Question about p67 mobos

[rutledj]

Can someone clear up this question I have about this chipset? I'm looking to get away from the x58 setup I currently have in hopes of finding a mobo with a good sata 3 controller. Does the p67 have an Intel sata 3 controller? I ask because I was looking at the Asus p8p67 card and it lists this:

Intel® P67(B3) chipset :
4 x SATA 3Gb/s port(s), blue
2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), gray
Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10
Marvell® PCIe SATA 6Gb/s controller :
1 x eSATA 6Gb/s port(s), red
1 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), navy blue

Does this mean there is an Intel sata 3 controller and Marvell controller? I've had nothing but bad luck with the Marvel 9128 controller and would like to move to something different.


Also, does the memory used in the x58 boards also work in the p67 boards? I think they both use DDR3 so I'm assuming so.

Thanks
Rut

 

[jaquith]

Let me save you money, for now, going from an LGA 1366 to LGA 1155 is...well...'CrAzY' the LGA 2011 is due out in 3-4 months an will eat and poop out the LGA 1155.

The Core i7-3960X is 6-core, Quad-Channel DDR3, PCIe 3.0 32-lanes {X4 SB PCIe 2.x 16 lanes}, and 20%+ faster than then i7-2600K.

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

To answer the questions:
Yes, there is an Intel SATA3 controller, with two ports.
Yes, there is also a Marvell controller.
Yes, the memory should work. However, if you use an odd number of sticks it would run in single-channel mode.

What is the "bad luck" you've been having with Marvell controllers? They aren't the fastest in the world, but they do work well in general. For the X58 chipset, they are the only way of having SATA3 ports.

I also advocate waiting for Sandy Bridge-E and the X79 chipset. That combo will be a better performer than Sandy Bridge and P67/Z68. Unfortunately, it will be more expensive as well.

 

[jaquith]

The Marvell 912X has a limit of 370~390 MB/s due to it's x1 PCIe lane.
The Marvell 918X has a limit of 570~590 MB/s due to it's x2 PCIe lanes.
The Intel SATA3 has a limit of 585~595 MB/s and is native.

The Intel SATA3 is preferred over the Marvell.

On your current X58:
You can add an e.g. LSI SATA3 Card {580~595 MB/s} to your X58 and easily use an OCZ Vertex 3 with NO LOSS of SATA3 speeds.
You can add a PCIe based SSD {700MB/s~1.0GB/s+} and wipe the floor with any SSD and in particular the OCZ Vertex 3.
You can purchase a different X58 with Marvell 918X. e.g. ASUS R3E Black Edition or GA's GA-X58A-OC or G1 series with Marvell 918X.

Gaming and Performance, if set-up correctly, the X58 can easily keep-up with ANY P67/Z68.

MY GUESSING - the i7-3xxx SB-E are going to cost $500+ to perhaps $1000 for the Core i7-3960X; my 980X is/was $1000.

 

[rutledj]

The problem I'm having is that when I connect the SSD to the sata3 port and hard drives to the sata 2 ports, the ssd disappears and it can't find a boot drive.

I've tried the newest drivers and updated bios to no luck. As long as the ssd is the only thing connected it works fine.

Rut

 

[jaquith]

Then I would look at the registry, Start = 3 in AHCI is incorrect an loads the wrong drivers, it 'should be' Start = 0; see -> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922976

Under AHCI they should look like this:

 

[rutledj]

Wow. I have spent hours and hours on this problem searching the web and finding people with the same issue. I assumed it was a mobo/controller issue. This has corrected the problem.

I don't understand why it was incorrect as I enabled the AHCI mode in bios before a fresh install of window onto the SSD on the sata3 port. Makes no sense to me but I'm thankful it is working.

Thanks,
Rut

 

[rutledj]

Best answer selected by rutledj.

 

[rutledj]

just ran a speed test on this OZC vertex 120g drive. Not that impressive compared to others.

Only 353 mb read/ 147 write.

 

[Leaps-from-Shadows]

The Marvell SATA3 ports aren't as fast as Intel SATA3 ports. Your speeds are probably about right.

 

[jaquith]

There's been a rash of this, and I agree use Intel SATA ports and then if needed the Marvell. The Marvell 918x are fine x2 lanes, but the Marvell 912x aren't with x1 lane.