AHCI Question

[wxia88]

I'm planning to buy an Intel G2 SSD soon and have heard that it performs significantly better on AHCI mode (NCQ on). The problem is that my motherboard (Asus P5K SE EPU) is only ICH9 and bios doesn't support AHCI. (Only IDE option in bios)

My question is if I get a separate PCI Express adapter that supports AHCI and NCQ, would that enable me to use the SSD in AHCI mode? If not, is there any other way to get AHCI short of buying a new motherboard?

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

The P5K did initially support AHCI but it was disabled in later BIOS updates due to some licensing issues. Fortunately, there is a work-around:

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=20080429114702843&board_id=1&model=P5K&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

If you decide to go with the separate PCIe adapter with AHCI and NCQ, yes, you'd be able to use the SSD in AHCI mode.

 

[wxia88]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I read the workaround but it doesn't apply to my motherboard because mines is Marvell and not JMicron controller. What a bummer!

Anyways good to know that I can just get an adapter down the line to bypass, and USB 3.0 and SATA 6 GB as well.

 

[taltamir]

The P5K did initially support AHCI but it was disabled in later BIOS updates due to some licensing issues. Fortunately, there is a work-around:

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=20080429114702843&board_id=1&model=P5K&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

If you decide to go with the separate PCIe adapter with AHCI and NCQ, yes, you'd be able to use the SSD in AHCI mode.

what about downgrading the bios firmware to an earlier version that supported ahci?