worth getting a SATA3 controller card or put SSD's on SATA2? (solved)

[Nite69]

Ok got a question guys, I got a 240GB SSD for OS, and a 500GB SSD for games

my motherboard only has 2 x SATA3 ports so both are used up already

is it worth it for me to buy a SATA3 controller card for more SSD's or just plug a third SSD into a SATA2 on my board (I want to keep the 500GB so not gonna replace it)

Keep in mind that different games load at different speeds, so I am wondering if I will notice that 500MB/s to 250MB/s read speed difference when loading them on SATA2

[Komrade]

Do you have an m.2 slot?

[Nite69]

Originally posted by notkennyS:

Do you have an m.2 slot?

no, I prefer regular SSD's cause they are more compatible across desktop systems and laptops

I was gonna get something like this for regular SSD's https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-Port-Express-eSATA-Controller/dp/B00952N2DQ

[𝔇ave]

i'll put it this way.. games that are open world or have voxel terrain will suffer from the slower speed but the majority of linear map or platform type games won't see any difference. so keep that in mind when it comes to installing what games on what drive.

[Nite69]

I mostly play open world games, so I guess I should get the SATA3 card then

[Komrade]

Originally posted by Nite69:

I mostly play open world games, so I guess I should get the SATA3 card then

Yep, make sure you have a PCI Express slot open.

[Nite69]

Originally posted by notkennyS:

Originally posted by Nite69:

I mostly play open world games, so I guess I should get the SATA3 card then

Yep, make sure you have a PCI Express slot open.

I have plenty of PCI-E slots I am good on that

I like the idea of putting linear games on a slower drive and open world games on the SSD btw that would help save SSD space.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Yes either use the sata3 ports just for ssds or get a pcie sata3 card with 4 internal ports if u need more.

Use motherboard sata for boot drives, use expansion card for secondary data drives.

[Nite69]

Thanks guys I got few ideas to manage it now :)

[Talby]

Whatever card you get don’t get the cheap x1 pcie cards ($20 or less) they only have one lane and 250mb/s max, and have to share that bw among all ports.

get an x4 card they start around $35, will see the max bw on all ports

[[☥] - CJ -]

Originally posted by Talby:

Whatever card you get don’t get the cheap x1 pcie cards ($20 or less) they only have one lane and 250mb/s max, and have to share that bw among all ports.

get an x4 card they start around $35, will see the max bw on all ports

bandwidth will likely be limited depending on what CPU/Board he has anyway and how many PCI-E ports are being used, his board only having 2 SATA3 ports pretty much screams that

[Bad 💀 Motha]

You mean PCIE Lanes

[Supafly]

If you don't need the eSata connections just go for the Sata 3 (internal card). Plus that card you linked offers 2x esata or sataif you use one sort it'll disable the other. Not sure on the warranty of that cardeither.

The other startech card that is just 2x internal Sata 3 connectors, PEXSAT32,Can hanlde SSD speeds and well as HDD speeds. It can also RAID and it comes with a Lifetime Warranty. I haven't tried the Raid function but I've had one for 2xHDD For almost a year now without any issues.

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Port-SATA-Express-Controller/dp/B003GS8VA4/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=pexsat32&qid=1572789077&s=electronics&sr=1-1

[mtono]

my opinion: sata 2 isnt worth it. i have a sata1 hdd in my pc: 10 minutes and i can use the computer after having started it. even win10 needs a fast hdd. sata 1 is too slow. i would buy the sata3 controller...imho..or an m.2 ssd, what would be best.

[Komrade]

Originally posted by nosferatu:

my opinion: sata 2 isnt worth it. i have a sata1 hdd in my pc: 10 minutes and i can use the computer after having started it. even win10 needs a fast hdd. sata 1 is too slow. i would buy the sata3 controller...imho..or an m.2 ssd, what would be best.

Windows 10 should be on an SSD.

[nullable]

Originally posted by Nite69:

Ok got a question guys, I got a 240GB SSD for OS, and a 500GB SSD for games

my motherboard only has 2 x SATA3 ports so both are used up already

What could be using them that benefits more than using SATA3 for your SSDs?

Originally posted by Nite69:

is it worth it for me to buy a SATA3 controller card for more SSD's or just plug a third SSD into a SATA2 on my board (I want to keep the 500GB so not gonna replace it)

If you don't want to utilize your existing SATA3 and aren't happy with the performance on SATA2, then I don't see what choice you have.

Originally posted by Nite69:

Keep in mind that different games load at different speeds, so I am wondering if I will notice that 500MB/s to 250MB/s read speed difference when loading them on SATA2

Well the biggest benefit for SSDs is the IOPS compared to HDDs. And even SATA3 SSDs aren't hitting 600MB/sec every time you access the disk. SATA2 will limit some performance but it might not be as crippling as you imagine. A SSD on SATA2 is still going to be 10x faster than a HDD on SATA3 at any rate.

Originally posted by Nite69:

no, I prefer regular SSD's cause they are more compatible across desktop systems and laptops

Well most current systems have M2 and SATA3 and don't have to juggle SATA2, if we're talking about compatibility. I mean nothing wrong with SATA3, it's just a weird thing to have a preference for.