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Optiplex 9010 SATA connections
Hi all, I am doing some upgrades and some learning. I am installing an additional HDD in my Optiplex 9010. The original single HDD configuration has the HDD on SATA0 and the Optical drive on SATA1. While poking around the internet I discovered that on this board SATA0 and SATA1 are SATAIII connectors and and SATA2 and SATA3 are SATAII. With this in mind I believe my optical drive needs to be moved to SATA2 or SATA3 and the new HDD needs to be connected to SATA1. My thinking is an optical drive does not operate at SATAIII speeds, therefore, the slower connection will not cause any performance issues. Is this correct?
speedstep
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March 31st, 2022 16:00
@JeepNut
SATA comes from the chipset PCH. 2 of the ports are sata 3 and the rest are sata 2.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-s-defective-Sandy-Bridge-Chipsets-Status-Report.45596.0.html
The defective chipset is the H61/H67 chipset used on XPS 8300, Vostro 460, Vostro 360, Inspiron One Optiplex 3010, Aurora R3 etc.
intel 2011 chipset_design_flaw
bradthetechnut
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March 31st, 2022 19:00
"If I connect my HDDs to Ports 0 & 1 and the DVD to Port 2 I should be fine. Correct?" Yes. My 7010 has the Q77 chipset also. At one point, all 4 SATA ports were in use, currently 3. No issues. I haven't had to reply to or had any complaints about certain SATA ports not working. I've been on the forum over 4 years and speedstep much longer.
Good catch running across that article for the 990. The 9010 is the newer version of it.
JOcean
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March 30th, 2022 17:00
You are correct that the optical drive is usually SATA 1.5 so it is pointless to keep it on a SATA III port.
bradthetechnut
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March 30th, 2022 18:00
At least you were able to find which SATA ports are what. Having HDD's plugged into SATA ports 0 & 1 with DVD or optical drive in ports 2 or 3 is fine.
Even if you didn't do it that way, you'd probably be hard pressed to notice the difference. I have an SSD and 2 HDD's in my 7010 thinking a might notice a slower SATA II port - nope.
bradthetechnut
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March 30th, 2022 19:00
@JOcean,
Can you confirm that? I've never found anything in Dell doctrine on the subject.
JeepNut
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March 30th, 2022 19:00
Thanks for the replies. So, just to confirm the info I found is correct SATA0 and SATA1 are SATA III and SATA2 and SATA3 are SATAII?
JOcean
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March 31st, 2022 06:00
No Problem. From the 9010 specs this description of SATA port speeds.
Bus Speed PCI Express:
• x1-slot bidirectional speed – 500 MB/s
• x16-slot bidirectional speed – 16 GB/s
SATA: 1.5 Gbps, 3.0 Gbps, and 6 Gbps
Also from this chart, a 48x (advertised speed) DVD transfers data at a rate of roughly 66 MB/s, whereas the SATA 1 (1.5) rate is 1.5 GB/s. So many manufacturers specify a SATA 2 or 3 port but the speed of that SATA port can never be attained by an Optical DVD drive.
bradthetechnut
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March 31st, 2022 10:00
@JOcean - Thanks for the reply. On what page in the Owner's Manual did you find those specs? I checked beforehand and checked again. There's a SATA 1.5 port in the 9010?
bradthetechnut
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March 31st, 2022 11:00
Page 59 it is. Not to hijack this thread, but it makes me wonder if I should be concerned about specific SATA ports for SSD and 2 HDD's (1 bootable, 1 storage) or just leave it since it's all working.
By the way, with 4 SATA ports, I take it we're working with the MT here.
JOcean
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March 31st, 2022 11:00
Page 60 and I assume it is listed since the optical drive would be the SATA 1 connection. I have seen similar specs on various Dell support pages and I will repost once I dig up the specific model and page.
speedstep
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March 31st, 2022 12:00
@JeepNut
That is correct. HOWEVER the chip-set on those boards has a fatal flaw that will cause damage to devices attached to sata 3 and Sata 4. The design flaw revolves around the SATA (Serial-ATA) ports within the chipset. Too much voltage is on the port 3 and 4 leading to damage. There is no fix other than to not use the ports. This model is well past EOL EOS so there wont be any further replacements for the PCH chip or motherboards.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzZzMXr0rfs
JeepNut
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March 31st, 2022 13:00
Yes, it is the Mini Tower (MT). This is the original config.
SATA0 (Blue) - HDD
SATA1(Black) - DVD
SATA2(White) - Empty
SATA3(White) - Empty
I was going to simply switch the DVD to port #2 and connect my storage drive to Port #1,but, now I am confused as to what the speeds of the ports are. If the manual states that it has 1.5, 3.0 and 6.0 connections what is what? Does the color code mean anything?
bradthetechnut
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March 31st, 2022 13:00
It has gotten a little confusing to me as well. From this forum, I thought the ports were SATA II & III. Do the colors correlate with PCIe slots at all? Blue fastest, black a little slower, and white a little slower than black?
JeepNut
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March 31st, 2022 14:00
Expansion slots are color coded as follows:
PCI-e X 16 - Blue
PCI-e X 1 - Black
PCIe X 16 (Wire X4) - Black
PCI - White
JeepNut
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March 31st, 2022 15:00
. . .Also, this is where I originally came up with the ports being SATA II and SATA III. The article is for a different board, but, I thought it might apply as a Dell standard. However, the 9010 manual states Sata I, II and III. It seems that theory may not apply.
https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000127010/sata-3-0-support-for-the-optiplex-990