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Need help determining what type of SATA controller I have, please...

post #1 of 9
7/30/12 at 8:44am
Thread Starter 
I am looking into upgrading my hard drives on three Dell laptops I use to SSD drives but I don't want to overspend on drive performance if my eSata controller won't support the full performance capability of the SSD drive.

Can anyone tell me which types of SATA controllers (SATA 1.5, SATA 3 or SATA 6) I have on my systems?

Precision M4400
Precision M65
Latitude D630

I've tried looking up online and on Dell's website but the info I was able to locate doesn't distinguish between the different eSata types.

Thanks in advance -- any help greatly appreciated.
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post #2 of 9
7/30/12 at 8:50am
eSATA definition ...

"External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment or eSATA is an external interface for SATA technologies. It competes with FireWire 400 and universal serial bus (USB) 2.0 to provide fast data transfer speeds for external storage devices.

SATA replaced ATA legacy technology as the next generation internal bus interface for hard drives. The SATA interface is more streamlined than ATA and provides serial architecture for greater speed than the older parallel technology. eSATA cables are narrow and can be up to 6.56 feet (2 meters) in length, whereas parallel cables are much wider and limited to a length of 18 inches (45.7 cm). With eSATA, the speed of SATA expands to encompass exterior storage solutions.

While eSATA reaches transfer rates of at least triple those of USB 2.0 and FireWire 400, it does have one drawback. eSATA requires its own power connector, unlike the aforementioned interfaces. It is still an excellent choice for external disk storage, however. Unlike USB and FireWire interfaces, eSATA does not have to translate data between the interface and the computer. This enhances data transfer speeds, while saving computer processor resources and eliminating the need for an extra off-load chip."

You simply have a faster interface port comparing to USB 2.0 and Firewire 400. It has nothing to do with disk accessing.

cheers ...
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post #3 of 9
7/30/12 at 8:54am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by qhn View Post

eSATA definition ...
"External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment or eSATA is an external interface for SATA technologies. It competes with FireWire 400 and universal serial bus (USB) 2.0 to provide fast data transfer speeds for external storage devices.

SATA replaced ATA legacy technology as the next generation internal bus interface for hard drives. The SATA interface is more streamlined than ATA and provides serial architecture for greater speed than the older parallel technology. eSATA cables are narrow and can be up to 6.56 feet (2 meters) in length, whereas parallel cables are much wider and limited to a length of 18 inches (45.7 cm). With eSATA, the speed of SATA expands to encompass exterior storage solutions.
While eSATA reaches transfer rates of at least triple those of USB 2.0 and FireWire 400, it does have one drawback. eSATA requires its own power connector, unlike the aforementioned interfaces. It is still an excellent choice for external disk storage, however. Unlike USB and FireWire interfaces, eSATA does not have to translate data between the interface and the computer. This enhances data transfer speeds, while saving computer processor resources and eliminating the need for an extra off-load chip."
You simply have a faster interface port comparing to USB 2.0 and Firewire 400. It has nothing to do with disk accessing.
cheers ...

Thank you so much for the quick reply -- I'm so sorry, I had just edited my post to correct my error: I meant SATA, not eSATA.
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post #4 of 9
7/30/12 at 9:01am
You'd need to look into the system chipset to know for sure which SATA speed it can support. Example of Precision M4400: it has PM45 chipset supporting 1.5 Gb/s and 3 Gb/s SATA drive smile.gif

cheers ...
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post #5 of 9
7/30/12 at 9:40am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by qhn View Post

You'd need to look into the system chipset to know for sure which SATA speed it can support. Example of Precision M4400: it has PM45 chipset supporting 1.5 Gb/s and 3 Gb/s SATA drive smile.gif
cheers ...

Thank you!

How do I find that out for the other two systems? Where did you look that up? I couldn't find that information anywhere on Dell's website.
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post #6 of 9
7/30/12 at 9:49am
Can't tell under the Download Sections of your Dell Models? Chipset drivers ...

Precision M65 ... Intel 945GM/945PM and ICH-7M chipset
Latitude D630 ... Intel GM965 chipset

cheers ...
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post #7 of 9
7/30/12 at 10:12am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by qhn View Post

Can't tell under the Download Sections of your Dell Models? Chipset drivers ...
Precision M65 ... Intel 945GM/945PM and ICH-7M chipset
Latitude D630 ... Intel GM965 chipset
cheers ...

Ack -- was looking under System Specs and Config (shipped/current.)

THANKS!!!
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post #8 of 9
7/30/12 at 10:27am
smile.gif Good luck with the drives replacement

But yes, it should be under manual and specifications - Dell cheats laugh4.gif

cheers ...
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post #9 of 9
7/30/12 at 2:31pm

You will be fine buying a sata2 drive. I can't even imagine sata1 devices still being sold.

 

That said I have seen and bought 120 gig sata3 SSDs for around $100 bucks. I don't really see a reason not to buy them.

SOME sandforce sata3 drives dislike clocking down to sata 1 or 2 but I can't even name a Dell laptop with a nvidia or marvell sata controller so it should not matter for us.

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