It's quite a commonly-known fact that all modern HDDs come equipped with SATA II interfaces, which provide much higher data transfer rates. However, not all computers (especially the older ones) come equipped with SATA II interfaces (or even SATA I versions, for that matter), and for this reason, the need for specialized adapters emerges.

And that's exactly why the people from Addonics have just introduced the 4x1 eSATA/USB Hardware Port Multiplier, a device that can provide SATA / SATA II connectivity even for older computers and external enclosures.

As mentioned right from the title, the main selling point of the new 4X1 HPM is the fact that it can connect up to four SATA / SATA II hard drives to a host via a single SATA port or USB port. These connected drives can be easily set to different RAID configurations by dialing an onboard rotary switch. There is no driver or software installation required, thus making the addition of RAID storage to any system simple no matter the operating system. The RAID volume, once created, appears to any OS as another hard drive.

The device also delivers a host of other interesting features, such as compatibility with any SATA controller (RAID or non RAID) or USB port, compatibility with CF memory card or Micro Drive using Addonics SATA CF adapters, the use of RAID volume as a boot drive or as additional storage, the ability to daisy chain multiple units, hot swap support, and multi-function LED pin headers for host link, RAID status, individual drive activity, power, system-ready and RAID diagnostics.

For an increased level of versatility, the 4X1 eSATA/USB HPM is available in two different versions, namely a system version and an enclosure version. The former enables multiple hard drives inside a system to be connected together to form a RAID volume, while the latter is compatible with a large array of enclosures available on the market.

Regardless of the model (system or enclosure), the 4x1 eSATA/USB Hardware Port Multiplier has the same price point, namely somewhere around 90 US dollars, which, by all accounts, is a pretty decent sum, given just how useful the device could ultimately prove to be.


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