Mobo slot 1 = bad performance suddenly

Daave · Feb 20, 2007, 12:31 PM

When I plug my SATA HD into slot 1 of my PC's mobo (as opposed to slot 2), the following occur:
-boot time doubled
-choppy, unresponsive behavior during high-cpu usage
-flaky audio in/out
-lag during gaming significantly increased
-HD benchmarks awful (details and more below); other benchmarks fine
Also possibly related: The secondary hard drive stopped functioning properly last weekend (would hear series of faint noises like beep-click); eventually I would hear the platters stop spinning during operation. This hard drive is no longer plugged in. Selected data was lost; scandisk could not help.
Passmark performance test showed major differences in the hard drive's performance:
Scores for SATA slot 1 / slot 2:
--------------------------------
Disk - Sequential Read 3.3 / 46.4 (!)
Disk - Sequential Write 3.4 / 47.3 (!)
Disk - Random Seek + RW 1.8 / 2.9
Other diagnostics
-----------------
Memtest86 - 4 passes with no errors
Scandisk - no errors
Voltage readings - within range
Banging head on case - no results available
Pentium 4 CPU (2.4C with hyperthreading) Socket-478
Abit IS7-E with fail-safe settings
1 Gig Ram (4 X 256)
Antect 430 W Power
Windows XP Pro
Dual LCD Monitors
9700 Pro video
Any help would be appreciated!

~~DudeBoyz~~ · Feb 20, 2007, 12:45 PM

Could be a faulty port, could be a BIOS setting, could be jumper settings on the drive, or maybe a few other things.

With my system, I found that configuring an IDE drive as the boot drive worked best, cause I think my BIOS has some issues with SATA as a boot device and an update is not forthcoming.

Also, my motherboard only supports SATA 150. The drive I did buy is a SATA 300. I had to go onto the Western Digital web site to find this solution, but in order to get it working without stalling and stuttering, I had to put a jumper in place to limit the drive to the 150 speed. After that, all was well.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Feb 25, 2007, 06:20 PM

Sounds like you need to enable DMA after changing that port.. although you're using SATA so DMA doesn't apply!

I can't figure this one out... I can only think of it being a faulty port or a very unfortunate accident when you plugged the drive into that port (bending or damaging something).... other than that, I'm 100% baffled

Feb 20, 2007, 12:31 PM	#1
Daave DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	Mobo slot 1 = bad performance suddenly When I plug my SATA HD into slot 1 of my PC's mobo (as opposed to slot 2), the following occur: -boot time doubled -choppy, unresponsive behavior during high-cpu usage -flaky audio in/out -lag during gaming significantly increased -HD benchmarks awful (details and more below); other benchmarks fine Also possibly related: The secondary hard drive stopped functioning properly last weekend (would hear series of faint noises like beep-click); eventually I would hear the platters stop spinning during operation. This hard drive is no longer plugged in. Selected data was lost; scandisk could not help. Passmark performance test showed major differences in the hard drive's performance: Scores for SATA slot 1 / slot 2: -------------------------------- Disk - Sequential Read 3.3 / 46.4 (!) Disk - Sequential Write 3.4 / 47.3 (!) Disk - Random Seek + RW 1.8 / 2.9 Other diagnostics ----------------- Memtest86 - 4 passes with no errors Scandisk - no errors Voltage readings - within range Banging head on case - no results available Pentium 4 CPU (2.4C with hyperthreading) Socket-478 Abit IS7-E with fail-safe settings 1 Gig Ram (4 X 256) Antect 430 W Power Windows XP Pro Dual LCD Monitors 9700 Pro video Any help would be appreciated! __________________ Car Sound Subscriber management

Feb 20, 2007, 12:45 PM	#2
~~DudeBoyz~~ banned Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: USA Posts: 1,677 Rep Power: 0	Could be a faulty port, could be a BIOS setting, could be jumper settings on the drive, or maybe a few other things. With my system, I found that configuring an IDE drive as the boot drive worked best, cause I think my BIOS has some issues with SATA as a boot device and an update is not forthcoming. Also, my motherboard only supports SATA 150. The drive I did buy is a SATA 300. I had to go onto the Western Digital web site to find this solution, but in order to get it working without stalling and stuttering, I had to put a jumper in place to limit the drive to the 150 speed. After that, all was well.

Feb 25, 2007, 06:20 PM	#3
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	Sounds like you need to enable DMA after changing that port.. although you're using SATA so DMA doesn't apply! I can't figure this one out... I can only think of it being a faulty port or a very unfortunate accident when you plugged the drive into that port (bending or damaging something).... other than that, I'm 100% baffled