What is difference between mSATA and eSATA?

[addisoncave]

Hi Guys, I want to buy a Solid State Disk (SSD) to boost the performance of my PC. But I'm confused by some support direction. In some SSD there was written that it support eSATA and in some it was written it support mSATA. what that mean? I want to know.

[ORLOVA]

An mSATA drive is a solid state drive that has a very small form factor. It looks like a large integrated circuit, it's basically an SSD without the 2.5" housing. It originally was a relatively small size, typically 16 GB or 32 GB, and was used to cache the hard drive. That is, it would hold the initial boot files of the operating system and the most used application programs, thereby speeding up the boot process and some program load times (depending on how much cache was in the drive). However, now with larger mSATA drives of 128 GB or more, they can be used as a regular SSD to hold the operating system on instead being used to cache a hard drive.

eSATA stands for "external SATA". It is a way to connect external hard drives to a system. It allows native SATA speeds for external drives. It is less important now that USB 3 is out, but for years I've used eSATA for backing up my family's PCs. I built external hard drives with USB 2.0 and eSATA ports, connect the eSATA to the PC, and instead of the typical USB 2 speeds of 24-30 MB/s, eSATA gives me anywhere from 80-97 MB/s throughput (I use a 1 TB HDD in my external enclosure).

[pablohunt2812]

If you're booting from a SSD, I don't think you can use the mSATA drive as a cache drive for another, secondary, HDD. I doubt it would work. The only way a mSATA cache drive works as a cache drive for the boot drive is because you set it up for that in BIOS, then you must also run Intel software to partition and format it properly so it functions as cache for the boot drive. I don't think the Intel caching software is set up to do that for a secondary, non-boot HDD, and neither is BIOS.

Everything about a mSATA drive is geared to caching the boot drive, not a secondary drive. But I'm willing to be corrected by someone who knows more than I do.

[vishalesskay]

here i have read from somewhere about msata and esata. Looks like mSATA is like mobile sata ssd plugs into a mini-PCI express slot on a notebook. sata ssd's can work as a replacement hard drive in the normal slot of a notebook and in desktop computers.

[Dam Ponting]

A mSATA drive is a strong state drive that has a little frame factor. It would appear that an extensive coordinated circuit, it's essentially a SSD without the 2.5" lodging.

eSATA remains for "outer SATA". It is an approach to interface outer hard drives to a framework. It permits local SATA speeds for outside drives. It is less vital now that USB 3 is out, yet for quite a long time I've utilized eSATA for going down my family's PCs

[RH-Calvin]

A smaller mini-SATA or mSATA connector is used by smaller devices such as 1.8-inch SATA drives, some DVD and Blu-ray drives, and mini SSDs. A special eSATA connector is specified for external devices, and an optionally implemented provision for clips to hold internal connectors firmly in place.

[lishmalinyjames]

mSATA is a mini version of SATA originally meant for mobile devices (e.g., laptops). It looks a lot like a mini PCI-E slot (like a PCI-E but mini), but it's not. eSATA is an external connector. eSATA allows you to hook an HDD or SDD directly via SATA without some sort of translation.

[Akshay_M]

mSATA is a mini version of SATA originally meant for mobile devices (e.g., laptops). It looks a lot like a mini PCI-E slot (like a PCI-E but mini), but it's not. eSATA is an external connector. Most connectors are meant for internal connectivity.

[davidsmith]

mSATA and eSATA are two different types of interfaces used in computer systems for storage devices.

mSATA stands for mini-SATA and is a small form factor solid-state drive (SSD) interface used in laptops, tablets, and other compact devices. It uses the same technology as the traditional SATA interface but has a smaller physical size. mSATA is designed to be installed directly onto the motherboard of a device and is primarily used as a boot drive or for caching frequently accessed data.

eSATA stands for external SATA and is an interface used for connecting external storage devices to a computer. It is a standard SATA interface that has been modified to support external connections. eSATA offers faster data transfer rates than USB and FireWire interfaces and is ideal for applications that require high-speed data transfer, such as video editing or backing up large files.

[hamshi]

Hi there,

eSATA and mSATA are both different types of interfaces for connecting an SSD to your PC. eSATA is an older interface that was primarily used for external hard drives, while mSATA is a newer interface that was designed specifically for small form factor devices like laptops and tablets.

If you're looking to buy an SSD to install in your PC, you'll want to make sure that the interface on the SSD matches the interface on your motherboard. If you're not sure which interface your motherboard supports, you can usually find this information in the motherboard manual or by checking the manufacturer's website.

In general, most modern motherboards will support either the SATA or the NVMe interface, which are faster and more efficient than eSATA or mSATA. So, you may want to consider looking for an SSD with a SATA or NVMe interface instead.

I hope this helps!