My motherboard is a GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 rev. 1.0. It has 5 internal SATA connections controlled by the Intel chipset, and 2 controlled by a Marvell chipset. I have 2 drives installed, as follows:
Intel Chipset:
SATA3_0 6Gb/s SSD boot drive (500GB Samsung SSD)
SATA3_1 6Gb/s HDD data drive (3TB Western Digital Black)
SATA2_2 3Gb/s DVD drive
SATA2_3 3Gb/s (unused)
SATA2_4 3Gb/s (unused)
Marvell chipset:
GSATA3_5 6Gb/s Marvell (unused)
GSATA3_6 6Gb/s Marvell (unused)
1) I want to install a second HDD: a 3TB Western Digital Green. Am I better off putting it on SATA2 controlled by Intel, even though the only free connectors are 3GB/s, or should I put it on one of the free Marvell 6GB/s connectors? Does it make any difference?
2) While I'm on the subject, my power supply (a 775 Watt Thermaltake Toughpower XT TPX-775M) was powering the SSD, HDD and DVD drives off one power cable. To install another HDD I'll need to connect another power cable (because the drives are spaced too far apart to all fit on the same cable.) Should I put the second HDD on this 2nd cable by itself, or should I try to balance the drives by making it two and two on each cable? Again, does it make any difference?
3) FWIW, when I tested installing the second HDD on SATA2_3, I noticed that Windows 10's Disk Management tool listed the second HDD as Disk 0, my boot drive as Disk 1, and my original HDD as Disk 2. (Previously my boot drive had been Disk 0.) I gather from what I've read that this is not a problem. Is that true?
Thanks!
