GA-P55A-UD3 & Single 6Gb/s Hard Drive

[Hackazit]

I've read a lot of post here about the nastiness of the Marvell chipset.  I am still confused on some things and do not see a post that answers my questions.  I have also emailed and spoke directly to Gigabyte Tech Support and they seem as confused as I am.

I have my sysem running with Windows 7 64 bit, and a single Western Digital Caviar Black 6Gb/s drive on SATA2_0.

I coukld not get it to install Windows when connected to either GSATA3  6Gb/s port.

Does a single drive work on the GSATA3_6 or _7 ports?  If so, do I need to install the marvell driver and which one the console?  Is it faster than the standard SATA ports?  does it slow down the PCI Express x16 slot?  Can I move the Drive to the GSATA3 port without loosing my Windows install?

I did buy the hard drive with the 6Gb/s use in mind for $20 extra, so while not a big loss if it won't work at 6Gb/s speed on this motherboard I still think it stinks as far as advertising that speed.

Thank you, and I'm sorry if this has been addressed elswhere.

[Peteruk]

I did buy the hard drive with the 6Gb/s use in mind for $20 extra, so while not a big loss if it won't work at 6Gb/s speed on this motherboard I still think it stinks as far as advertising that speed.

Its a hard drive! Its not going to max 6Gb/s speeds!  hard drive can't even max 3 Gb/s speeds!

Its JUST a interface speed! Nothing MORE!

[Dark Mantis]

I agree with Peter the trouble is that it is a theoretical maximum but people see that speed ( and to be fair it has been hyped up) and expect to be able to obtain it. The fact that the Marvell controller doesn't work as well as promised is not really an issue in this instance.

[Hackazit]

Thanks for the info, it explains some but it does not answer my questions:

Does a single drive work on the GSATA3_6 or _7 ports?  The GSATA3_6 &  _7 ports are the Marvell ports correct?  If so, do I need to install the marvell driver and which one the console?  Is it faster than the standard SATA ports?  does it slow down the PCI Express x16 slot?  Can I move the Drive to the GSATA3 port without loosing my Windows install?

[F5BJR]

*
Use the INTEL port , Marvell port is bad ( use this only for not permanent disk )

Pierre