• Overview
  • Tech Specs
  • Performance
  • Accessories

Four eSATA PortsProfessional 4-Port 6 Gb/s SATA Solution for Mac & PC Desktops with PCIe Slots

Why choose an eSATA card? External storage and professional SSD readers often have two or more interfaces from which to choose, including FireWire®, USB, and eSATA. Your computer has USB ports, may have FireWire ports, and maybe even a Thunderbolt port, too. So if you can just plug into your computer's existing ports, why consider an eSATA card? Performance and cost. Consider the facts that the 6 Gb/s eSATA interface offers superior throughput to that of all FireWire and USB interfaces, and Thunderbolt storage systems carry a price premium over eSATA storage systems. Sonnet's Tempo SATA Pro 6Gb 4-Port card is a cost-effective way to add four high-performance bootable eSATA ports to your computer so you can take advantage of this fast interface.

RAID IconStorage systems with an eSATA interface offer great flexibility. Single-drive enclosures let you easily back up data, move files from one computer to another, or take advantage of a fast SSD. Many multi-drive storage systems include swappable drive trays, which are perfect for managing daily backups and multiple projects. Some systems, like Sonnet's Fusion™ R400SRAID and Fusion F3, feature integrated hardware RAID controllers that manage up to four drives and enable you to create large, protected RAID volumes, yet only a single cable is required to connect these multi-drive systems to this pro eSATA card. Featuring four ports and dual SATA controllers, this Sonnet card enables you to connect multiple systems for fast transfers between them or to improve performance by creating RAID sets from two or more systems. Whether you connect single- or multi-drive systems, or a combination of both, Tempo SATA Pro 6Gb 4-Port supports them at maximum performance levels.

Improved Performance

SpeedometerSonnet's Tempo SATA Pro 6Gb 4-Port's fast, 6 Gb/s eSATA interface easily handles the increased bandwidth requirements of 6 Gb/s SSDs. Built around a second generation 6Gb SATA chipset, it offers greatly improved performance over older 6 Gb eSATA cards and is capable of transferring files from a single SSD at up to 500 MB/s. Even greater performance (up to 1,300 MB/s!) is possible when you connect four SSDs and format them as a RAID 0 set. Increased onboard cache enables this Sonnet controller to perform even better in the latest computers as well as in Sonnet's Echo™ Express Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis for PCIe cards or xMac™ mini Server.

Key Features

Cost-effective solution for adding high-performance 6 Gb/s eSATA ports to your Mac® Pro, desktop PC, or Thunderbolt expansion chassis with PCI Express® 2.0 slots

PCI Express 2.0 x4 host bus interface and high-performance SATA controller

Superior performance with aggregate data transfers speeds up to 1300 MB/sec

Card optimized to maximize performance over Thunderbolt—perfect for use in Sonnet's Echo Express Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis for PCIe cards

Supports OS X and Windows RAID features

Supports drive hot-swapping under OS X®

Supports booting from attached drives OS X and Windows 7 and 8 (see Tech Specs for details)

Supports ATAPI (DVD-ROM) drives

AHCI compliant—no drivers required

Supports S.M.A.R.T. data reporting

Supports Sonnet-exclusive locking eSATA data cables

Shadow

 

Tempo SATA Pro PCIe Card Connected to Fusion Storage Systems

For maximum performance, you can create a single, large RAID 0 set across multiple drives in two or more enclosures like Sonnet’s Fusion D400QR5 or Fusion R400QR5.

Thunderbolt ConnectionsWide Support – Optimized for Maximum Performance Over Thunderbolt

Got a Thunderbolt connection, but no PCIe slot? This card is ideal for use in one of Sonnet's Echo Express Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis for PCIe cards—the combo enables you to add 4-eSATA ports of connectivity to iMac®, Mac mini, MacBook® Air, and MacBook Pro computers. This card supports the RAID features of OS X and Windows 8, 7, and Vista®. It supports hot-swapping of drives under OS X, and supports booting from attached drives under OS X and Windows 8, 7, and Vista. You can connect optical drives, too. AHCI compliance ensures installation of the card is simple—just plug it in to any available PCI Express® (PCIe) slot and then start your computer—the necessary drivers are installed automatically. Drive health monitoring is supported through S.M.A.R.T. data reporting. And, for a secure connection, this card supports Sonnet's exclusive locking eSATA cables. When you need to add flexible, external storage to your setup, Tempo SATA Pro 6Gb 4-Port gets you connected, fast.

 

 

Part No.  
TSATA6-PRO-E4 Tempo SATA Pro 6Gb 4-Port
Hardware  
Warranty 2-year
Bus Interface PCI Express 2.0 x4
External Connectors Four locking eSATA
Drives Supported 20(1)
Data Transfer Rate Up to 1,300MB/sec(2)
Drive Types Supported SATA 6 Gb/s, SATA 3 Gb/s, and SATA 1.5 Gb/s
AHCI Support
System OS X Windows 10, 8,7 Windows Server 2012 Windows Vista
Boot Support (4)  
Port Multiplier Aware (1)
Hot Plug Drive      
Advanced Features
  • Supports ATAPI (CD/DVD) drives
  • Supports port multipliers under Windows 10, 8, 7
  • Supports S.M.A.R.T. status data reporting
  • Supports Spread Spectrum Clocking for compatibility with all SATA drives and for lower EMI emissions
RoHS Compliant Yes
Package Contents
  • Tempo SATA Pro 6Gb 4-Port host controller card
  • Documentation

 

Specifications subject to change without notice.

image

 

 

 

 

Mac Compatibility

Mac Pro® (with card slots)

Xserve® (with PCIe slots)(5)

Power Mac® G5 (with PCIe slots)

OS X 10.5.8+

macOS Catalina compatible(6)

Windows Compatibility

PC (with PCIe slots)(3)

Windows® 10, 8, 7

Thunderbolt Compatibility

Mac or PC via a Thunderbolt-to-PCIe Card Expansion System

Sonnet's xMac mini Server


Technical Notes

  1. OS X port multiplier support requires Version 10.8.5+.
  2. See Performance Tab for details.
  3. Marvel driver required for HP Z820.
  4. Supports booting in Mac Pro 3,1 (early 2008) and newer and any Thunderbolt Mac with a Thunderbolt-to-PCIe Card Expansion System.
  5. Locking feature of eSATA connectors not supported in Xserve.
  6. Booting from RAID is not supported in Catalina, Mojave, or High Sierra.

 

Mac Logo Windows LogoeSATA LogoroHS Logo

Tempo SATA Pro 6Gb 4-Port Performance
  Read Write
One Drive Performance 500 MB/s 420 MB/s
Two Drive RAID 0 Performance 960 MB/s 810 MB/s
Four Drive RAID 0 Performance 1210 MB/s 985 MB/s
One Drive Performance Over Thunderbolt 450 MB/s 330 MB/s
Two Drive RAID 0 Performance Over Thunderbolt 700 MB/s 560 MB/s
Shadow

 

  Product Part No. Description
Locking eSATA cable Sonnet 2-Meter Locking eSATA Cable TCB-SATA-2L-2M eSATA data cable with locking connectors
eSATA to SATA Cable Sonnet 1-Meter eSATA to internal SATA Cable TCB-SATA-2/1 eSATA to internal data cable