Out of SATA ports :/ ... options?

413x · 16 Jun 2011 at 22:09

So i went to install my new hard drive and found i am out of sata ports, 5 are taken up by HDDs and one is taken up by esata front port.

what is the best option to sort this? ive come up with..

get a slow USB 2 caddy/dock
get an esata caddy/dock
swap motherboards.. do not want to do this cause of the hassle!

unless im missing something?

413x · 16 Jun 2011 at 22:14

unfortunatly i have 2 6950s taking up 4 slots, a pci-e tv tuner and a pci wireless card .. all pci/E slots are taken, the only one i could remove is the pci wireless for a usb.. i doubt a pci would have the bandwidth would it?

413x · 16 Jun 2011 at 22:35

If i had an ssd it would still take up 2 sata slots, one for the SSD one mechanical for games etc, not convinced by SSD either

i already have 2x 1.5TB for media storage, the new drive is a 2 TB drive, cant really see much gain in swapping the 1.5s for 2s

i tend to use the esata to backup my OS drive to external

there literally is 2mm gap between the GFX cards

this drive is going to be a media storage drive only [ie music, blu rays etc]

best suggestion so far i think is disconect the front esata

413x · 16 Jun 2011 at 22:38

also, am i right in thinking pci [not E] cannot support sata II? cant see any cards like that anywhere

413x · 16 Jun 2011 at 22:39

PhillyDee said:
Time to go for a seperate server . . . .

Or a NAS box, or a drobo (Can also use firewire if your board has it)

i have been contemplating this.. would need a 4 bay box and they all seem very expensive.. would prefer NAS

413x · 16 Jun 2011 at 22:55

i find my 2x wd VRs are better than 1xssd and 1xmech for games, both take up 2 slots, and i dont like to mix storage with games, therefore i gain no sata ports.. the 2x VRs hold my OS, not as fast as an ssd but snappy, and all my games docs apps.

i would swap my 1.5s for 2s but the resale price is too small for 500GB extra

413x · 17 Jun 2011 at 22:42

I think I'm going to stay away from caddy solution to usb just isn't up to it if would like to keep the esata for my backup caddy I don't think it even has usb.
I guess in hind sight a external blu ray would have been better if not as neat but don't really want to pay for something I already have

Looking at all the suggestions for now I'm going to disconnect the front sata port and use that, then I think ill get the pci sata card, that should tide me over until I brave a nas box

Best plan i can see