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Achieving SATA 3 (6 GB/s) speeds with Alienware x51
Hi
I have an "x51" with the following specs:
Intel i7 3770 CPU @ 3.40 GHZ
NVIDIA GTX 670 Gigabyte Windforce OC 2 GB
2 TB HDD
8 GB RAM
700 W OCZ ModXStream PSU
I put "x51" in quotes because my system began life as an x51 but has since been moved to a BitFenix Prodigy case to accommodate the larger graphics card and PSU (I had power issues before). It still has the Intel H61 Motherboard, Alienware BIOS, etc. so for most purposes it is still an x51 - just in a different chasis.
I've recently starting looking into getting an SSD (I have the space given my case change), but I noticed that Intel H61 motherboard in the x51 has only SATA 2 ports (despite the x51 shipping with SATA 3 drives...)
I was wondering whether the following solution would enable me 1) to achieve SATA 3 speeds with an SSD and 2) allow me to use the SSD as a boot drive for Windows. I'm pretty sure about (1), but I'm concerned about (2):
- replace the Wifi card in the mini-PCIe slot with this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16816124059
- attach this SSD via normal SATA cables: http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Hyper.../dp/B007R67FNA
Can anyone confirm? Thanks!
Problematique
12 Posts
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May 1st, 2013 17:00
Well, the drive arrived earlier than expected. Here are some results (SSD installed as a data drive over SATA 2):
2 TB HDD:
SSD:
Unfortunately, I tried the SATA 3 mini-PCIe card, but I have yet to see it detected by my system at all. I should have more time to mess with it over the weekend. Nonetheless, any ideas?
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
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17K Posts
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May 1st, 2013 17:00
Looks like SSD is running at expected speed over SATA-2. Looks good. System should be faster.
No ideas about mini-PCIe card, but yes ... it being detected would be a good place to start.
kethnguy
17 Posts
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May 2nd, 2013 04:00
i wonder about that min pci-e card as well. Would it give sata 3 speeds to the x51 system? Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than me can answer?
kethnguy
17 Posts
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May 2nd, 2013 21:00
I went ahead and jumped the gun and bought the mini pcie sata 3 controller card. I will report back with my results!
Problematique
12 Posts
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May 4th, 2013 01:00
Well, kethnguy, I can't get my system to detect the mini-PCIe SATA 3 controller. I know I'm running in AHCI mode and I even have device driver signature enforcement disabled in the BIOS... I'm starting to think that the card is either incompatible with the x51 motherboard or my particular unit is DoA. To be clear, it has never even shown up in the Windows 7 Device Manager.
FYI (although it may be too late) I don't think this card will fit in the standard x51 case/component arrangement (mine has been changed). I don't recall how much space is available by the Wifi card, but I've read that only half-size mini-PCIe cards (like the included Wifi card) will fit.
Anyway, let me know how your results go - if you can get it working, maybe I'll try another card!
kethnguy
17 Posts
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May 6th, 2013 20:00
@Prolematique
Seems like I ran into the same problem you had with the controller card not being detected by the x51 system. It fit perfectly (there are 4 mounting holes on the x51 for the mini pcie slot, 2 for a half sized card like the wifi card and 2 that are farther out for a full sized mini pcie so i had no problem installing the card)
Guess the card is incompatible with our systems and I'll have to RMA it
Problematique
12 Posts
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May 6th, 2013 20:00
@kethnguy
I suppose I may soon have to mark this thread off as answered. It's a shame that card won't work. Not being detected at all seems a bit strange to me, though - almost like it's a faulty product (or the x51 does not have a 100% functional mini-PCIe port, which was my original concern, although I'm not really sure whether that would manifest in itself this way).
I'm not even sure if I'll RMA mine - the money I stand to recover is almost the cost of return shipping.
In other news, I'm currently typing from a clean installation of Windows 7 on the SSD that I ended up purchasing and using over SATA 2 anyway. I'm getting a system start up time on the order of 10-15 seconds (not yet timed), so I'm pretty pleased in that department, regardless. My Windows desktop becomes accessible and fully loaded right when the lights on my TactX keyboard come on!
Maybe I'll time both of my system start up times to have more concrete performance data (SSD vs. HDD), but my old start up time was one of the most atrocious I had ever experienced. Seemed like at least 3 minutes before everything was loaded and up to full speed (although once it got there, the system was perfectly snappy).
kethnguy
17 Posts
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May 7th, 2013 20:00
I too am using an SSD and it is amazing even over just SATA 2. Maybe the mobo mini pcie does only support wifi cards and nothing else. who knows. oh well
dnix51
1 Message
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June 27th, 2013 10:00
Prolematique, I tried the same Mini PCI-E card hoping to get SATA3 speeds in my X51. It didn't come close to working for me.
I think it's pretty ridiculous, that my computer is supposedly the 3rd Gen Ivy Bridge iteration, yet the motherboard doesn't support SATA3. What's more, Dell marks an extra port with a different color. Implying it's the newer standard, but it's exactly the same as the others.
Pretty deceptive.
phucngo
1 Message
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October 31st, 2013 15:00
OriginalX51
21 Posts
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July 21st, 2014 17:00
Hi there,
Did you keep the OS on your 2TB HDD as well as do a fresh OS install on your SSD? I might install an SSD in my X51 but I don't want to do a fresh OS install. Instead, could I just install the SSD and then migrate the OS and files on my HDD over to the SSD? Finally, even though it's only Sata 2, will there still be an improvement as regards to playing games? Have you installed a game on the SSD and if so how did it perform compared to your HDD?
Hoping to hear back from you.
Kind Regards
OriginalX51
21 Posts
0
July 21st, 2014 17:00
Hi there,
Did you keep the OS on your 2TB HDD as well as do a fresh OS install on your SSD? I might install an SSD in my X51 but I don't want to do a fresh OS install. Instead, could I just install the SSD and then migrate the OS and files on my HDD over to the SSD? Finally, even though it's only Sata 2, will there still be an improvement as regards to playing games? Have you installed a game on the SSD and if so how did it perform compared to your HDD?
Hoping to hear back from you.
Regards
Anonymous
5 Practitioner
5 Practitioner
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274.2K Posts
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October 31st, 2015 03:00
Hi!
Have you result of test with Mini PCI-Express SYBA 2-Port SATA 6G Card and SSD?
Can you give feedback?
Gennadiy