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

You must use a PCI express port on this card. Make sure you have this slot available.  Also this card is sata 3 and a hi native meaning if you ssd (most do) supports them then it will automatically use them. If you are unsure about the difference between PCI and PCI express please do some research and print out some pictures to compare . If you are unable to do so a general rule is PCI ports are white usually and PCI express ports are black or blue (again generally) if you have a PCI express port open this is exactly what you want.

Question 2

I have Intel DX79TO motherboard. Is this compatible with it?

Accepted Answer

Your motherboard has the slot to support the expansion card. I have used it in an older motherboard and it worked great. I would check your BIOS version to make sure it will recognize and support and external boot/source drive controllers. Most of the common version do.

Question 3

My motherboard has the following slots:
1 * PCI Express x16 (2.0)
3 * PCI Express x1

The x16 slot is utilized by the video card leaving just the x1 slots vacant.

The Dell Vostro 260 manual just states:

Bus Speed:  PCI Express 2.0

Bus Type:  PCI Express x1-slot (includes mini PCI-Express) support speed – 500 Mbps (Gen 2)

PCI Express x16-slot-support speed – 8 Gbps (Gen 2)

My motherboard has an Intel h61 chipset that only supports SATA II. Will this controller card over-ride the chipset restriction/limitation so it supports SATA III speeds of a solid state drive (SSD)? Also does this card connect to the motherboard via a PCI Express x1 socket?

Accepted Answer

Yes the card has it's own controller and only communicates via pcie to the cpu

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