Question Are SATA3 components compatible with SATA2 PC?

Senex

Member
Nov 19, 2010
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For example, will a HDD mobile-rack (like the Syba SY-MRA55006) with SATA3 connectors work in a SATA2 PC (like the Dell OptiPlex 755)? For the SSD that this mobile-rack uses, does it have to be SATA3 or SATA2? I keep getting conflicting info on whether or not SATA3 is backwards-compatible with SATA2...hoping for a definite answer here, as I really want to upgrade to this mobile-rack (and my first SSD), but paranoid about wasting money on incompatible parts. Thanks.
 

Billy Tallis

Senior member
Aug 4, 2015
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Yes. SATA stuff is forward and backward compatible between generations. A few very early SATA controllers didn't properly implement link speed auto-negotiation, but unless you're still running a 32-bit Athlon XP you probably don't have one of those. For passive components like cables and hot-swap backplanes, newer SATA revisions just have stricter signal integrity requirements.

(I'm kind of curious what "conflicting info" you have run across that left you in doubt.)