Startech 2-Port SATA III 6Gbps PCI-Express Controller Card Unstable

[dick220369]

I have a Corsair Force 3 120gb SSD drive connected to a Startech 2-Port SATA III 6Gbps PCI-Express Controller Card. This is plugged into the spare x16 PCI-E slot on my Asus P5N-D motherboard.

I previously had the SSD drive connected to the onboard sata II controller but the performance was terrible. With the new Startech controller I am getting the type of speeds I expect from my SSD but I keep getting frequent BSODs.

I uninstalled the Startech driver and used the Windows default driver instead which improved stability but I still got the BSOD every now and again.

I have currently plugged the controller card into the PCI-E x1 slot. It is stable but the performance is not much better than compared to the onboard sata II.

Any suggestions on how I can improve stability when using the PCI-E x16 slot?

 

[Pilgrim57]

I wasn't sure if my Startech card was the cause of problems, My SSD has been RMAed & a WD 6GBps HDD is connected at present.
This is what I found for yr mobo

Expansion Slot(s) 2.0 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 - DIMM 240-pin ( SLI: full x16, x16 mode ),
2.0 x Memory - LGA775 Socket,
1.0 x PCI,
2.0 x PCI Express x1,

You need it in a PCIE 2.0 slot to get max performance which will be about 5GBps. The others aren't x4 which is the minimum requirement.
From what you say about drivers I presume you aren't on Win 7.

You need to up the voltages on PCIE SATA & SB 1 notch.
I have just discovered that I need more volts to the FSB Termination, try 2 steps.
I have an ASUS P5Q-E 775.
Is yr PC overclocked? If so try adding more volts to CPU, 2 steps, also add NB +1 or 2
It would appear that via the card a lot of data is pushed through that is different to how a Graphic card uses the bus & the mobo needs more juice to be stable.
What are the error messages you are getting with the BSOD?
Set PC not to auto restart so you can read error message. Do you have Bluescreenview?
This card uses a Marvel controller & I know a lot of people have had hassle using the SATA 3 ports on P67 & Z68 mobos using same controller.

Good luck you'll need patience & trial & error- have you updated the firmware on the SSD?