PCI-E SATA Card

[ask7852]

Recently my motherboard has been acting somewhat strange. Some of my SATA devices are not recognized and other times they are. All of my "good" ports are used and I still have devices I need to attach. Would a PCI-E SATA card do the trick and get my system back up to par? Are there any drawbacks to using this kind of interface and would it be better to attach my Optical drive(s) to it rather than my other hard disks? Also, if you have any insight as to which card to get, I'd be grateful for your opinions.

 

[TheWhiteRose000]

It could be various things.

Could be bad cables, that happened to me a few times.
Motherboard could be going bad that also has happened before.
A power surge took out my ports and my cables.

What PCIe port is it?
PCIe X1, X4, X8, X16?

 

[MRFS]

replace the SATA cables first: this is the cheapest test you can do.

Over time, cycles of heating and cooling have caused certain
SATA connectors to loosen to the point where the data signals
are not passing through the connector's contacts with enough
voltage.

If your motherboard and devices have SATA sockets
that support the "latched" connector type, then
be sure to buy new SATA cables with integrated
"locking latches" e.g.:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812104056&Tpk=N82E16812104056


The female sockets should have 2 small slots on the upper edge
of such sockets, where the latches mate for a more secure connection.


MRFS

 

[ask7852]

The PCI-E slot I'd be putting the card in would be a 1x slot, above my GPU. I'll be sure to get some cables first.