{"id":581,"date":"2012-02-23T22:09:06","date_gmt":"2012-02-23T11:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/?p=581"},"modified":"2012-02-28T00:16:37","modified_gmt":"2012-02-27T13:16:37","slug":"asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/02\/23\/asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard\/","title":{"rendered":"ASUS U3S6 Review &#8211; Benchmark SSD on Sata 3 add-on card against Sata II onboard"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ntsbl-2929441699\" class=\"ntsbl-before-content ntsbl-entity-placement\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6288941070289539\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:inline-block;width:728px;height:90px;\" \ndata-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6288941070289539\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"9356781486\"><\/ins> \n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><p>Part 2 of my SSD SATA III performance tests.<\/p>\n<p>If you are here and haven&#8217;t seen part 1 &#8220;Sata 3 SSD running on onboard SATA II benchmark&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/01\/11\/sata-3-ssd-running-on-sata-ii-benchmark\/\" title=\"SATA III running on onboard SATA II\">go here >>> <\/a><\/p>\n<h2>The Question<\/h2>\n<p>Is there any reason to buy a SATA III expansion card to run your new SATA III SSD if your MOBO only has SATA II?<\/p>\n<p>So I have a shiny new Corsair Force GT 120GB SATA III drive and an old SATA II motherboard.<\/p>\n<p>Last article I benchmarked the performance to see what kind of experience you get when running on your onboard sata II connectors.<\/p>\n<p>This article is the part 2 where I am going to benchmark the relative performance with a SATA III expansion card to see if there is any point is spending the money on one.<\/p>\n<h2>The Test Card &#8211; ASUS U3S6<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-88SE91231.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"599\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/02\/23\/asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard\/marvell-88se9123-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-88SE91231.png\" data-orig-size=\"543,597\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Marvell 88SE9123\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-88SE91231-272x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-88SE91231.png\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-88SE91231-150x150.png\" alt=\"Marvell 88SE9123 Chipset\" title=\"Marvell 88SE9123\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-599\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It was a bit hard to track one down in Australia so I had to buy this second-hand off the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.overclockers.com.au\/\"> overclockers australia forums<\/a>, but I wanted this card for its x4 PCI-e v2.0 connection.<\/p>\n<p>Details of the U3S6 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.asus.com\/Motherboards\/Accessories\/U3S6\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>The U3 = USB 3.0 with a NEC chip set; and<br \/>\nThe S6 = Sata III 6.0Gb\/s Marvel 88SE9123 controller.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASUS_U3S6_1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"596\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/02\/23\/asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard\/asus_u3s6_1\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASUS_U3S6_1.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1408,1056\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"ASUS_U3S6_1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASUS_U3S6_1-300x225.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASUS_U3S6_1-1024x768.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASUS_U3S6_1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"ASUS U3S6 Sata III PCIe expansion card\" title=\"ASUS_U3S6_1\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-596\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASUS_U3S6_1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASUS_U3S6_1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASUS_U3S6_1.jpg 1408w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASUS_U3S6_2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"597\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/02\/23\/asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard\/asus_u3s6_2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASUS_U3S6_2.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"563,422\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"ASUS_U3S6_2\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASUS_U3S6_2-300x224.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASUS_U3S6_2.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASUS_U3S6_2-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"ASUS U3S6 Sata III PCIe expansion card\" title=\"ASUS_U3S6_2\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-597\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASUS_U3S6_2-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASUS_U3S6_2.jpg 563w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Firmware-Version.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"598\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/02\/23\/asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard\/firmware-version\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Firmware-Version.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"563,422\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Firmware Version\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Firmware-Version-300x224.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Firmware-Version.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Firmware-Version-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"ASUS U3S6 Default Firmware Boot Screen Shot\" title=\"Firmware Version\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-598\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Firmware-Version-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Firmware-Version.jpg 563w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The card has yet to be flashed from its original bios which appears as 1.0.0.1012.<\/p>\n<p>I decided to play it safe and rather than flash the bios and destroy the card I would start from scratch, benchmark it first. Later I will play and see if I can improve on stock performance results, buy flashing to later versions of the firmware.<\/p>\n<p>At on OS software level I tested with 2 driver configurations:<\/p>\n<table width=\"100%\" border=\"0\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\">1.0.0.1036<\/td>\n<td>and<\/td>\n<td>1.2.0.1016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Driver_1036.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"586\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/02\/23\/asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard\/marvell-driver_1036\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Driver_1036.png\" data-orig-size=\"428,461\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Marvell Driver_1036\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Driver_1036-278x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Driver_1036.png\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Driver_1036-278x300.png\" alt=\"Marvell Driver 1.0.0.1036 Screenshot\" title=\"Marvell Driver_1036\" width=\"278\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-586\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Driver_1036-278x300.png 278w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Driver_1036.png 428w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 278px) 100vw, 278px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Driver_1.2.0.1016.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"587\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/02\/23\/asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard\/marvell-driver_1-2-0-1016\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Driver_1.2.0.1016.png\" data-orig-size=\"428,461\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Marvell Driver_1.2.0.1016\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Driver_1.2.0.1016-278x300.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Driver_1.2.0.1016.png\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Driver_1.2.0.1016-278x300.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"Marvell Driver_1.2.0.1016 - Marvell Driver\" width=\"278\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-587\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Driver_1.2.0.1016-278x300.png 278w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Driver_1.2.0.1016.png 428w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 278px) 100vw, 278px\" \/><\/a>\n<\/td>\n<\/table>\n<p>with some interesting results..<\/p>\n<p>The latest drivers are best found on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.station-drivers.com\/page\/marvell.htm\">station-drivers<\/a>. It&#8217;s french but version numbers can be read easily, go to the bottom for the MV91xx drivers and firmware.<\/p>\n<h2>The test rig<\/h2>\n<table width=\"100%\">\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Mother&nbsp;Board:<\/strong><\/td>\n<td> Socket 775, Gigabyte EP45-DS3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>CPU:<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0Ghz, running overclocked @ 4.0Ghz.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Memory:<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>4GB (2x2GB) Corsair CM2X2048-8500C5C (1066Mhz)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Video:<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>MSi R6850 Storm II 1G OC (R6850 PM2DIGD5)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>SSD:<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Corsair Force GT 120GB, (1.3.3 firmware on SATA II in AHCI mode)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>SATA III Card<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Asus U3S6 (firware 1012)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>OS:<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Windows 7 SP1 &#8211; 64 bit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p>The U3S6 is a x4 card and will run on PCI-E v2.0. The EP45-DS3 only has 3 x PCI-e 1.0 x1 ports, and has a x16 and x8 PCI-e v2.0 slot.<\/p>\n<p>The x16 slot is currently running my MSi HD 6850, and the x8 slot is free.<\/p>\n<p>The U3S6 is therefore running in the x8 slot.<\/p>\n<p>I was interested in seeing what might happen when running something like crysis whilst having the U3S6 trying to use the same bus.<\/p>\n<h2>Synthetic Benchmarks<\/h2>\n<h3>AS SSD<\/h3>\n<p>My original SATA II Benchmark score on SATA II was 480! I did this benchmark on day 1 of a clean Windows 7 install. Since then I have been using the computer for a few months and the drive is about 50% full so I benchmarked with AS SSD again.<\/p>\n<p>I did numerous benchmarks with in multiple different driver and SATA configurations. The Read speed seemed to give consistent results across similar benchmarks but the write performance (particularly the 4K-64-Thrd) was a bit all over the place and seemed to influence heavily the overall score giving results between 395 and 450.<\/p>\n<p>The following results are the best of each run:<\/p>\n<p><strong>SATA II &#8211; Rerun<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/as-ssd-bench-Corsair-Force-GT-23.02.2012-10-23-09-PM-SATA-II.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"630\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/02\/23\/asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard\/as-ssd-bench-corsair-force-gt-23-02-2012-10-23-09-pm-sata-ii\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/as-ssd-bench-Corsair-Force-GT-23.02.2012-10-23-09-PM-SATA-II.png\" data-orig-size=\"503,501\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"as-ssd-bench Corsair Force GT 23.02.2012 10-23-09 PM SATA II\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/as-ssd-bench-Corsair-Force-GT-23.02.2012-10-23-09-PM-SATA-II-300x298.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/as-ssd-bench-Corsair-Force-GT-23.02.2012-10-23-09-PM-SATA-II.png\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/as-ssd-bench-Corsair-Force-GT-23.02.2012-10-23-09-PM-SATA-II-300x298.png\" alt=\"SATA II Benchmark\" title=\"as-ssd-bench Corsair Force GT 23.02.2012 10-23-09 PM SATA II\" width=\"300\" height=\"298\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/as-ssd-bench-Corsair-Force-GT-23.02.2012-10-23-09-PM-SATA-II-300x298.png 300w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/as-ssd-bench-Corsair-Force-GT-23.02.2012-10-23-09-PM-SATA-II-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/as-ssd-bench-Corsair-Force-GT-23.02.2012-10-23-09-PM-SATA-II.png 503w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>U3S6 &#8211; 1.0.0.1036<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASSD_U3S6_drv1036.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"629\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/02\/23\/asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard\/assd_u3s6_drv1036\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASSD_U3S6_drv1036.png\" data-orig-size=\"513,511\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"ASSD_U3S6_drv1036\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASSD_U3S6_drv1036-300x298.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASSD_U3S6_drv1036.png\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASSD_U3S6_drv1036-300x298.png\" alt=\"ASUS U3S6 1036 Driver AS SSD benchmark\" title=\"ASSD_U3S6_drv1036\" width=\"300\" height=\"298\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-629\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASSD_U3S6_drv1036-300x298.png 300w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASSD_U3S6_drv1036-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/ASSD_U3S6_drv1036.png 513w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/AASD_Compression_U3S6_drv1036.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"635\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/02\/23\/asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard\/aasd_compression_u3s6_drv1036\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/AASD_Compression_U3S6_drv1036.png\" data-orig-size=\"807,516\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"AASD_Compression_U3S6_drv1036\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/AASD_Compression_U3S6_drv1036-300x191.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/AASD_Compression_U3S6_drv1036.png\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/AASD_Compression_U3S6_drv1036-300x191.png\" alt=\"ASUS U3S6 1.0.0.1036 Driver Compression Benchmark\" title=\"AASD_Compression_U3S6_drv1036\" width=\"300\" height=\"191\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-635\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/AASD_Compression_U3S6_drv1036-300x191.png 300w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/AASD_Compression_U3S6_drv1036.png 807w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>U3S6 &#8211; 1.2.0.1016<\/strong><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/as-ssd-bench_drv1.2.0.1016.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"631\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/02\/23\/asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard\/as-ssd-bench_drv1-2-0-1016\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/as-ssd-bench_drv1.2.0.1016.png\" data-orig-size=\"503,501\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"as-ssd-bench_drv1.2.0.1016\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/as-ssd-bench_drv1.2.0.1016-300x298.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/as-ssd-bench_drv1.2.0.1016.png\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/as-ssd-bench_drv1.2.0.1016-300x298.png\" alt=\"U3S6 on 1.2.0.1016 driver AS SSD benchmark\" title=\"as-ssd-bench_drv1.2.0.1016\" width=\"300\" height=\"298\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-631\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/as-ssd-bench_drv1.2.0.1016-300x298.png 300w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/as-ssd-bench_drv1.2.0.1016-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/as-ssd-bench_drv1.2.0.1016.png 503w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The U3S6 seems to have better sequential read of approx 340MB\/s. This is only a 75MB\/s improvement.<\/p>\n<p>I noted that generally the benchmark results for the earlier 1.0.0.1036 driver were slightly better and more consistent than the later 1.2.0.1016 driver.<\/p>\n<p>Also the Read performance was generally consistent but the 4k and 4k-64Thrd write times were up and down.<\/p>\n<h3>Crystal Disk mark<\/h3>\n<p>Given the fluctuations I also tried Crystal Disk mark which seemed to give similar results without the randomness.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SATA II &#8211; Rerun<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_SATAII.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"638\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/02\/23\/asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard\/cdm3_sataii\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_SATAII.png\" data-orig-size=\"416,378\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"CDM3_SATAII\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_SATAII-300x272.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_SATAII.png\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_SATAII.png\" alt=\"Crysal Disk Corsair Force GT 120GB SSD Benchmark on SATA II\" title=\"CDM3_SATAII\" width=\"416\" height=\"378\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_SATAII.png 416w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_SATAII-300x272.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 416px) 100vw, 416px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>U3S6 &#8211; 1.0.0.1036<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_1036.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"637\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/02\/23\/asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard\/cdm3_1036\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_1036.png\" data-orig-size=\"416,378\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"CDM3_1036\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_1036-300x272.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_1036.png\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_1036.png\" alt=\"Crystal Disk Corsair Force GT ASUS U3S6 Benchmark Driver 1.0.0.1036\" title=\"CDM3_1036\" width=\"416\" height=\"378\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-637\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_1036.png 416w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_1036-300x272.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 416px) 100vw, 416px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>U3S6 &#8211; 1.2.0.1016<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_1016.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"636\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/02\/23\/asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard\/cdm3_1016\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_1016.png\" data-orig-size=\"416,378\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"CDM3_1016\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_1016-300x272.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_1016.png\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_1016.png\" alt=\"Crystal Disk Corsair Force GT ASUS U3S6 Benchmark Driver 1.2.0.1016\" title=\"CDM3_1016\" width=\"416\" height=\"378\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-636\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_1016.png 416w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/CDM3_1016-300x272.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 416px) 100vw, 416px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Again the 1.0.0.1036 driver seemed to out perform its older brother.<\/p>\n<h2>Windows Start Up Times<\/h2>\n<h3>The test<\/h3>\n<p>Same as last time, the benchmark recorded the time from when windows started loading after the POST screen, until a working desktop was available. This was identified as the time at which the Gadgets appeared on the desktop. This was split into 3 timing points<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>time to login screen\n<li>time to login\n<li>time to see the desktop and the gadgets loaded.\n<\/ol>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Windows-Startup.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"642\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/02\/23\/asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard\/windows-startup\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Windows-Startup.png\" data-orig-size=\"481,289\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Windows Startup\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Windows-Startup-300x180.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Windows-Startup.png\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Windows-Startup.png\" alt=\"Windows 7 Startup times Benchmark SSD results\" title=\"Windows Startup\" width=\"481\" height=\"289\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-642\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Windows-Startup.png 481w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Windows-Startup-300x180.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 481px) 100vw, 481px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nThe fastest startup time was still SATA II and the 1.2.0.1016 driver made a difference but the 1.0.1036 was consistently a few seconds slower to boot.<\/p>\n<h2>Windows Experience<\/h2>\n<p>The only score to change when running the U3S6 was the Disk from 7.8 to 7.9. Note: 7.9 is currently the maximum rating.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Windows-Experience-Score.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"641\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/02\/23\/asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard\/windows-experience-score\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Windows-Experience-Score.png\" data-orig-size=\"543,203\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Windows Experience Score\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Windows-Experience-Score-300x112.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Windows-Experience-Score.png\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Windows-Experience-Score.png\" alt=\"Windows Experience Score on the SSD SATA III\" title=\"Windows Experience Score\" width=\"543\" height=\"203\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-641\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Windows-Experience-Score.png 543w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Windows-Experience-Score-300x112.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 543px) 100vw, 543px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Crysis Benchmarks<\/h2>\n<p>I didn&#8217;t bother with the load time tests as I figured they would be comparable. <\/p>\n<p>I did however run the Benchmarks for both Crysis and Crysis 2 in the various configurations, with some interesting results.<\/p>\n<h3>Crysis Benchmark<\/h3>\n<p>The crysis benchmark was run @ 1920&#215;1080 &#8211; 64-bit and DirectX 10<br \/>\nThe benchmark was run with the following SSD connections<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>SATA II\n<li>U3S6 1.0.0.1036\n<\/ol>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Crysis.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Crysis.png\" alt=\"Crysis Benchmark \" title=\"Crysis\" width=\"481\" height=\"289\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-644\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The results were almost identical. No change here.<\/p>\n<h3>Crysis 2 Benchmark<\/h2>\n<p>The benchmark was run on DirectX 11 on the Times Square Map.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Crysis2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Crysis2.png\" alt=\"Crysis 2 Benchmark\" title=\"Crysis2\" width=\"481\" height=\"289\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-648\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The most interesting thing here is that when the video card was being pushed by crysis 2, the PCIe channel appears to be compromised by the SSD drive running on the x8 port.<\/p>\n<p>This can be seen in the poor fps on the two higher settings.<\/p>\n<h2>USB Performance<\/h2>\n<p>Just to see how the USB 3.0 worked I hooked up my Western Digital 1 TB external hard drive and did a 4.14GB and 15.5 GB file copy both up to and down from the External drive.<\/p>\n<p>I found the 15.5GB copy onto the external drive took 10m 1s @ USB 2.0 but only took 3m 52s on USB 3.0. The copy down from the external driver took 9m 11s @ USB 2.0 and 3m 43s @ USB 3.0.<br \/>\nThe copy rates were approx 27.1 MB\/s combined for USB 2.0 whilst USB 3.0 achieved 67.9 Mb\/s or 2.5 times faster. Nice.<\/p>\n<h2>Why so slow?<\/h2>\n<p>I have gotten around to flashing the Card. At first it felt like &#8220;flushing&#8221; not &#8220;flashing&#8221; as the firmwares I tried off &#8220;Station-Drivers&#8221; broke the card. After a few hours of flashing I finally got the driver working with Firmware revision 1028 &#8220;Firmware pour U3S6 Rev 0 (MV-9123) Version:1.0.0.1028) Mod by Daoud333&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>So when I start it up I see the following<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Bios-1028.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"650\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/02\/23\/asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard\/bios-1028\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Bios-1028.png\" data-orig-size=\"500,150\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Bios 1028\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Bios-1028-300x90.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Bios-1028.png\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Bios-1028.png\" alt=\"ASUS U3S6 firmware 1028 Screenshot on startup\" title=\"Bios 1028\" width=\"500\" height=\"150\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-650\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Bios-1028.png 500w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Bios-1028-300x90.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>PCIe x1 5.0Gbps. x1 why x1, its a x4 card running in a x8 slot?<\/p>\n<p>After some digging I found this spec document on the controller, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.marvell.com\/storage\/system-solutions\/assets\/Marvell-88SE91XX-Host-Controllers.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Product Brief\">Marvell 88SE91xx Product Brief<\/a>. If you read this the spec fo the controller shows this..<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Controller.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"651\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/2012\/02\/23\/asus-u3s6-review-benchmark-sata-3-add-on-card-sata-ii-onboard\/marvell-controller\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Controller.png\" data-orig-size=\"410,211\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Marvell Controller\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Controller-300x154.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Controller.png\" src=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Controller.png\" alt=\"Marvell 88SE 9123 x1 PCIe\" title=\"Marvell Controller\" width=\"410\" height=\"211\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-651\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Controller.png 410w, https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Marvell-Controller-300x154.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The controller only supports a single x1 connection.<\/p>\n<p>I feel a bit duped. I specifically got this card for its x4 connection, but given the fact the marvel controller only accepts a x1 connection the SATA will only ever be able to run at this speed. I have read other people suggest that the x4 is used to split the channel in half and use some of the x 4 bandwidth for the USB 3.0 controller, which would make sense but it seems like false advertising to me.<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>Overall I think if you are out of SATA ports on your PC and need a few more,  then the card is OK as long as you are NOT using it for gaming.<br \/>\nThe sequential read is slightly better but this is only a benchmark figure as it did not translate in the real world.<br \/>\nThe only other nicety is the USB 3.0 which will come in handy in the future.<\/p>\n<p>I think in the next few months The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.marvell.com\/storage\/system-solutions\/assets\/Marvell-88SE92xx-Product-Brief.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Marvel 92xx controllers <\/a><br \/>\nwill start to appear and these may allow my SSD to run to its full potential as this supports PCIe x2.<\/p>\n<p>Cheers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Part 2 of my SSD SATA III performance tests. If you are here and haven&#8217;t seen part 1 &#8220;Sata 3 SSD running on onboard SATA [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hardware-review"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ntsblog.homedev.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}