Sata 3 Crucial SSD on GA-X58A-UD3R

[Dark Mantis]

Hi

The simple answer is no. You can install it on the SATA3 port but it at best won't give you SATA3 speeds and at worst will corrupt the data as it can't handle such a fast throughput. Sorry.

[xiliu]

Is the problem the Sata 3 port on the MotherBoard? 

What are the alternatives? 
Buy a PCIe Sata 3 Card? (recommendations?)
Buy a new Sandforce that uses the Sata 3 port?
Attach to the Intel port and forget about the new 6GB SSDs?

New Motherboard?

Thank you for your quick and succinct response.

[Dark Mantis]

The problem is all down to the Marvell 9128 chip that controlls the SATA3 ports on this board. At the time of building them the Marvell was the only option for this industry wide.  All manufacturers had the same problem with it and it seems it is not something that can be cured by a software upgrade. Basically it just didn't perform as Marvell led everyone to expect.

So your options are to use the Intel controller which is SATA2 but performs well or purchase a seperate PCIE SATA3 controller card. Either option will give you a nice speed boost compared to what you are used to but if you want to use the full performance of the SATA3 SSD then you will need a dedicated card.

[xiliu]

Thank you for your quick response and information.

To summarize, it appears that the Intel controller is the most stable and best option to connect the C300, and especially if Raid 0 is to be used.  Single drives can hook up to the Marvell controller but the speed increase and stability issues are not worth the gain and risk.  The Marvell 9128 controller is hardware limited and future upgrades in drivers and firmware are not coming in the near future.  It appears that this problem exists for all the boards that first came out with SATA3 ports. 

Hopefully Intel will come out with a 6GB controller soon.  You have provided the simplest and most useful information.

[Dark Mantis]

Only too happy to help.

Intel has now come out with it's own SATA3 controller and it seems to work very well. I am running it on my review system at the moment with a pair of WD SATA3 Blacks in a RAID0 array and had absolutely no problems with them at all since installation. The speed is more what i would have expected too.

[xiliu]

What Motherboard are you testing that has the Intel Sata3 Controller?  1366 board?  Thanks

[Dark Mantis]

The motherboard in question is a GA-P67A-UD5 SandyBridge with an Intel i5 2500K CPU.