F5F Stay Refreshed Hardware Desktop Connection arrangement of SATA controller

Connection arrangement of SATA controller

Connection arrangement of SATA controller

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diamondpro420
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08-15-2019, 04:41 AM
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Hello, interested in the SATA controller used in your system? I was just exploring my setup and was surprised to find that the Gigabyte Aorus X570 Pro WiFi employs one SATA controller to handle four devices and another to manage two. This got me wondering why they don't utilize both chipset controllers for two PCIe x4 ports, which would provide eight connections but instead use just one controller with the other disabled, plus a PCIe x4 lane that only offers six ports.

I reviewed the image I saw (possibly from Anand Tech) and noticed the chipset contains two SATA controllers each supporting two devices. It seems unclear if Gigabyte uses one of those PCIe x4 lanes to expand to four ports, or if they opted for a different configuration. Many manufacturers seem to follow similar setups with six SATA ports using the same controller connections.

I’m curious why we don’t get eight ports instead. The unused controller from the chipset feels like an unnecessary waste. After observing closely, I think I’ve figured out how the connections are arranged for this model.

For the processor side, there’s a USB 3.10 port split into four USB 3.2 ports (Gen 2 and Gen 1), a direct link to the audio chip with two SATA controllers, a Platform Security Processor (PSP) with PCIe x16 or two PCIe x8 slots for graphics cards, a PCIe x4 slot for M.2, an Intel I211 Ethernet controller, a PCIe x1 for the PSP, and a PCIe x1 for Intel Wifi AX 200. There’s also a second USB 3.0 port with four ports and one SATA controller for four devices (ports 0, 1, 2, 3).

Anyone have more details? Are my ideas correct?
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Reply
D
diamondpro420
08-15-2019, 04:41 AM #1

Hello, interested in the SATA controller used in your system? I was just exploring my setup and was surprised to find that the Gigabyte Aorus X570 Pro WiFi employs one SATA controller to handle four devices and another to manage two. This got me wondering why they don't utilize both chipset controllers for two PCIe x4 ports, which would provide eight connections but instead use just one controller with the other disabled, plus a PCIe x4 lane that only offers six ports.

I reviewed the image I saw (possibly from Anand Tech) and noticed the chipset contains two SATA controllers each supporting two devices. It seems unclear if Gigabyte uses one of those PCIe x4 lanes to expand to four ports, or if they opted for a different configuration. Many manufacturers seem to follow similar setups with six SATA ports using the same controller connections.

I’m curious why we don’t get eight ports instead. The unused controller from the chipset feels like an unnecessary waste. After observing closely, I think I’ve figured out how the connections are arranged for this model.

For the processor side, there’s a USB 3.10 port split into four USB 3.2 ports (Gen 2 and Gen 1), a direct link to the audio chip with two SATA controllers, a Platform Security Processor (PSP) with PCIe x16 or two PCIe x8 slots for graphics cards, a PCIe x4 slot for M.2, an Intel I211 Ethernet controller, a PCIe x1 for the PSP, and a PCIe x1 for Intel Wifi AX 200. There’s also a second USB 3.0 port with four ports and one SATA controller for four devices (ports 0, 1, 2, 3).

Anyone have more details? Are my ideas correct?

Reply
Reply