Question 1

I have a Dell desktop running Win 8.1 Pro with a motherboard that has an Intel H61 chipset, (a) which I understand does not support AHCI, and (b) is only SATA II compatible. I have recently purchased a 2.5” SSD and would like to make that SATA III compatible (and, if possible AHCI compatible as well). How may I achieve that? If I install this  PCI-Express 2.0 Controller Card (available on Newegg), into a PCI slot on my computer and then connect the SSD to this controller card (or to the motherboard, not sure what would plug into what), would it make my SSD, SATA III compatible? Also, would I need to upgrade the cable that connects the SSD to the motherboard/PCI controller card? Thanks.

Accepted Answer

I have one of these in my Dell XPS 8500, same chipset as you have. I use it to connect a ESATA 2 TB drive which I believe is only SATA II. I can boot from it and have a backup copy of Windows 7 on it. The card itself will support SATA III. Your speed will depend on what your PCIE lane is capable of. I've got two other machines running Windows 8.1 with these cards in them. I can't honestly tell you if you can set them for AHCI because I've never tried. As far as cabling goes, I've got two SATA III 6gbs drives that are using standard cables and I don't see any speed degradation at all. You will most likely have to "help" windows find the driver for the marvel chipset on the card. Once installed you'll not have any problems with it at all. For the price you can't beat this card. There is a similar card on this site, a star tech that has two internal SATA III ports. It's about the same price and allows you to set up the drives as RAID. Hope this helps.

Question 2

My motherboard has an Intel h61 chipset that only supports SATA III. Will this controller card over-ride the chipset restriction/limitation so it supports SATA III speeds for use with an SSD? Also is the controller connection to the motherboard via a PCI Express x1 socket?

Accepted Answer

I can't say for sure.  I tend to think it will because this card does all the work.

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