Sonnet - Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34: Professional 2-Port Serial ATA Host Controller

Pure Performance to Go

Fusion D500P Connected to MacBook Pro When file transfer speeds in the field can make or break a project, call in the pro—Tempo™ SATA Pro ExpressCard/34. This Sonnet exclusive two-port eSATA adapter delivers the highest available throughput performance from a SATA host controller for notebook computers—40% faster than standard SATA controller cards—and is ideal tool for video capture and editing in the field, studio, or office. Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34's exceptional sustained data throughput capability of up to 200 MB/sec empowers it to support more simultaneous video streams during playback, and enables faster file transfers for content of any kind.

Fusion F2 with MacBook Pro Based on Sonnet's acclaimed Tempo SATA E4P SATA host controller for desktop computers, Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 delivers significant gains in read and write data transfer speeds over earlier-generation eSATA ExpressCard adapters, with remarkably higher throughput than FireWire® and USB 2.0 adapters, when used in combination with storage systems featuring two or more drives. Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 offers great storage expandability—its support for high-performance multi-drive storage systems with port multipliers or hardware RAID controllers enable it to handle up to ten hard drives ⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾ at the same time! Port multipliers and hardware RAID controllers manage the data flow of up to five drives in one enclosure, transferring files between your computer and drives through a single locking cable. Connect two storage systems, using today's highest-capacity drives, and you can access an astounding 20 Terabytes of storage!

Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 controller plugs directly into a MacBook Pro with an ExpressCard/34 slot or Windows notebook with an ExpressCard slot, and is an essential tool for the professional creative person on the go.

Thunderbolt Compatible with Echo ExpressCard/34 A

Key Features

Supports sustained data transfer throughput of up to 200 MB/sec—makes uncompressed HD video editing on a notebook a reality

Supports multi-drive storage systems with a port multiplier or hardware RAID controller—access up to 10 hard drives⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾ at the same time

Improved port multiplier support—delivers significant gains in data transfer speeds over other eSATA adapters for notebook computers when used in combination with multi-drive storage systems

Supports Mac OS X, Windows 7 (Professional or Ultimate), Windows Vista® (Enterprise or Ultimate), and Windows XP Pro RAID features

Compatible with Sonnet's Echo ExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter

Tested using MacBook Pro 2.16 GHz with 2GB RAM running Mac OS X 10.6.2, 1GB file transfers, Fusion F3 3TB configured as RAID 0.

Part No.
TSATAII-PRO-E34	Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34
Hardware
Warranty	5-year
RoHS Compliant	Yes
Bus Interface	ExpressCard/34, PCI Express interface
External Connectors	Two eSATA
Drives Supported	Up to 10⁽¹⁾
Data Transfer Rate	Up to 200 MB per second
ATAPI Support	No
Package Contents	Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 SATA host controller Documentation & software CD
Advanced Features	Port multiplier aware FIS-based switching controller Supports hard drive S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) data reporting Spread Spectrum Clocking for compatibility with all SATA drives and lower EMI emissions Bus Mastering frees CPU from data I/O handling
Specifications subject to change without notice.

Mac Compatibility

MacBook Pro (with ExpressCard slot)

Mac OS X⁽³⁾ Version 10.4+

OS X Mountain Lion compatible

Windows Compatibility

PC notebook (with ExpressCard slot)

Windows® 8

Windows 7⁽⁴⁾

Windows Vista®⁽⁴⁾

Windows XP

Technical Notes

Support for 10 drives requires the use of drive enclosures employing port multipliers (like Sonnet's Fusion D500P, Fusion D400QR5 or R400QR5). When using an enclosure without a port multiplier, Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 will support 2 drives.
Western Digital manufactures Desktop edition (WD Caviar, Caviar SE, Caviar SE16, and Raptor X) hard drives and Enterprise (RAID) Edition (WD RE, RE2, and Raptor) hard drives. Each type of hard drive is designed to work specifically in either a desktop computer environment, or connected to a RAID controller (hardware or software-based). If you intend to configure Western Digital drives in a RAID set, Sonnet and WD recommend using only their Enterprise edition hard drives. For more information, see this Western Digital FAQ.

Sonnet Tempo cards are compatible with most external SATA storage. However, external hard drives with USB 2.0/eSATA dual interface based on the Oxford Semiconductor OXU931DS storage controller chip may not be compatible with Mac OS X when connected via SATA. Known issues are kernel panics occurring when the drive is connected, or the drive not being recognized by the operating system.

Summary of external SATA storage

• Storage with eSATA alone	Compatible
• Storage with triple interfaces	Compatible
• Storage with quad interfaces	Compatible
• Storage with eSATA plus Firewire 400 and/or 800	Compatible
• Storage with RAID 0, 1, or 5 (multiple drives)	Compatible
• Storage with eSATA plus USB (based on JMicron 20366)	Compatible
These compatible drives include, but are not limited to: - OWC Mercury On-the-Go USB 2.0/eSATA 2.5" portable
• Storage with eSATA plus USB (based on Oxford OXU931DS)	Not compatible
These incompatible drives include, but are not limited to: - Western Digital My Book™ Premium ES Edition™ - Seagate Technology FreeAgent™ Pro
• Thermaltake Black X Duet	Not compatible

Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 not supported under Windows 7 or Windows Vista when running on unibody MacBook Pro computers. The problem is caused by the MacBook Pro's BIOS emulation, which doesn't allocate enough resources to support certain kinds of Expresscard/34 devices in these operating systems, such as a SATA controller.

Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 Performance

	Number of Drives	RAID Mode	Read (MB/s)	Write (MB/s)
SATA Drive (3TB Hitachi 3.5", 7200rpm)	1	JBOD	145⁽¹⁾	145⁽¹⁾
Fusion F2 (1.5TB)	2	SW RAID 0	200	190
Fusion F3 (6TB)	2	HW RAID 0	200	150
Fusion D400QR5 (12TB)	4	HW RAID 5	200	165
Fusion D400QR5 (12TB) via Thunderbolt Adapter	4	HW RAID 5	200	80

1. Limited by drive performance

Product image	Product Name	Part No.	Description
	Sonnet 2-Meter Locking eSATA Cable	TCB-SATA-2L-2M	eSATA data cable with locking connectors
	Sonnet 1-Meter Locking eSATA Cable	TCB-SATA-2L-1M	eSATA data cable with locking connectors
	ExpressCard/34 to 54 Stabilizer	E34-E54-BK	Brace for stabilizing an ExpressCard/34 adapter card in an ExpressCard/54 slot

Reviews
	AMUG Reviews "…provides the highest eSATA ExpressCard/34 performance that AMUG has recorded." Read more...
	Sonnet Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 "The Sonnet Tempo SATA Pro is a very strong performer in terms of throughput. Speeds shown here increase by about 10% with 32MB chunks instead of 1MB chunks. These are excellent results for the MacBook Pro, indeed unprecedented prior to Dec 2008… When choosing eSATA on the MacBook Pro for performance reasons, the higher price of the Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 is easily justified for big jobs, such as Photoshop. And for backups of large data sets, the higher sustained throughput will cut the time down considerably." Read more...
	Excellent Pro Card "There is a big difference in speed with the Pro model versus the standard model, noticeably in speed. The speed tests I ran on a set of 2-drive RAID-0 externals were faster on my Macbook Pro i7 than on my Mac Pro! My specific application was downloading RED Drives onto a pair of hard drives, and the card reader cut my transfer times in half; 100 GB transfered in under a half-hour. When the drives were clean, AJA reported over 150 MB/s read and write. (that's capital MB)…" Read more...
	A Definite Upgrade "I use this for video editing with Final Cut Pro on my MacBook Pro. I have it connected to a GRAID 1TB Quad Interface and have also used it simultaneously with my G-DRIVE 500GB Quad Interface. It's noticeably faster than Firewire 800. I used to use that all the time for my primary editing interface with external drives. Renders are faster, not mind-blowing, but you can see and feel the difference. Scrubbing thru the timeline is also snappier especially when working with standard definition video. Dropped frames aren't as frequent as video plays back smooth the majority of the time but part of that might be due to my computer and what I have running. I got this item because I felt I needed to maximize my editing solution once I started working more with HD material and felt Firewire 800 wouldn't suffice. On my MacBook Pro I felt this was the most affordable solution all around from pre-production, production, to post and it's been working great." Read more...
	Tempo SATA II Pro ExpressCard/34 2-Port "As far as I know, there is no other eSATA card that outperforms this product that currently exists in the market. I've done some research on this and tried out different brands, but none really suited my needs like this one…" Read more...

Awards & Case Studies
See what reviewers and customers have to say about other Sonnet products in our News section under Product Reviews and Case Studies.