Patriot Convoy XL HDD Enclosure

Connection

Convoy XL comes with a SATA power connector, a SATA data connector and a mini USB connector (see Figure 8). The unit comes with four cables: USB power, USB data, standard SATA data cable and eSATA data cable (see Figure 9).

You have the following connection options with Convoy XL:

• Internal connection using a SATA connection: provides the best performance possible. This connection is not supported on NVIDIA-based motherboards due to compatibility issues.
• Internal connection using a USB connection: even though this connection is possible, it is not recommended, as it provides low performance.
• External connection using an eSATA connection: provides the best performance possible. This connection is not supported on NVIDIA-based motherboards due to compatibility issues.
• External connection using a USB connection: this connection is not recommended, as it provides low performance. It is available only for compatibility reasons, for example if you want to temporarily install Convoy XL on an incompatible motherboard to transfer some data.

Pay also attention in Figure 8 for the DIP-switch in charge of configuring the RAID mode and to the “change mode” button, which you need to press after changing the RAID configuration.

Figure 8: Available connectors.

Figure 9: Cables.

When using Convoy XL installed on a USB port, you need to install two USB connectors, one for data transferring and another for providing power to the unit (using the included USB-to-SATA power cable). Because drives consume more power than ordinary USB devices, it is not recommended to install Convoy XL on the USB ports from the case front panel, which can deliver less current than the ports that are soldered directly on the motherboard. So if you decide to use USB connection, make sure to install Convoy XL on the USB ports from the rear panel from your PC.

One final and important information. Convoy XL cannot be used as a boot device, i.e., for loading the operating system; it can only be used for data storage.