What is the new interface of Power over eSATA?

MSI has combined eSATA and USB into one port called Power eSATA, this new port overcomes the power problem of current eSATA devices. The new Power eSATA port will first be used on the MSI 790FX-GD70 motherboard for AMD Socket AM3 processors, and it will also be featured on many of the company's new notebooks.
Current eSATA usage
Portable storage devices (like 2.5  harddrives or Flash drives) are getting larger and much faster. USB is getting too slow to fulfil the demand of these faster storage devices so eSATA is gaining popularity. The eSATA connector does not transfer power needed by external storage devices, so most times either an external adapter or an extra USB cable is needed. Because of this, the user has one less USB port to connect other applications and the extra cable causes inconvenience on a desk.

MSI Power eSATA solution
To solve the inconvenience, MSI implements a combination of eSATA and USB in one port: Power eSATA. This combo port supplies the external eSATA device with the needed power, so no adapter or extra USB cable is needed. Now the USB port is free to connect other devices to. Moreover, Power eSATA is 8x faster in transferring data than normal USB ports so files are transferred much faster.

First AM3 MB with Power eSATA: MSI 790FX-GD70
MSI 790FX-GD70 mainboard, which is equipped with DrMOS and APS, is the first AM3 board with Power eSATA on the market to take full advantage of OCZ抯 Throttle eSATA drive. This portable storage device delivers faster transfer rates and cost effective expansion storage. The throttle is available in high densities and offers exceptional peak interface speeds for high performance notebooks, desktops and consumer electronics.

Notebooks with Power eSATA
On notebook there is not a lot of space to place connectors so in the design stage the decision needs to be made to equip the notebook with an eSATA connector or with an extra USB connector. MSI has a complete range of notebooks which also feature the Power eSATA connector giving the customer both an eSATA connector and an extra USB connector. Our gaming series notebooks which come with a Turbo button which lets you instant overclock the notebooks are equipped with a Power eSATA connector. Also our Bravo entertainment notebooks which feature a 16: 9 aspect ration and Cinema Pro are equipped with the Power eSATA connector.