Not using RAID, so should I still install GSATA driver?

[forumjoe]

I keep wondering if I should install the GSATA driver on my P55-US3L. Due to an unforeseen delay, I've not yet got around to installing Windows and all the software. I won't be using RAID but, from my mobo manual, I see that the GSATA controller can be set in the BIOS to either IDE mode, AHCI mode, or RAID IDE mode, and the whole GSATA chip can also be disabled if required. Apparently, if you set this particular controller to IDE it will disable RAID, or at least that's what it appears to say in the BIOS section of the manual.

As I won't be using RAID, I'll be instead making use of the Intel H55 SATA controller primarily, setting it basically to Native IDE mode. But I'm wondering whether, if I were to install the main driver also for the GSATA chip and set its controller to IDE, it'd give me two more Serial ATA channels to have at my disposal. Or would installing the main driver for the GSATA chip also require the pre-install F6 driver, even though I would never use that chip in RAID mode?

Can anyone clarify this? One thought is that I might be wasting my time trying to squeeze out a further two Serial ATA channels when I'll probably never get around to even using all six of the Intel chip SATA ports.

[Dark Mantis]

Hi
First off Native IDE is not the same as IDE mode. Anyway if you are only planning to use the standalone hard drives in IDE mode then that is not a problem on the GSATA ports however I think you will need to install the GSATA chip drivers for them to work. You don't need to use RAID on htere unless you want to, it is purely an option.

[forumjoe]

DM,

I continually get confiused between Native IDE and IDE, in this context. Can you remind me of the difference again?

For the Intel H55 chip, running in non-RAID, non-AHCI mode, it appears that in the BIOS you would set the mode to 'IDE' but also enable 'Native IDE' mode. You can see the obvious confusion that arises through use of these terms.

Despite what you said about being able to also use the GSATA chip, you didn't say whether I'd need to install also the F6 driver. Once you miss installing that F6 driver and you've by then installed Windows in the standard way, you can't go back and try the F6 install. The F6 install has to be done during the early part of the Setup for Windows.

[Dark Mantis]

Deja-vu I  seem to remember we had this conversation before forumjoe.

IDE is the type of bus that is used for connecting the drive to the chip normally the Southbridge. Native IDE on the other hand is the way the drive is addressed as opposed to Legacy IDE or AHCI.

As far as I am aware unless you are going to use RAID you don't need to install the F6 driver.