Question 1

sorry for the newb question, but how do you connect this to the computer? do I need anything else to connect it?
Thanks!

Accepted Answer

No worries just ensure that you motherboard has the correct port PCI-e x1 (desktops only, diagram here: http://imgsrv.worldstart.com/images/ct-images/2013/04/mb.jpg), then you simply slot the card into the port, it comes with a couple of SATA data connection cables so you only need to make sure your PSU has sata power connectors available depending on the number of drives you wish to connect (they look like this: http://sharpsblogorama.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/sata-hard-drive-power-cable-connector.jpg) .Hope this answers your question, let me know if you have any further queries or are stuck.

Question 2

Is there a HD size limit with this?

Accepted Answer

I don't believe there's any limit.  I have drives 2-14 TB connected to these cards across multiple PCs and they all worked flawlessly.

Question 3

so if I put this into a x16 PCIE 1.0 port and hooked an SSD to it, what would be my max bandwidth to the SSD?

Accepted Answer

Hello,well, the maximum bandwith provided by the PCI-E x16 gen 1.0 standard port; it is greater than the PCI-E x1 gen 1.0, and not having now many specifications on these standards on Wikipedia.org I have found about that for x1 slot the bandwith is 2.5 GB/s (250 MB/s) and for x16 slot it is 8 GB/s (? MB/s). I hope this is enough. Greetings,Massimo.

Question 4

Hi, Does this card support Raid and strip volume?

Accepted Answer

Seems like a simple question, with a bunch of conflicting answers. The problem is Amazon groups several IO Crest SATA controller cards into one listing and the questions and answers are common across several models. First, it should be clarified that there is hardware RAID and there is software RAID, and if software RAID is what you are after your OS will provide that regardless of your disk controller -- but software RAID doesn't match the performance of hardware RAID. None of the IO Crest cards that are based on the ASMedia chipsets support hardware RAID. The Marvell 88SE9215 does not support hardware RAID. Marvell 88SE9230 support hardware RAID 0 and 1. Marvell 88SE9705 supports hardware RAID 0 and 1 and also HyperDuo. What is HyperDuo? It is like RAID 0 but you mix (hybrid) SATA HDDs and SSDs in the array, and the controller card manages the array to swap the most recently used items onto the SSD storage. This allows you to get the best of both worlds -- the read speed of SSD but the mega storage you get with regular hard drives. Since very little of what is on your array is used on a frequent basis, it can really result in performance gains.  But please don't spend $100 on a card that can do HyperDuo without researching it further because there are some potential downsides.  For the majority of home users , you want a card that can do RAID 0 and 1.

ASIN	B00AZ9T3OU
Best Sellers Rank	#4 in RAID Controllers
Brand	IO CREST
Built-In Media	4 X Sata Cables (16"), Driver Cd, Low Profile Bracket, Sata Iii (6Gbps) 8-Port Pci-Express Controller Card, User Manual
Compatible Devices	Laptop, Personal Computer
Customer Reviews	4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (2,106)
Hardware Interface	PCI Express x1
Item Type Name	I/O Crest 4 Port SATA III PCI-e 2.0 x1 Controller Card Marvell 9215 Non-Raid with Low Profile Bracket SI-PEX40064
Item Weight	3.2 ounces
Manufacturer	Syba
Mfr Part Number	SI-PEX40064
Model Number	SI-PEX40064
Number of Items	1
Operating System	other
Style Name	MV 4-Port
UPC	809395440770
Unit Count	4 Count
Warranty Description	One year warranty

4 Port SATA III Expansion Card with Low Profile Bracket - 6Gbps SATA 3.0 Controller PCI Express x1 Marvell 9215 for Windows 11/10/8/7/XP/Vista/Linux

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