Adding SATA hard drive to an older motherboard

[JoeScott]

Hello,

I'd like to add a 500 GB SATA hard drive to my PC which was manufactured in 12/02 (Gateway, XP, P-IV). I currently have a regular ATA 200 GB HD which is connected through a controller card since the motherboard would not natively accept any HDs larger than 137 GB (or so I was told). The motherboard is an Intel-4000806, if that makes a difference.

My questions are:

1) Will an older motherboard like mine accept a SATA controller card so that I can attach a SATA HD to it?

2) Can a SATA controller card accomodate an ATA HD as well, since I would also like to keep the older HD and run both of them through the SATA controller card if possible?

Thank you in advance for any advice anybody is able to offer.

[dohray]

Hi there,

Answer to question 1 is 'Yes'.

Or as RichM suggested at an earlier post, use a Convertor with a close-up image here.

[Rich M]

Yes but also XP can see larger drives but you need to be on XP SP2...although possible bios update needed also.
Of course that converter kills the advantages of sata as you will never get the 150 speed that way.

[JoeScott]

Originally Posted by dohray

Answer to question 1 is 'Yes'.

Or as RichM suggested at an earlier post, use a Convertor with a close-up image here.

1) Does this converter eliminate the need for a SATA PCI card?

2) Can a SATA HD be connected using a SATA PCI card instead, or is the converter the preferred way to go?

3) The info link says the converter is powered by an SP4 internal floppy drive power connector. Is this a plug with four female prongs? I have one of these plugs currently unused in my tower, but it is marked "SP2". Is this the same thing?

Originally Posted by Rich M

Yes but also XP can see larger drives but you need to be on XP SP2...although possible bios update needed also.

After reinstalling my OS last week, I didn't bother reloading SP2 since some programs seem to work better without it (I'm not sure how absolutely necessary SP2 is?). As for the bios update, would this require additional software, or new hardware?

Originally Posted by Rich M

Of course that converter kills the advantages of sata as you will never get the 150 speed that way.

Is there another configuration I could use to get the 150 speed? Would I get the 150 speed by using the SATA PCI card instead?

If I can't achieve full speed either way, this will have to be a compromise until I buy or build another PC. Upgrading to the SATA now will enable me to use it to better advantage in another newer PC in the future.

Thank you both for your input, and I hope you don't mind the additional questions, as I merely want to make sure I understand what you are saying.

[dohray]

Hi again,

guess your best bet would be to go with the SATA PCI card or as Rich said, you won't get the full SATA speed. It's like hooking up a 5400 rpm HDD and a 7200rpm HDD, you get the slowest speed.

As for SP2, apart from recognising larger drives, there are a multitude of security updates/patches and fixes. I've never had a problem running SP2.

I would only update your BIOS if absolutely necessary. You will need to download the latest BIOS version from the motherboard manufacturers. Generally save this to floppy and follow instructions from the same 'site.

[jtdoom]

HI
I was schocked to see a convertor costs that much
you'd be able to use just one sata drive in a system without sata connectivity

a PCI sata controller would allow more than one, does not have to cost more than this converter (mine don't).

I've also used pci card to add more sata drives in a box that already had been filled up with satas.

I think you will notice some pci bus contention
you already have the IDE controller, and I noticed that satas on PCI sata cards do not pump data as fast as when they are on mobo native controllers
This became even more noticable when I had TWO sata PCI cards in a box. (did that for a huge data transfer task)
but, they are certainly good enough to increase storage
and better than this sounds.

[Rich M]

Hey I'm sorry you can get those much cheaper I was just demonstrating there is such a thing:
http://www.provantage.com/ide-serial...r~22079325.htm

[JoeScott]

I've also used pci card to add more sata drives in a box that already had been filled up with satas.

I think you will notice some pci bus contention
you already have the IDE controller, and I noticed that satas on PCI sata cards do not pump data as fast as when they are on mobo native controllers

What do you mean by "mobo native controllers"? I assume this is industry slang I'm not familiar with?

Though it is faster than using a converter card, will using the SATA controller card allow the FULL 150 speed, or will I experience somthing less with even this configuration?

Thanks for everyone's input.

[Rich M]

Originally Posted by JoeScott

What do you mean by "mobo native controllers"? I assume this is industry slang I'm not familiar with?

Though it is faster than using a converter card, will using the SATA controller card allow the FULL 150 speed, or will I experience somthing less with even this configuration?

Thanks for everyone's input.

Controller card should give you 150 speed.

[jtdoom]

the controller card will control traffic to drive, and the pci bus is controlled by the motherboard chipset.
the drive will be handled at its speed, and if pci data can be pumped as fast as that controller can deliver, no lag.
with pci contention, the card gets to wait (contention)
this is noticable when you have two controllers on pci like i had that at one time, but it is still pretty damn fast, all things considered.

there you go, the recommendation is, go card.
still wonder wether you actually needed that IDE controller, but if it runs from it, I suggest to let it be like that for moving the boot IDE drive to the mobo controller "might" mean you risk a re-install.

I moved sata drives from cards to native, no sweat, but pata (ide) could be another kettle of fish.
I do not like to xperiment with your data.

[JoeScott]

Originally Posted by jtdoom

the controller card will control traffic to drive, and the pci bus is controlled by the motherboard chipset.
the drive will be handled at its speed, and if pci data can be pumped as fast as that controller can deliver, no lag.
with pci contention, the card gets to wait (contention)
this is noticable when you have two controllers on pci like i had that at one time, but it is still pretty damn fast, all things considered.

there you go, the recommendation is, go card.
still wonder wether you actually needed that IDE controller,

When I added my ATA 200 GB HD two years ago, all available info indicated that XP and/or my mobo would not support a HD larger than 137 GB if plugged directly into the mobo IDE. Somebody had suggested to try it just to see what would happen, but I never did. I played it safe and went thru the Ultra ATA/133 controller card instead.

Doing the same thing now makes sense, especially since the new HD I want contains newer technology (SATA) and has 2.5X the storage capacity. My mobo also doesn't have any SATA slots in it, either. Of course, if anybody has been successful plugging a SATA directly into an older mobo like mine without using any type of controller or converter card, I'd be interested in hearing about it or possibly even trying it.

but if it runs from it, I suggest to let it be like that for moving the boot IDE drive to the mobo controller "might" mean you risk a re-install.

Wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

I moved sata drives from cards to native, no sweat, but pata (ide) could be another kettle of fish.
I do not like to xperiment with your data.

No problem. I appreciate your input. Though it might work, it seems as though the odds are against it. If the SATA controller enables be to install and operate the SATA HD successfully, I will be very happy, particularly since tech support at Gateway told me that this was NOT possible either way!

Thanks to everyone for your advice. It is a learning experience.