Sabrent has launched the EC-U2SA, a compact dongle that enables seamless USB-to-SATA and U.2 backplane connectivity. This innovative device eliminates any interface bottlenecks for SATA by utilizing a USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface with a bandwidth of 10 Gbps, combined with UASP (USB-attached SCSI) technology.

With the EC-U2SA, users can effortlessly connect a SATA 6 Gbps drive without any bottlenecks. For SATA SSDs, the dongle can function independently and draw power from the USB port. However, for HDDs, users will need to connect an additional power source through a 2-pin DC jack, which comes with a 10 W power adapter included in the package. Additionally, the U.2 backplane incorporates a PCIe x2 interface, which may cause interface bottlenecks, but it passes through several NVMe functions to the OS, such as the TRIM command. The EC-U2SA is now available, and it retails at $34.99.