Monoprice

Are you looking for a temporary, simple, low-cost external drive solution for your USB 3.0 equipped PC? The Monoprice USB 3.0 to SATA Converter Cable is what you're looking for!

This kit comes with a USB 3.0 cable, a converter box with a SATA drive connector (for 2.5" and 3.5" internal SATA hard drives, and 5.25" SATA optical drives), and an AC power adapter. The converter is compatible with any internal SATA drive: 2.5" or 3.5" HDD or 5.25" optical; SATA I, SATA II, or SATA III. When used with a USB 3.0 connection and a SATA III drive, this device allows transfer rates of up to 5 Gbit/s, more than ten times faster than USB 2.0 and 50% faster than SATA II internal connections!

To use it, simply plug the SATA converter into the internal SATA drive, then plug the USB cable into the converter and your PC, and plug in the power. The converter will allow the drive to be recognized by your computer as a USB device, the same as if you had installed it into an external enclosure.

Although this isn't ideal as a long-term solution, because of the exposed drive circuits, it is an excellent way to quickly transfer data to or from an internal drive without going through the hassle of installing it into a PC or an external enclosure. This a perfect device for the PC bench technician or roving repair tech, especially given that it is more portable than traditional drive docks, as well as the fact that it allows connection to 5.25" optical drives, which traditional docking stations cannot accommodate.

Note that this is backwards compatible with USB 2.0, but is limited to a maximum transfer rate of 480 Mbit/s. No additional cables are needed for USB 2.0 connectivity, making this the complete USB-to-SATA solution!