If I were to buy a PCI slot to give me full SATA capabilities (I have an Ultra ATA/133), like
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1281807
what, would be the downside, if any? If I should get a new motherboard, what should l look for in a new motherboard?
I will not be doing the installation.
I plan on buying this internal hard drive.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8355629&productCategoryId=abcat0504002&type=product&tab=1&id=1177112314499#productdetail
This would depend on the speed and capabilities of your old motherboard.
If you have a newer dual-core type processor and plenty of memory in your current motherboard, you would probably be fine with the PCI controller card.
If your current motherboard is older, it might be wise to just go ahead and replace it with a newer one which has SATA capabilities. A newer motherboard will also have PCI-E which will handle the newer, faster video cards.
Check out some of the motherboard/CPU combo options at the Tigerdirect site. They are always having specials on them.
LSI Logic LSI00166 -LSI Logic SAS3041X-R 4 Port SAS/SATA RAID Control, Intel SASMF8I-Intel SASMF8I 8 Port Serial ATA/SAS RAID Controller - Kit, Startech.com PEXSATA24E-StarTech.com 2x eSATA 4x SATA PCIe Controller Card - Kit, SIIG INC - SC-SA4011-S2 Serial ATA 4 Channel PCI Storage Controller, Adaptec AAR-2420SA / 128+ SATA RAID Controller 128MB PCI-X w/ Bracket, Startech (PEXESAT32) 2 Port SATA 6 Gbps PCI Express eSATA Controller Card, Startech.com - Controller Card PCISATA4R1 4-Port PCI SATA RAID Retail , Bi-Directional Hard Disk DVE Converter 3.5" IDE to SATA Controller Adapter, HP P800 Smart Array Controller - SAS/SATA -NO Batteries - P/N : 012698-002, ROCKETRAID 2720SGL 8-Port PCI-Express 2.0 x8 SAS-SATA RAID Controller, 2 SATA Serial ATA+eSATA+ATA 133 PC PCI Controller Card, StarTech PEXSAT32 PCIe SATA Controller Card, Siig SATA II-150 PCI Controller, Computer PCI 3 Ports SATA IDE Controller Card Adapter, Startech.com - PEXSAT3 26 Gbps PCI Express SATA Controller Card, HP LSI Logic SAS3041E-HP 4-Port PCI-E SAS/SATA RAID Controller, STARTECH.COM PCIESATA2I eSATA + SATA PCI controller, LOT[5 QTY]Promise Fasttrak SATA II 150 SX8 drive RAID controller card 8-port PCI, SYBA SY-PCX40009 PCI-X SATA II 3.0Gb/s RAID Controller Card PCI, 32 Pins Port SAS Controller to 4x SATA Computer Hard Drive HDD Splitter Cable, SYBA Combo IDE (1)/SATA (2) PCI Controller Card VIA VT6421A Chipset NR, 4-channel SATA-300 Host RAID Controller, HighPoint RocketRAID 2300 4 Port SATA 3Gb/s PCIe x1 RAID Controller, Dell PowerEdge 1950 2950 2970 PERC 5/i SAS/SATA RAID Controller, PCIe One IDE 2 SATA Port PCI-E Express Controller Card, 4-port PCI SATA Controller Card, 4 ports channel, SIL3114 Chipset, Software RAID, 2260300-R Adaptec RAID 2045 - Storage controller (RAID) - 4 Channel - SATA-300, TEMPO SATA E2P (TSATAII) SERIAL ATA HOST CONTROLLER FOR PCI EXPRESS- WINDOWS/MAC, NEW Promise SATA300 TX4 Serial ATA Controller, HP 370855-001 Smart Array P600 3G SAS/SATA RAID Controller PCI-X Card, Syba SD-SATA2-2E2I-SYBA Controller Card SD-SATA2-2E2I PCI SATA3Gb/s Raid 2Ports , Dell SAS5i SAS/SATA Controller 1950/2950 (MY412) PCIe Controller Card Non-RAID, Sonnet Tech TSATAII-PRO-E34 -Sonnet Tempo TSATAII-PRO-E34 Serial ATA Control, Intel SASMF8I 8 Port Serial ATA/SAS RAID Controller SASMF8I, Promise VTSATAMUX4P Controller Card Vtrak Sata Aamux Adapter 4Pk for SATA, Promise FASTTRAK TX4310 Controller Card Raid PCI SATA 3Gbs 32Bit 66MHz Retail, IBM 46M0829 Serveraid M5015 Sas-Sata Controller, SYBA SD-SATA2-2E2I Card SATA II 2x External, 2x Internal Controller Software, SYBA SY-PEX40039 Cable SATA III 2 Internal 6 Gbps Ports PCI-e Controller Card, SYBA SD-PEX40044 Controller Card RAID Caddy for Two 2.5 in. SATA 6Gbps Hard Disk, SYBA SY-PEX40048 Controller Card 4x Internal SATA- 2x External eSATA PCI Express, SYBA SY-PCI40017 SATA II 4x Internal Ports Software RAID Host Controller Card, SYBA SY-PCI40010 4 Port SATA II PCI Controller Card with Software RAID, SYBA SY-PEX40013 4 Port SATA II PCI-Express RAID Controller Card JMB Chipset, SYBA SY-PEX40045 Controller Card 2 Port SATA II Hardware Internal Port, SYBA SY-PEX40040 Controller Card 2 Port SATA III 6Gb-s PCI Express RAID Card, Dell Poweredge R200 SAS6/IR SATA Raid Controller Mfr P/N 0JW063, Dell SATA 6 Channel PCI-X Raid Controller H2052 64mb AAR-2610SA , Dell Serial ATA SATA 6 Channel RAID Controller D9872 , IBM 44W2171 DS3400 FC to SAS SATA RAID Controller 512MB 39R6571 NEW,
