SATA and eSATA: these are the differences

After SATA technology has established itself as the standard in the PC area, eSATA was developed. But what are the differences apart from a small letter between the two?

Data transfer using SATA or eSATA

The secret is a little revealed when you write out the small letter e. eSATA stands for external SATA. While the Serial ATA was designed for data transfer inside the PC, external hard drives can be connected with the eSATA cable. The main difference between the eSATA and the SATA is therefore:

• The eSATA technology is used externally and the SATA technology internally.
• Therefore, the length of the cable is a significant difference.
• The SATA cable is up to one meter long and the eSATA cable up to two meters. Therefore, the transmission voltage for the eSATA cable was increased accordingly.
• In addition, the cable, the plug and the socket must of course have an electromagnetic shield for eSATA technology. This is not necessary with SATA, since the housing already takes over the protection.
• In addition, the eSATA sockets have small springs so that the cable is not accidentally pulled out all the time. Of course, there is no such danger with internally applied SATA technology.
• Because of these special features, it is of course clear that the cables for data transmission cannot simply be interchanged.

If you always wanted to know what the different colors of your SATA connectors mean, you should read on here.