Originally posted by: shira
Great Post, Insomniak!!!. However, there is one thing you might consider adding before Step 2. My understanding is that for a least some MBs that support NCQ it's necessary to make appropriate settings in the BIOS BEFORE installing Windows if you plan on using the NCQ feature for HDs that provide that functionality. Not sure if this is generally true for NCQ. See this Anandtech HD review:
Setting up NCQ
If you neglect to do this, you have to go back, make the BIOS settings, and re-install Windows (if you want NCQ).