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View Full Version : HALP, i'm out of sata ports :/

BustedS13
07-24-2009, 10:02 PM
so my mobo only has four SATA ports, which are all already used up, and i just bought a new dvd burner because i need DL support and my old one is dead anyway. what are my options here? controller card or multiplier i guess?

is this a good controller card for basic storage? i don't need blazing transfer speed.

Newegg.com - SYBA SD-SATA-4P PCI SATA Controller Card - Controllers / RAID Cards (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815124020)
HyperTek
07-24-2009, 10:22 PM
upgrade your mobo
flip3d
07-24-2009, 11:01 PM
cheap solution:

get a controller card on newegg that has decent reviews.

do you have any PCI-E x1 slots? actually, any free PCI-E slots? an x1 card should be able to work in a x16 slot.
ixfxi
07-24-2009, 11:12 PM
i dunno about buying a card with additional ports, ide prefer something like that being done through the motherboard....


there may be some cards out there worth buying, but ide still prefer having it through the mainboard
1ZlowZ
07-24-2009, 11:23 PM
Is the DVD drive Sata same as an HDD sata if so can I reformat my pc with a SATA CD Drive?
BustedS13
07-24-2009, 11:49 PM
i upgrade my mobo and i'm going to need to upgrade my ram and cpu, too. i really don't need to do either.. and i'm sure that a decent mobo with 8 sata ports isn't going to be a bargain price
Future240
07-25-2009, 09:52 AM
i upgrade my mobo and i'm going to need to upgrade my ram and cpu, too. i really don't need to do either.. and i'm sure that a decent mobo with 8 sata ports isn't going to be a bargain price

That largely depends on what chipset you are running and what form factor your mobo is.]

Amd is cheaper than Intel
Mirco atx is cheaper than atx
ixfxi
07-25-2009, 10:24 AM
and fyi

throughout the years ive only stuck with intel chipset and standard atx-sized boards

micro atx offers nothing other than space-saving size, which is always at the expense of features

research your current ram and cpu specifications and see what you can get that will be identical but with additional ports. i mean, worse comes to worse you can try the add-on board but i would only hookup devices that are non-critical to your system.
Future240
07-25-2009, 10:38 AM
I am amd, and right now i have a micro, but I would rather have a standard atx. Ixfxi is right about features being missing. though if you have micro you can find some good mobos, asus, gigabyte, asrock are some of the names.
BustedS13
07-25-2009, 02:46 PM
yeah, being put on the back burner until i get out of the flaming hell i've wound up in. it's been a while since i wandered into a grey zone in computing and i'd forgotten how brutal and unforgiving things can be.
almost back to where i started, grumble grumble vague grumble
HyperTek
07-25-2009, 03:28 PM
you may be ok with that add on card.. just move the least important drive on there, like the dvd burner might be ok , how often do you plan to burn etc.,
blaze
07-25-2009, 05:22 PM
got any ide ports open?

possibly buy a sata to ide adapter and put the least used drive on there.

SATA Hard Drive to IDE (PATA) Adapter (http://www.satacables.com/html/sata_to_ide_adapter.html)
BustedS13
07-25-2009, 07:05 PM
eh.

i returned the sata dvd drive, it couldn't burn DL worth a shit. got a Lite-On at Office Max and it's running like a champ, and IDE as well.
i remember getting a Lite-On burner at Best Buy almost ten years ago for day after thanksgiving, and being like.. "Lite-On, who's that... this is totally going to break in a week". but it never gave me any trouble. i've had a couple Lite-On drives now and they've always worked flawlessly. but then i had a Sony, an Asus, and now an LG and they all sucked shit or broke prematurely. hmm.

so yeah now i've got enough ports for a little while. might go ahead and build out a whole new box in a couple weeks.

good times gang
HyperTek
07-25-2009, 08:13 PM
yeah Lite On is legit.. i think its by LG or something
dont worry, im still on ide dvd burner as well lol, i doubt there will be a performance gain from a sata dvd drive esp if your just using it casually
flip3d
07-25-2009, 09:04 PM
Who cares if its on the motherboard or a card?

It all goes through the southbridge. Geez.
ixfxi
07-26-2009, 10:45 AM
got any ide ports open?

possibly buy a sata to ide adapter and put the least used drive on there.

SATA Hard Drive to IDE (PATA) Adapter (http://www.satacables.com/html/sata_to_ide_adapter.html)

looks like trash. i cant imagine how neutered and slow it would be, if it even works.


Who cares if its on the motherboard or a card?

It all goes through the southbridge. Geez.

because most cards (not all) are typically bullshit.