Can I move my new SSD 850 evo in port3 (sata2) to port0 (sata3)

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anarion43

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Nov 20, 2017
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I have a Dell XPS 8300 with 4 sata ports: port0/1 (sata3) and port 2/3 (sata2)
Orig Dell config: 2 x 1TB hdds in port0/1 with Raid0 and DVD in port 2
I successfully cloned (using samsung s/w) my boot drive to the a new samsung 850 evo ssd and installed in sata port 3 and changed the bios boot order to boot from the ssd (AHCI is disabled).
It is running fine, but performance is: Read 283 MB/s and Write 271 MB/s

From other threads this seems ok for sata2 but should improve with sata3.

Can I move my 2 x 1TB hdds to port 2/3, and put the ssd in port0 and dvd in port1?
I don't think I should split the 2 hdds on port 1/2 as they would be sata III and sata II.

If I do this, is it plug and play, or do I need to switch the bios?
Are there any concerns with this setup?

Thanks in advance!
 
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Well, since you have a RAID array I would let you configure your drive's configuration as you planned. Frankly, we generally discourage PC users from setting up RAID configurations; we find in the vast number of cases there's little to be gained in performance given modern OSs and the availability of large-capacity drives. Time & time again we run into a host of various problems involving users' RAID configurations that have arisen for one reason or another because of that configuration. And we find the performance gains presumably associated with RAID arrays are virtually non-existent in today's PC environment for the overwhelming number of PC users. But we understand this is our personal opinion that's frequently not shared by other...
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ArtPog

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Sep 17, 2014
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1. I'm proceeding on the basis that there's no current RAID configuration involved at this time.

2. Obviously your SSD boot drive should be connected to the SATA0 port. I assume your OS is Win 7. Even so, the SATA controller mode should be set to AHCI, not IDE.

3. I'm not entirely clear on the SATA interfaces re the four SATA ports. Are you indicating that the SATA0 & SATA1 ports contain the SATA III interface, while the other two SATA ports contain the SATA II interface?

If that's the case, then your secondary HDDs (two?) should be connected to the SATA1 and SATA2 ports.

4. The principal connection, of course, concerns the SSD. As long as that drive is connected to a SATA III port and the SATA controller mode is set to AHCI, that should result in the best possible drives' configuration.
 
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anarion43

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Nov 20, 2017
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Hi ArtPog,
Thanks for the consideration and insight.
1. RAID0 is currently setup. My two HDDs came from Dell striped as a single boot drive in RAID0.
Other threads have indicated that RAID has the same support as AHCI.

2. Yes, OS is WIN7 but in the BIOS, the SATA controller indicates RAID (AHCI and IDE disabled).
Samsung Magician indicates: AHCI is Deactivated, and TRIM status is Enabled.

3. Correct, the motherboard has 4 ports. 0 and 1 are SATA III while 2 and 3 are SATA II.

Did you mean connect the secondary HDD to port 2 and port 3?
I hesitated to use port 1 and port 2 as that would mean my RAID0 array would have one disk on SATA III and the other on SATA II. I believe the HDD performance is fine on SATA II but not sure I should mix them.

4. I agree, and am hoping to put the SDD on port 0 to get SATA III.
I just wanted to confirm whether I need to change the BIOS to do this. I'll have to change the boot order back to port0 first, but does the BIOS detect which drives are in which port?

I've read cables don't make any difference to performance, but was also wondering if there are any other considerations to this change.

Thanks again!
 
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ArtPog

Admirable
Sep 17, 2014
2,951
3
8,965
Well, since you have a RAID array I would let you configure your drive's configuration as you planned. Frankly, we generally discourage PC users from setting up RAID configurations; we find in the vast number of cases there's little to be gained in performance given modern OSs and the availability of large-capacity drives. Time & time again we run into a host of various problems involving users' RAID configurations that have arisen for one reason or another because of that configuration. And we find the performance gains presumably associated with RAID arrays are virtually non-existent in today's PC environment for the overwhelming number of PC users. But we understand this is our personal opinion that's frequently not shared by other PC users. C'est la vie.

In any event, the principal "concept" in your case is to simply assure that your SSD boot drive is connected to a SATA III port and insofar as possible connect any SATA III drive to a similar available SATA III port. Frankly, (with the exception of the boot drive) there will be virtually no real-life performance difference between a secondary SATA HDD connected to either a SATA II or SATA III port.
 
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