PC Card - eSata port: anyone used this?

[benhuddleston]

I've seen conflicting info on whether it's worth it speed-wise to use a PC card - eSata adapter to connect from a laptop (pc laptop) to a hard drive, over USB 2.

I have a Dell with a free PC card slot, and many USB ports, but the question is how much faster it would be, if any? Does the PC card bottleneck slow transfers/throughput to USB speeds anyway?

I've heard lots of people's opinions, but no one with empirical data. Has anyone tried this, and if so, what's the verdict?

 

[aalleexx]

I dont know about performance on a pc but for almost a year I have used external esata
on my mac pro, not a single problem "knock on wood"
very very fast, regular connection (no raid)

 

[benhuddleston]

I don't doubt that eSata is fast; I'm just wondering if the PC card slot on a laptop slows it down to negate the speed.

Is anyone running an external drive via an eSata connection through a PC card (PCMCIA) eSata adapter?