FireWire Depot ships SATA hub

FireWire Depot today began shipping its SATA 1-in/5-out hub, a portable USB-powered device allowing users to add more SATA I and SATA II devices to a system without an external AC adapter. The hub automatically connects and transfers with either 3.0GB (SATA II) or 1.5GB (SATA I) bandwidth, providing simultaneous data transfer rates of 3.0Gbps. FireWire Depot's new hub uses the Silicon Image 3726 chipset, supporting five SATA I or SATA II devices with auto-negotiation features over a single eSATA connector. The device is designed to take full advantage of the 3Gbps host link bandwidth and FIS-based switching host controllers by combining and sending data from all devices over the 3Gbps host link, effectively overcoming the sequential data transfer technique that can easily degrade performance when multiple devices are operating simultaneously. The SATA hub requires an available USB port to provide power, and is priced at $100.

Filed under: upgrades/storage