A8V & SATA DVD Burner -- where to connect?

[andyadler]

Hi everyone. I have a new A8V on which I intend to connect two SATA
hard drives to the VIA controller connectors (the black ones,
correct?). But where, then, do I connect a Plextor PX-712SA SATA DVD
burner? Since the Promise controller apparently doesn't support ATAPI
devices like optical drives, does this mean I'll have to connect the
Plextor with a SATA PCI expanion card, or must I move one of my hard
drives off the VIA to the Promise controller (I don't want to run in
any kind of RAID configuration)?

Another alternative is to simply return the Plextor to Newegg and
exchange it for the standard EIDE model of the drive.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.



Thanks in advance...aa.

 

[Paul]

Hi everyone. I have a new A8V on which I intend to connect two SATA
hard drives to the VIA controller connectors (the black ones,
correct?). But where, then, do I connect a Plextor PX-712SA SATA DVD
burner? Since the Promise controller apparently doesn't support ATAPI
devices like optical drives, does this mean I'll have to connect the
Plextor with a SATA PCI expanion card, or must I move one of my hard
drives off the VIA to the Promise controller (I don't want to run in
any kind of RAID configuration)?

Another alternative is to simply return the Plextor to Newegg and
exchange it for the standard EIDE model of the drive.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.



Thanks in advance...aa.

At first I thought I could get an answer from the Via site or
from Via Arena (driver area) or the Viaarena forums. Forget it.
I did a search on Abxzone, and this URL popped up:

http://www.plextor.com/english/support/media_712SA.htm

It contains much interesting info, on a variety of chips
and what they can do for a SATA ATAPI device.

VT8237 SATA is listed as "Operates in PIO mode only--can not
achieve optimum performance". That would restrict burn speed
to whatever PIO mode can handle - maybe 3MB/sec ? That is
the Southbridge on your board.

Promise 20378 SATA is listed as "Non-RAID configuration not
supported by the chipset/motherboard". ATAPI is already listed
in the motherboard manual as a non-starter with the 20378, so
no reason for SATA ATAPI to work any better.

SIL3112 in RAID mode is listed as "Please use an alternate mode".
Strangely, the Abit NF7 is mentioned as "OK". This could be
related to the version of ROM that is incorporated in the
motherboard BIOS (or for a separate PCI controller card, the
ROM mounted on the PCI card). Since there are two versions of
ROM file for the SIL3112, it is possible a skilled hacker
could fix this for the boards that are listed as not working
with native SATA ATAPI.

Asus versions of ICH5R or ICH6R chips seem to be OK. The failure
of some other brands of motherboards, in certain mode, implies
there could be a BIOS issue with some of them.

There are some PCI controller cards listed at the bottom of the
page. The Syba card could be the cheapest of the lot, as it
uses a SIL3112.

It is a good thing Plextor "stepped up to the plate" and did
some testing.

HTH,
Paul

 

[Milleron]

At first I thought I could get an answer from the Via site or
from Via Arena (driver area) or the Viaarena forums. Forget it.
I did a search on Abxzone, and this URL popped up:

http://www.plextor.com/english/support/media_712SA.htm

It contains much interesting info, on a variety of chips
and what they can do for a SATA ATAPI device.

VT8237 SATA is listed as "Operates in PIO mode only--can not
achieve optimum performance". That would restrict burn speed
to whatever PIO mode can handle - maybe 3MB/sec ? That is
the Southbridge on your board.

Promise 20378 SATA is listed as "Non-RAID configuration not
supported by the chipset/motherboard". ATAPI is already listed
in the motherboard manual as a non-starter with the 20378, so
no reason for SATA ATAPI to work any better.

SIL3112 in RAID mode is listed as "Please use an alternate mode".
Strangely, the Abit NF7 is mentioned as "OK". This could be
related to the version of ROM that is incorporated in the
motherboard BIOS (or for a separate PCI controller card, the
ROM mounted on the PCI card). Since there are two versions of
ROM file for the SIL3112, it is possible a skilled hacker
could fix this for the boards that are listed as not working
with native SATA ATAPI.

Asus versions of ICH5R or ICH6R chips seem to be OK. The failure
of some other brands of motherboards, in certain mode, implies
there could be a BIOS issue with some of them.

There are some PCI controller cards listed at the bottom of the
page. The Syba card could be the cheapest of the lot, as it
uses a SIL3112.

It is a good thing Plextor "stepped up to the plate" and did
some testing.

HTH,
Paul

Thanks for this research, Paul.
My computer is three years old and going strong, but I'm intending to
put together a new one in time to participate in the Longhorn
beta-testing program. Besides dual-core processors, one of the things
I've postponed the process for is SATA optical drives. I'm looking
forward to building a computer with NO ribbon cables.
But I refuse to install a PCI or PCI-E SATA card. What else can one
do at this point in time with a SATA drive like the Plextor PX-712SA??
Ron

Ron