Do SATA Port numbers matter?

[Raven Ocara]

I've got yet another dumb question to ask you computer building folks. This is my first rig that I am building and I don't know what I am doing at times.
So my question is this: What is the difference between a SATA ports 1, 2, and 3? And is it possible to hook a SATA 3 hard drive into a SATA 2 port on the motherboard? Or is that just asking for trouble?

 

[ThatVietGuy]

The numbers will be significant depending on the board. Manufacturers recommend putting SATA III drives in certain ports and some recommending putting boot drives in certain ports. This is all dependent on your motherboard's manufacturer. Just make sure to read the instructions carefully.

And putting SATA III drives on a SATA II port is fine, you'll just be wasting the potential of your SATA III device.

 

[mbarnes86]

Hi


SATA I speed 150
sata II speed 300
sata III speed 600 (Mb/s)

all theoretical maximum speed of drive interface the actual data transfer speed will be slower as data can not be read off hard disk fast enough

SATA III hard disks will not notice the speed difference between SATA II & III controllers,
BUT SATA III SSD's will run slightly faster in a SATA III port than a SATA II port

Theoretically you should be able to connect a SATA II port to SATA III disk or vica versa

If you have several hard disks normally the boot hard disk is connected to lowest numbered sata port

regards
Mike Barnes

 

[Raven Ocara]

Okay guys cool. I think I understand.. So my motherboard has 2 of each SATA ports. Like SATA 1, 2, 3...totaling up to six SATA ports on my motherboard. So I could take my SATA 3 CD drive and connect it to a SATA 2...or even a SATA 1? My hard drive is also a SATA 3. So I could also connect that to a SATA 2 if needed? Or even a SATA 1 (it doesn't sound recommended that I do that though...)?

 

[Yingda Wang]

No, unless they are rooted through different controllers.
Use the sata 1, its usually connected with the main chipset.

 

[Raven Ocara]

No, unless they are rooted through different controllers.
Use the sata 1, its usually connected with the main chipset.

Okay. So just to triple check, I can and should connect my SATA 3 hard drive to the SATA 1 slot on my motherboard because it is connected to the main chipset (usually)?

 

[Yingda Wang]

yes