Do I need a SATA II controller card?

[John]

I'm using a Sata hard disk as a backup drive. Right now I've got the
cords sticking out the back. It's ugly but it works. When I'm done
backing up, I unplug the HD.

I'm wondering if a card like this would give me any greater performance:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16816150011

Currently, using Ghost I'm able to backup a NTFS partition at the rate
of about 1.8GB/minute.

This is what I have for hard disks: Western Digital Caviar SE16
WD3200KS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s

My MB supports PCI Express and I have open slots.

 

[Rod Speed]

I'm using a Sata hard disk as a backup drive. Right now I've got the cords sticking out the back.
It's ugly but it works.

You can get a couple of sockets on a metal bracket to make it more tidy.

When I'm done backing up, I unplug the HD.

I'm wondering if a card like this would give me any greater performance:

Nope, the performance is limited by what the drive itself can do, not the interface.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16816150011

Currently, using Ghost I'm able to backup a NTFS partition at the rate of about 1.8GB/minute.

True Image might well do it faster. Acronis has a free
trial download that you can use to see how it performs.

This is what I have for hard disks: Western Digital Caviar SE16
WD3200KS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s

My MB supports PCI Express and I have open slots.

No point in that controller in your situation.