eSATA transferring slower than USB, wtf??

I just got a Seagate FreeAgent Pro 500GB external hard drive. I was excited about it because it has an eSATA port, and so does my mobo. So thinking I'd finally get to utilized my computer's eSATA capabilities and that backing things up would be so much quicker, I spent the extra money on the drive and an eSATA cable (drive didn't come with one :mad ).

I got everything up and running and started to transfer some stuff to the drive, but it seemed to me the transfers were going a lot slower than they should. After all, eSATA boasts speeds of 3GB/s.

So I downloaded a little app called HD Tune to test my transfer rates, and here's what I got:

with eSATA connected - 20.5MB/s burst

with USB2.0 connected - 25.6MB/s burst

What the hell is going on here? Not only is the eSATA not moving very fast, but the USB is actually faster than it?

The only thought I had is that either my computer doesn't have it's eSATA configured correctly, or I bought a bum eSATA cable.
Here is the cable I bought:
http://www.amazon.com/36IN-Esata-Si...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1178737372&sr=8-1

and here is a link to my mobo info:
http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/p5wd2/

Does anyone know what might be going on?

 

I could be wrong, but I think that USB 2.0 transfers data at 480mps max, and SATA2 is 300mps max..... but, like I said, I could be wrong.

 

that 3.0gs /480MB/s is raw interface speed the one beema is on about is burst speed

 

USB/eSATA/FireWire external hard drive, I didn't realize there was such an animal. The only knowledgeable "article" I've found thus far is here:
http://www.smartcomputing.com/edito...s1804/03ds04/03ds04.asp&articleid=38445&guid=
rolleyes

 

well according to that guys chart and according to this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esata#eSATA_compared_to_other_buses

I should be getting faster rates than with USB2.0

according to the wikipedia chart, it should be 5 times faster

so nobody knows much about this eh?

 

Who knows everything ?
I think the type, and quality, of hard disk might make a difference, and the type of testing software.

Interesting links :tas


review on seagate freeAgent pro
http://www.trustedreviews.com/storage/review/2007/04/29/Seagate-FreeAgent-Pro/p3

Comparison reviews, on usb, and e-sata.
http://www.cluboc.net/reviews/hard_drive_accessories/vizo_luxon/2.htm


:hammer