What is an advantage of using eSATA over USB for external hard drives?

Using eSATA offers faster data transfer speeds compared to USB, making it an advantageous choice for external hard drives. eSATA directly connects to the SATA interface found on most internal hard drives, allowing it to effectively leverage the higher data throughput capabilities of SATA technology. This results in improved performance, especially when transferring large files or managing extensive data backups.

In contrast, while USB has evolved over time with various standards (USB 2.0, USB 3.0, USB 3.1), eSATA is specifically designed for storage devices, ensuring that it can typically maintain higher speeds. This makes it a preferred option for users who require efficient data handling and higher performance, such as video editing professionals or those dealing with large databases.