January 27, 20188 yr Hi All, I'm concerned my two StarTech SATA controllers might be causing lost data. I need a 4 port SATA controller. My motherboard (ASRock A55M-HVS) supports these expansion slots: - 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot - 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 slot - 1 x PCI slot When I go to the hardware compatibility list: https://lime-technology.com/wiki/Hardware_Compatibility#Motherboard_IDE_controllers I get overwhelmed with information. It looks to me like the following might be a candidate: Addonics AD4SA6GPX2 However, this supports a slot of "x2". Does this mean this controller will not work in my x1 or x16 slots? Do I have to exactly match x1 or x16? Also, when I search for this controller, I can buy it at Amazon, but it's a bit more difficult to buy; I have to buy via third-party sellers, and I'm not used to this. I'm willing to do this, if I can be assured this device will work. Anyway, my main question is whether the slots have to be exact for these PCIe controllers. Also, if anyone knows of a 4 port controller that works with the slots I have, I'd appreciate it.
January 27, 20188 yr 3 hours ago, ctviggen said: Does this mean this controller will not work in my x1 or x16 slots? It will work on the x16 slot, this controller uses a Marvell chipset though, so it probably won't work with VT-d enable. Unfortunately there really isn't a recommended 4 port controller, there's the older Adaptec 1430SA which still works great for HDDs, another option would be to get an 8 ports LSI controller.
February 11, 20188 yr Author On 1/27/2018 at 1:10 PM, johnnie.black said: It will work on the x16 slot, this controller uses a Marvell chipset though, so it probably won't work with VT-d enable. Unfortunately there really isn't a recommended 4 port controller, there's the older Adaptec 1430SA which still works great for HDDs, another option would be to get an 8 ports LSI controller. Thank you, Jonnie. I don't mind getting an 8 port controller (I think I may have at least one more slot I can use for another HDD), so maybe I have to do that.
February 12, 20188 yr downside to these cheap SATA controllers seems to be lots of reports of reliability issues - from the card stop working to corrupted data. The issues I've seen was enough for me to go for a LSI controller, I got a used Dell PERC HBA that was already flashed into IT mode for a decent price from ebay.
February 13, 20188 yr @TUMS has some SAS HBA cards for sale, coupled with one of these and you would be all set. I don't know if it is the price-point you're interested in though. Just thought I would present another, granted it's the same solution as @rilles just with some links for you.
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