Best USB to SATA Adapter (Our Top 8 Recommendations!)
When you need to free up space or just add extra storage to your computer then you should consider using the best USB to SATA adapter because it allows you to connect any SATA hard drive right into your computer through a standard USB port! This means that adding more storage has never been easier!
SATA adapters are essentially a bridge between your hard drive and your computer. It allows you to connect a SATA hard drive using a standard USB port on your computer. This can be a great way to add more storage to your computer or free up space on your current hard drive.
Finding the finest SATA adapter can be a daunting task. With so many different brands and models on the market, it can be hard to know which is right for you.
This article will help you understand what makes a good premier USB to SATA adapter and how to choose the right one based on your needs. It will also teach you about other factors that can influence your decision, such as price and compatibility.
Best USB to SATA Adapter – Our Top Picks!
The best way to transfer files from an old PC or laptop that may have a faulty or corrupted SATA hard drive to another computer is through the use of the fastest SATA to USB adapter. This is a small device that plugs into the USB port on your computer and the SATA drive on the other computer.
Here are our top recommended products:
1. StarTech USB to SATA Adapter
Our Review:
StarTech is a company that is known for making reliable and durable products. This USB to SATA adapter is no exception. It is made out of high-quality materials that make it tough and durable.
This SATA solid-state (SSD) or hard disk drive (HDD) converter allows you to upgrade from an internal 2.5″ SATA HDD or SSD to an external USB 3.0 enclosure. It is a great way to add more storage to your computer without having to open the case.
You may use the cable to do various tasks such as increase available storage space, backups done on a regular basis, create disk images from a bootable image, set up a data recovery program and between the hard drive and the laptop, it transfers data. This makes it perfect for file storage and exchange, system backup or disk cloning.
USB 3.0 transfer speeds of 5Gbps are supported by this USB cable. But, when connected to a computer that also supports UASP, you may get speeds up to 70% faster than USB 3.0 by using the SDD adapter.
Thanks fully, you can get the most out of a SATA III SSD or HDD with UASP. In Windows 8, Mac OS X (10.8 or above), and Linux, UASP is compatible. A blue LED is located on one side of this unit. It shows the power and activity status of the SSD or HDD.
Plus, you can efficiently and quickly change between drives without having to put the drive inside an enclosure since the cable allows you to do so. It’s simple to set up and doesn’t require any installation software or drivers.
2. SABRENT USB to SATA Adapter
Our Review:
SABRENT is a USB 3.0 and SATA II hard drive docking station that facilitates high-speed data transfer up to 5 Gbps. It provides fast, efficient and easy data transfer without the need of an enclosure or additional power supply.
You will like that it supports 2.5″ Notebook SATA and SATA II Hard drives and provides a fast interface for all your daily computing needs. You can easily plug in these hard drives into your computer’s USB port, which makes it a great alternative to an external desktop hard drive without the need of an AC adapter.
With its slim design, this adapter lets you access your data with ease. With transfer rates up to 480 Mbps when connected to a USB 2.0 port, the Sabrent converter features easy plug-and-play installation with no driver and utility CD required, plus hot-plugging capability.
Thankfully it supports UASP protocol, compatible with all 32-bit Windows OS, and supports Windows 8 / 7 / Vista / XP operating system.
One of the best things about this best SATA to USB 3 1 adapter is that it simplifies your life with Its backward compatibility with USB 2.0 and 1.1, so it’ll work with virtually any computer on the planet. Plus, it includes an external power supply for convenience!
3. BENFEI USB to SATA Adapter
Our Review:
Presenting one amazing and stylish item that is uniquely designed to complement and integrate into any modern home and office environment. This great product gives you the convenience of installing various high-capacity hard drives (both 2.5″ & 3.5″) on your latest desktop or laptop computer without you having to upgrade or replace them.
For those of you with USB 3.0 enabled laptops or desktops, now you can take advantage of their faster transfer speeds to the 2.5″ SATA hard drives and solid-state drives you already own—no need to buy external storage ever again.
The benefit is a perfect way to create an external storage solution on the go and share your music, videos, photos, games, and more on any desktop, laptop, or Ultrabook computer that doesn’t have an internal drive bay.
We loved that this converter can work as a bridge between USB and SATA hard drives. It allows you to backup important data to an external storage device. It also is a good tool for retrieving data from an old SATA drive before you dispose of it or sell it away.
Also, this compact and convenient device is extremely easy to install, plug and play. It works with most computers with available USB ports, such as Windows PC, Mac, Linux and more. This adapter allows you to use an SSD drive to externally upgrade your laptop hard drive via the USB 3.0 interface
4. AkoaDa USB to SATA Adapter
Our Review:
The Akoada adapter is an answer for users who want to use the high-performance drive of the latest generation SSD in their desktop or note
Now you can get USB 3.0 data transmission speeds of up to 5Gbps that is supported by the adapter. When connected to a PC that also supports UASP, however, you can get transfer speeds up to 70% quicker than standard USB 3.0.
Most people like that this USB to SATA cable is small, compact, and easy to carry, and it fits neatly inside a laptop bag. This enclosure is a must-have for any computer tinkerer and pc modder out there. It’s plug-and-play feature makes installation painless, simply plug it into an empty 3.0 USB slot on your desktop or laptop as you would with a standard USB thumb drive.
It is Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP, Mac OS X, and Linux compatible, giving it broad device and platform compatibility in use, allowing you to read and write hard drive data without changing or reformatting the drive itself after connecting to the host computer with an available USB 2.0 slot.
5. ELUTENG USB to SATA Adapter
Our Review:
Eluting duplicator adapter is a cost-effective adapter designed to connect with a computer USB port to a 2.5” externally hanging Serial ATA hard drive and make copies of the data stored in it.
Using the external UASP mode, the transmission speed can reach up to 600Mbps, up to 50% faster than the traditional USB 3.0. It is compatible with all Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Mac OS X operating systems.
With a built-in power adapter, conveniently plug the power cord and it is ready to use. It also has a high-purity oxygen-free copper wire core, which is tinned to reduce signal loss and maximize transmission performance and stability.
After doing 100 times plug test for each interface and using high purity oxygen free copper as the transmission medium, we can ensure that this adapter is stable and reliable. Another advantage of it is that it only uses one PCIe expansion slot inside the desktop, and looks tidy.
Too, it lets you access your favorite hard drive easily for data backup, disk cloning, and disk imaging. This product allows you to perform data recovery, copy data onto an external hard drive, or perform diagnostics on a server’s hard drives.
6. SKL TECH USB to SATA Adapter
Our Review:
SKL TECH cheap USB to SATA adapter lets you connect your 2.5″ SATA I/II/III hard drive or SSD to your computer at UASP speeds using a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 connection, making it easy and convenient to access your files on a standard desktop or laptop computer without having to install an internal drive.
Available in a slim 9″ length, this adapter also features a handy inverted design for installing hard drives without needing to remove the protective dust cover from the case.
Easily swap between internal and external drive by just removing it from the enclosure. If you attach or remove your hard drive from SKL’s adapter, you only have to power cycle (shut down & wait a few seconds) your computer but not take a long time to reconnect the new device driver or operation system again on your computer.
This portable adapter also supports a hot-swappable feature that you can plug in or out your device without restarting Windows or powering down your machine which means no need for an additional power cable.
Also, there is an LED indicator light that shows device status and working condition easily while using convenient small size design which is perfect for traveling business people who carry everything with them.
7. FIDECO SATA/IDE Adapter
Our Review:
The Fideco SATA/IDE adapter is the best choice to upgrade your notebooks capacity with its support of two hard drives (up to 16 TB) and is the perfect solution for those who need to swap hard drives without having to remove your current hard drive or install a new operating system on your computer.
We tested this Fideco product for reliability, using an internal laboratory-built testing system. After a period of 5 million plug-in/reconfiguration cycles, there was no statistical difference in performance between this product and a brand new unit. All units passed our rigorous reliability tests and come with a 5-year warranty.
This product also supports hot swapping and has all necessary power supply requirements. You can use it on any notebook computer that supports SATA III hard drives, and you don’t have to install or run any software.
Another thing we noted is that this adapter doesn’t require drivers. It also does not require you to install or run any software, and that means you don’t have to remove the original drive, or boot from a live DVD to install the new one.
Additionally, the adapter comes with an LED light indicator that shows the connection status of the internal drive and working condition of the adapter itself. This lets you know if your computer is detecting the new drive or not. If it isn’t, just unplug and replug the cable and check the LED indicator again. What’s more, this adapter is universal, which means it is compatible with both SATA and IDE connectors.
All in all, this product is the most reliable product we tested and is one of the best choices for those who need to add extra capacity to their notebooks without having to buy a whole new computer.
8. Vantec SATA/IDE TO USB 3.0 Adapter
Our Review:
Vantec’s SATA/IDE to USB 2.0 adapter is a versatile device, with the ability to replace an internal hard drive or other SATA/IDE drive with USB 3.0 and it is compatible with both Windows and OSX. It supports all versions of Mac computers and will even work with a Windows computer using a special software.
We tested this product by connecting it to a test machine which has two 5,400 RPM SATA/IDE drives in it. We then connected a variety of external devices to the test machine such as a FireWire 800 card reader, a DVD writer, a CD writer, and a Thunderbolt device. In all cases, we were able to successfully add these devices without rebooting the test machine and without any problems.
You can use it to install and run Windows on your notebook or to simply expand the storage capacity of your notebook. This product is a great choice for both novice and expert users.
It is very easy-to-use, compact, lightweight, and has a sleek and attractive design. The adapter has two sets of metal contacts which allows you to connect the hard drive or optical drive to your notebook or desktop computer in just seconds. It also has an LED indicator which lets you know if your computer is detecting the new drive or not.
This is the fastest external SATA/IDE to USB 2.0 adapter. It supports 3.25” optical media drives and connects easily to your notebook computer, tablet, smartphone or even a digital camera, allowing you to transfer large files quickly and easily.
The adapter is compatible with Windows, OSX, and Linux. You do not have to install any software on your computer before using this device.
How to Choose the Best USB to SATA Adapter – Buying Guide
Choosing the best USB to SATA adapter can be quite a daunting task if you don’t know what to look for. That’s why we are here to help when it comes to buying a new USB to SATA adapter, there are several things you need to consider before you make the purchase.
Here are the most important things to look for when choosing the best USB to SATA adapter:
Speed:
The speed of your adapter will depend on how fast your notebook’s processor is, the faster your computer’s processor is the faster the USB to SATA adapter will be able to work with it. If you have an older or slower computer, you should go with a lower end adapter, as these adapters are optimized for those computers. However, if you have a modern computer, you should definitely get a higher end adapter, as these adapters are optimized for newer or faster computers.
Compatibility:
This is another big decision you need to make, do you need a device that is compatible with Windows, OSX and Linux? If so, you should definitely get one that is cross-platform compatible, but if you are only using your device with one operating system, you should get the adapter that is optimized for that operating system.
Portability:
If you intend to use this device with your laptop or portable computer, you should definitely consider getting a smaller device like the Vantec Mini-SATA to USB adapter, since it is small and lightweight. On the other hand, if you are using it with your desktop computer, you should consider getting a larger device like the SABRENT USB to SATA Adapter.
Design:
One of the most important aspects of the adapter is its design, you need to make sure the adapter is attractive and sleek, so you can use it to easily connect your external hard drive or optical drive to your notebook or desktop computer.
Conclusion:
USB to SATA adapter is an inexpensive solution for easily connecting an external hard drive or optical drive to almost any computer or notebook. So the next time you need to transfer data to or from your external hard drive or optical drive, don’t hesitate to get yourself a cheap USB to SATA adapter. It’ll save you a lot of time and trouble.
Hopefully, after you read this article, you will be able to make an informed decision and purchase the USB to SATA adapter that is right for you.
However, if you still can’t decide which USB to SATA adapter is the best one for you, I would like to suggest you give the Vantec Mini-SATA to USB adapter a try, it is very reasonably priced and it has a very good 4-star rating from over one thousand customers.
FAQs:
Q. Do I need to install any software to my computer before connecting my external hard drive or optical drive?
A. No, you do not have to install any software on your computer, all you need to do is plug the adapter in and the computer will automatically recognize the external hard drive or optical drive.
Q. What are the advantages of using a USB to SATA adapter over using an internal SATA port on your computer?
A. Surprisingly, there are quite a few advantages, here are just a few of them:
Speed: Using a USB to SATA adapter allows your computer to access the data on your external hard drive or optical drive faster than if you were to use an internal SATA port. This is because there is no mechanical parts involved when using a USB to SATA adapter.
Ease of Use: Using a USB to SATA adapter makes it much easier to use your external hard drive or optical drive with your computer, all you have to do is plug the adapter into your computer and your external hard drive or optical drive will be detected instantly.
Q. Does a USB to SATA adapter work?
A. Yes, a USB to SATA adapter works just like a USB flash drive, you can use it to transfer data to and from your computer. However, it may not work with your particular model of computer or notebook. That’s why it is so important to do a little research before you buy one.