Wanted suggestion regaring SATA 2 PCI card.

[sumedik]

Hello all,

I would like to add a new high capacity SATA HDD with my existing old PC with MSI KM4M motherboard. I would like to know the following:

1. Which BRAND and MODEL of PCI SATA card should I go for?
2. Does the capacity of the SATA HDD that I am about to add is limited in any way due to the motherboard?

I understand that the new SATA HDD can be made bootable ONLY if the BIOS has "Boot from PCI Device" enabled. Please confirm the same.

If the BIOS does not have that facility, then the only option is using a SATA to IDE converter. Which is a good brand to go for? Also, this method would result in slower data transfer rate, but apart from that, is there anything that makes this method "unreliable"?

Thanks and regards.

 

[dac7nco]

sumedik, You won't find a decent SATA-2 controller with a PCI interface, however you'll find SATA (Gen 1), which is up-compatible. This has two internal SATA ports, and it's bootable (BTW, Rosewill is just NewEgg's house brand - they're generally reliable and cheap).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo

I've used this on a friends old dual-celeron, so it'll work on your less-ancient AMD.

Daimon

Edit: Welcome to the forums.

 

[mfenn]

sumedik, You won't find a decent SATA-2 controller with a PCI interface, however you'll find SATA (Gen 1), which is up-compatible. This has two internal SATA ports, and it's bootable (BTW, Rosewill is just NewEgg's house brand - they're generally reliable and cheap).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo

I've used this on a friends old dual-celeron, so it'll work on your less-ancient AMD.

Daimon

Edit: Welcome to the forums.

:thumbsup: The Silicon Image chips are pretty good for cheapie controllers.

 

[sumedik]

Hello,

Well thanks for the replies.

I found that my mobo does NOT support boot from PCI explicitly. There is an option "Boot from other device". Would this be sufficient to let the system boot form a bootable PCI SATA card like the one you mentioned?

If I have to use IDE SATA adapter, would I be able to use SATA 2 HDD?I did not find any SATA 2 IDE adapters as well.

Is Kingston a good brand for the same?

Regards,
S

 

[vailr]

I understand that the new SATA HDD can be made bootable ONLY if the BIOS has "Boot from PCI Device" enabled. Please confirm the same.

If the BIOS does not have that facility, then the only option is using a SATA to IDE converter. Which is a good brand to go for?.

The "Boot from PCI Device" option won't appear unless there's a controller card already plugged into the computer.
An inexpensive used Highpoint Racketraid card could be found on eBay.
However, I'd recommend just upgrading to a newer motherboard using DDR3, that would also include onboard SATA ports.

 

[dac7nco]

Yeah, MSI forums say that that'll be a boot option when you've installed the new controller. Don't use an IDE to SATA adapter; you don't need it. That Rosewill SATA card will boot any SATA device, be it SATA, SATA-2 or SATA-3.

Daimon

 

[sumedik]

I see where you guys are coming from. Let me explain my situation.

I would upgrade my PC fully(new mobo, RAM, processor etc). However I need 2 months to arrange the finances. However I need a HDD immediately as my present one is almost dead. I need to backup my data.

Thus the HDD I would purchase is for the new rig. So I do not want to compromise by buying obsolete technology. Therefore I would go for SATA 2 HDD.

The converter would be required for 2 months max. After the new rig comes, it would be useless.

Do you still think I need the SATA-PCI converter? After all it is more expensive.

If you feel I can survive with SATA IDE converter, please suggest a good brand for the same.

Thanks and Regards,
S

 

[mfenn]

I see where you guys are coming from. Let me explain my situation.

I would upgrade my PC fully(new mobo, RAM, processor etc). However I need 2 months to arrange the finances. However I need a HDD immediately as my present one is almost dead. I need to backup my data.

Thus the HDD I would purchase is for the new rig. So I do not want to compromise by buying obsolete technology. Therefore I would go for SATA 2 HDD.

The converter would be required for 2 months max. After the new rig comes, it would be useless.

Do you still think I need the SATA-PCI converter? After all it is more expensive.

If you feel I can survive with SATA IDE converter, please suggest a good brand for the same.

Thanks and Regards,
S

That makes sense, and I think a SATA to IDE adapter will work fine in your case. I don't think you're going to beat the $20 PCI adapter that dac7nco suggested by very much.

 

[ncalipari]

I see where you guys are coming from. Let me explain my situation.

I would upgrade my PC fully(new mobo, RAM, processor etc). However I need 2 months to arrange the finances. However I need a HDD immediately as my present one is almost dead. I need to backup my data.

Thus the HDD I would purchase is for the new rig. So I do not want to compromise by buying obsolete technology. Therefore I would go for SATA 2 HDD.
S

HDDs are so cheap that I think the best solution for you should be:

- Buy a cheap IDE drive today:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-488-_-Product

- When the time will come, buy a new computer and use the old drive as backup.

Overall you will save money, headaches and will keep a backup HD as spare.

 

[betasub]

Or backup over USB to a new drive (e.g. a SATA drive in a caddy) to move to your new build.

 

[sumedik]

Well i live in India.

Out there due the price of old PATA HDD(160 or 250GB) is equal to that of 500GB SATA 2 HDD due to it being rare as it is obsolete. so it kind of pinches to spend the same amount of money to get something which is obsolete and has lesser capacity.

IDE converter sounds ok I guess.....any brand preference? The local hardware fellows say it might cause read/write errors or might crash the SATA HDD as well. Not sure if those are true or not...I serously doubt their tech know how.

Thanks and Regards,
S.

 

[mfenn]

IDE converter sounds ok I guess.....any brand preference? The local hardware fellows say it might cause read/write errors or might crash the SATA HDD as well. Not sure if those are true or not...I serously doubt their tech know how.

They're just making stuff up. As long as you get a decent quality one (I don't know Indian brands), you'll be fine.

 

[VirtualLarry]

http://www.meritline.com/ide-to-sata-or-sata-to-ide-adapter---p-36542.aspx

They claim to ship internationally.

These are the ones that I use. I bought a 50-pack for $67 some time ago.

 

[dac7nco]

They're just making stuff up. As long as you get a decent quality one (I don't know Indian brands), you'll be fine.

Wait 30 minutes if you read this in time.

Done. These guys have a Silicon Image based, bootable PCI card for you for cheap:
http://npithub.com/index.php

Any SI-based card will boot any SATA (1,2,3) device you care to. Don't panic, as it'll take a bit longer to load the particular card's BIOS beyond your own.

Daimon

 

[sumedik]

Well yea a few local brands.....but a known brand I came across is Kingston. Yes the knowledge of dealers is something I do not have faith in. Moreover they always vouch for products which they have in stock.

The hardware market in India is very interesting. It is the flea market scene

So if you go without specific brand model number and decide to rely on the dealers knowledge, you would be ripped badly.

I can get an used HDD from them as well, for lesser price, but crooks that they are the HDD might work for 1 day or 1 year. Apparently they do some low level formatting after crudely fixing spoilt HDD's(bad sectors and all) to sell them off. Of course there are no warranties for used stuff, the moment you are out of the shop, you are on you own. So I ruled out that option from day 1.

Fortunately all new international brands of (CPU's Mobos) are available.

Well tat is an insight of the Indian market for you all. Thanks for your suggestions.

Regards,
S.