pulled USB3 from Sandy Bridge toward the end of the testing cycle since it wasn't ready for prime time.

I fully expect Apple to have USB3 as soon as Intel rolls it into their chipsets. They're not going to implement a half-assed standard before then, using yet another vendor's component.

For those of you who think you want USB3, trust me, you don't. Stick with eSATA. At least until all the kinks are worked out and there's a compelling reason to actually buy it -- like devices other than storage that actually make use of it. For those of you who have used USB3 and thought it was good, I'm sorry, I can't save you.

To answer the OP's question, I would go with the notebook that integrates the eSATA plus USB3 and doesn't have the ExpressCard. But personally, those Toshibas would not be my first choice. First choice would still be a toss-up between a 17" Macbook Pro with ExpressCard slot and the HP 8740w. I happen to own both. My HP doesn't have USB3 like the new revision of the unit. It's a nice system, but it's plastic and flimsy and bulky and heavier than it needs to be. The screen is awesome for a notebook.
 
The USB drivers on the Dell XPS15 I tried out made a mess out of any USB3 drive connected to it. This F-series Sony Vaio has been solid on all ports.

On a recent commercial shoot we did a 13 hour day, the Red drives were connected via FW800 on a Expresscard, main RAID was connected via eSATA and the client walk away drive was a drive dock via USB3. DMT was dumping/checking all day and was being fed a drive every time we moved locations. All connections were solid all day and the DMT was wrapped when the last light went back on the truck.
 
Maria Costa said:
Why?
Click to expand...

Continue reading after the "USB3 sucks." I explained my take on it.

Just ask yourself this: What would USB3 offer you that eSATA and/or USB2 can not?

Higher latency: Yes
Immature standard: Yes
Hamstrung by backward compatibility: Yes
Faster potential burst speed: Yes vs 3Gbps SATA
Faster sustained transfers: No
Native interface with storage devices: No
Existing RAID solutions and port multiplication: No

Hey, I guess I can plug in a printer to my USB3 port if I need to. That's good, right? Oh wait, plugging a non-USB3 device into a USB3 header forces all devices to downgrade their speed. Even amongst USB3 devices, if you want 4.8Gbps "super-speed" mode, all devices on the header must support that mode.

So why do I want USB3? I've already bought several adapters, external drive enclosures, other products and have been testing it. It's a logical upgrade to USB2; or will be once it is ready for prime time. But people who are looking at USB3 for a high-speed data solution when 3Gbps and 6Gbps SATA are already the better choice kinda has me puzzled. The reality of it is people are taking USB3 because it's a way to get more ports that operate at adequate speed for moving larger data. Personally, I could care less about USB3 on a computer, would much prefer an extra eSATA port or two in its place.
 
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