HOST CARDS

   SATA Host Cards come in 3 basic expansion bus formats for desktop computers, PCI, PCI-X and PCI Express also known as PCIe. Laptops also have three card types available, Cardbus (PCMCIA), Express34 and Express54. It's very important to choose the card type that fits your available slot as well as the individual card that works the best for your application and Operating System.

  PCI-X Host Cards are backward compatible with PCI Expansion Slots in most cases. PCI-X cards can be installed in the shorter PCI slots but the extra length will hang over the inboard end of the slot by about 1.5", as long as the motherboard can accommodate the longer card it will usually work. When a PCI-X card is installed in a PCI slot it will perform at the slower bus speed of that slot. If ordering a PCI-X card for use in a PCI slot make sure that your motherboard physically has clearance for the longer card.

  PCI Express (PCIe)expansion slots come in different lengths or "Lane Counts", 1-Lane (1X), 4-Lane (4X), 8-Lane (8X) and 16-Lane (16X). The 16-Lane is almost always used exclusively for Graphics Cards and cannot be used to connect a SATA Host Card. Each Lane of the Expansion slot is capable of roughly 250MB/s, if you install a card that uses 4 Lanes, the "DATA Pipeline" feeding that card can be as fast as 1GB/s. 2 Port cards may be used in 1X slots, the 4 Port cards must have at least 4X lanes both physically and electrically.

  On some motherboards you may find PCI Express slots that are physically longer than they are electrically. Motherboard manufacturers may use an 8-Lane slot bracket (Physical Length) but only attach it electrically to 4 Lanes. This is very common on PC motherboards as it allows a larger card to be attached but the card will only perform at the bandwidth that is available to it.

  Laptop, Powerbook and MacBookPro computers may use either a Cardbus (PCMCIA) card or the narrower Express34 or Express54 cards. We'll concentrate on the Express 34 card because the Cardbus and Express 54 slots are no longer in wide use. If you require a specific card for an application let us know. The width of your expansion slot you should help determine which card type will fit. The Cardbus card is about 2.125" (2-1/8") wide and the Express34 card is about 1.375" (1-3/8"). These cards are all PC and Mac compatible.

  NOTE: Beginning in early 2009 the 15" Apple MacBook Pro will no longer ship with an Express34 Expansion Slot, in it's place is a card reader. The 17" MacBook Pro is still a PRO-Level machine and retains the Express34 slot.

  If you're looking for a card to manage a RAID 5 or 6 stick with the Hardware RAID Controllers from 3ware or Areca. These cards are designed with an on-board CPU and RAM to manage RAID function. This avoids taxing your computers resources and slowing the overall system performance. If you require a RAID 5 or RAID 6 this is unquestionably the way to go.

If you have any question of which card will work in your computer or application please check out our "SATA Host Card Guide" or give us a call. 1-208-983-2555