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External & Internal SATA Connections
A review of the FirmTek SeriTek/1VE2+2 Four Port External & Internal SATA PCI-X Host Adapter
By Arthur Whalem
FirmTek is shipping the SeriTek/1VE2+2 Four-Port external serial ATA PCI-X host adapter for PowerMac computers with an available PCI slot. The SeriTek/1VE2+2 is PCI-X 1.0a, 64-bit compliant when operating at 133/100/ 66MHz bus speeds. The card is also backward compatible with standard 32/64-bit PCI slots at 33MHz and 66MHz bus speeds. This allows the SeriTek/1VE2+2 host adapter to support a simple PowerMac 7300 up to a powerful PowerMac G5 Dual. The SeriTek/1VE2+2 package includes a PCI-X host adapter, Two 60cm SATA internal data cables and a manual on CD. With this card installed your PowerMac has two internal and two external SATA ports ready for connections.
System Requirements
OS 9, OS X10.1.5 or later (works best with 10.2 or later).
Compatible with ALL PowerMac G3, G4 & G5 computers.
32/64 bit, 33/66MHz PCI
133/100/66MHz PCI-X
Compliant 32-bit PCI bus version 2.2
Compliant with PCI-X bus version 1.0a
Supports up to two internal and two external SATA 3.5" drives.
Which PCI Slot Works Best?
The SeriTek/1VE2+2 Host Adapter can be placed in any available PCI or PCI-X slot within a PowerMac. There are two internal and two external ports on the card that may be used for connecting up to four SATA drives. If you are installing the SeriTek/1VE2+2 host adapter in a PowerMac G5 with PCI-X, installing the card in slot #4 (the top slot) which supports 64-bit, 133 MHz will provide the best performance. The image below shows the card being installed in slot #4.
Those installing the SeriTek/1VE2+2 card in a PowerMac G5 may want to read Apple Tech Q&A 1307 concerning the Power Mac G5 PCI and PCI-X slots. It states," Slots 2 & 3 share a common bus. Slot 4 is on a separate bus. All cards on a common bus can only run as fast as the slowest card". With this information in mind, you should know that the FirmTek 1VE2+2, 1VE4 and the 1V4 host adapter cards are all 64-bit. If you install one of these cards in slot #4 (133 MHz) it may run a little faster than being installed in slot #3 or #2. However, installing any two of these 64-bit cards in slots #2 & #3 (100 MHz) provides no bus contention. However, if you install a slower 32-bit or 16-bit card in the common bus slots with a SeriTek/1VE2+2 host adapter you will find the write performance of the SATA hard drive attached will be reduced. If you are interested in more information on bus contention you might read the AMUG review of the SeriTek/1VE4. The FirmTek 1VE2+2, 1VE4 and the 1V4 host adapter cards all have very similar performance as they use similar designs with different internal and external SATA connection options.
SeriTek/1VE2+2 Options
The SeriTek/1VE2+2 host adapter is the third 64-bit SATA card that FirmTek has produced. The 1VE4 provides four external ports, while the 1V4 provides four internal ports. The 1VE2+2 combines these options by providing two internal and two external ports. Having both internal and external ports available on the same card can be a nice way to get started with an SATA host adapter. Many users want to add SATA connections internally to a PowerMac, but adding more than two drives internally may increase the heat. In addition, PowerMac G4 and G5 computers have other internal drive connections if you want more drives internally. With the expansion of SATA use externally more and more SATA external enclosures are becoming available. My favorite is the FirmTek 1EN2. The 1EN2 provides two bays that can accommodate the two external ports on the 1VE2+2. In addition, the 1EN2 has removable trays that work well for hot swapping SATA drives in and out of the enclosure while the Macintosh is still running. The hot swap capability is provided by the FirmTek 1VE2+2 host adapter external ports. The 1EN2 dual bay enclosure makes this feature very easy to use. The 1EN2 is built very well and should last you for years to come.
Booting
One feature that all of the FirmTek SATA host adapter cards have in common including the SeriTek/1VE2+2 is the ability to boot from each port on the host adapter. I am not aware of any other SATA host adapter for the Macintosh that has this feature. If you are trying to make a bootable backup of your hard drive, the SeriTek/1VE2+2 allows you to test it while the backup drive is mounted on the host adapter card. Non-bootable cards do not have this capability. If your main internal drive fails you can boot from your backup on the SeriTek/1VE2+2, reformat the main internal and copy the data to it from your backup. If you are going to buy an SATA host adapter make sure it is bootable. Without the ability to boot the functionality of an SATA host adapter is limited.
Possible Uses for the SeriTek/1VE2+2
1. Upgrade PowerMac G4 to provide SATA capability.
2. Increase performance in a PowerMac G4 or G5.
3. Add more SATA hard drive connections to a PowerMac G5.
4. Add the flexibility to use fast external SATA enclosures.
5. Allows you to use Apple RAID for multi-drive systems.
PowerMac G5 2.0 GHz Dual Test #1In this test a Maxtor 300GB SATA with 137GB of data on it was tested while mounted in a PowerMac G5 2.0GHz dual internal "B" drive bay and again while mounted on an internal port of the SeriTek/1VE2+2 installed in slot 4. Testing with an empty drive will produce faster performance while testing with a hard drive 90% full will produce slower performance. This test uses a drive that is about 40% full with a bootable system to help simulate what a user might normally experience. The green is the PowerMac G5 built-in "B" drive bay and the blue is the SeriTek/1VE2+2. Drive Genius 1.1.1 was used to bench mark both drives in the two configurations.
Sustained Read
Green is the PowerMac G5 internal "B" bay. Blue is the 1VE2+2 internal connection.
The graph above shows the SeriTek/1VE2+2 and the "B" internal bay perform very similar in the sustained read test.
Sustained Write
Green is the PowerMac G5 internal "B" bay. Blue is the 1VE2+2 internal connection.
Drive Genius shows the internal PowerMac G5 "B" bay out performing the SeriTek/1VE2+2 in the sustained write test.
Random Read
Green is the PowerMac G5 internal "B" bay. Blue is the 1VE2+2 internal connection.
Drive Genius shows the internal "B" bay performing well in the random read test.
Random Write
Green is the PowerMac G5 internal "B" bay. Blue is the 1VE2+2 internal connection.
In the random write test above the PowerMac G5 internal "B" SATA drive bay once again edges out the SeriTek/1VE2+2 interface when using the same exact Maxtor 300GB SATA drive.
PowerMac G5 2.0GHz Dual Test #2In order to see if the test results above translate into real world disk performance, several disk intensive tasks were performed including repairing permissions, copying 4.25GB and duplicating 4.25GB on a Maxtor 300GB single drive and with a Maxtor dual 300GB RAID attached to the PowerMac G5 using a FirmTek1EN2 enclosure. In the RAID tests below the drives are empty. In the single Maxtor 300GB test the same drive was used as in test #1 with 137GB of data on it. The results are below.
| Maxtor Single & RAID SATA Activity | 1VE2+2 Slot 4 | 1VE4 Slot 3 | Internal B |
| Copy 4.25GB to Maxtor RAID | 1:10 minutes | 1:10 minutes | --- |
| Repair Permissions (single Maxtor) | 46 seconds | 46 seconds | 46 seconds |
| Duplicate 4.25GB RAID 1EN2 | 1:15 minutes | 1:15 minutes | --- |
| Duplicate 4.25GB (single Maxtor) | 2:46 minutes | 2:46 minutes | 2:52 minutes |
Discussion
In the Copy 4.25GB to Maxtor RAID test above, a Maxtor 300GB dual drive RAID mounted in a 1EN2 enclosure was attach to the SeriTek/1VE2+2 installed in slot 4 and to the SeriTek/1VE4 installed in slot 3 of a PowerMac G5 2.0 GHz dual. In both cases the copy time was equal. This is surprising as I would have expected the card in slot 4 to perform faster. However, this test did not show a performance difference. In the repair permissions test all three interfaces performed equally well. The boot drive was simply moved to each of the three interfaces, rebooted and permissions were repaired. Based on the Drive Genius results I would have expected the PowerMac G5 internal "B" drive bay to be the fastest. Instead, all interfaces performed at the same speed. In the next test, the Maxtor 300GB dual drive RAID mounted in the 1EN2 was attached to the SeriTek/1VE2+2 installed in slot 4 and to the SeriTek/1VE4 installed in slot 3 and a 4.25GB folder was duplicated. Both interfaces performed equally. In the last test, the same duplicate test was performed but this time with a single Maxtor 300GB with 137GB of data on it. The drive was moved to each interface and booted. While the 1VE2+2 and the 1VE4 performed equally, the internal "B" bay was a little slower. Based on these results, the Drive Genius bench marks recorded in test #1 above did not translate into real world performance. It appears that using a PowerMac G5 boot drive on the SeriTek/1VE2+2 may increase performance in some situations. Drive bench marks usually provide a good indication of what to expect from real world tests. However, sometimes they measure performance that does not correctly reflect real world usage. In this case, I believe the real world copy tests are more accurate and I would be inclined to use the internal SeriTek/1VE2+2 port with my boot drive for enhanced performance.
Intel 31244 PCI-X to Serial ATA Controller chipThe SeriTek/1VE2+2 host adapter card utilizes the Intel 31244 PCI-X to Serial ATA Controller chip. It provides a dedicated DMA channel for each SATA port, supports hot-plug SATA drives and is compliant with both SATA 1.0 and SATA II including Native Command Queuing (NCQ). The Intel 31244 chip supports PCI-X 1.0a specification bus operation and 64-bit at 33/100/66MHz. It provides for burst data rates of up to 1064 Mbps. In addition, the Intel 31244 PCI Expansion ROM enables boot-up capability in the SeriTek/1VE2+2 host adapter which some other host adapters lack. The one issue with the Intel 31244 chip is that it does not support Spread Spectrum Clocking (SSC). Only Hitachi drives have SSC set on as the default. Unfortunately, legacy Hitachi SATA I drives do not have a mechanism to turn off SSC and as such they are incompatible with the Intel 31244 and the SeriTek/1VE2+2 host adapter. FirmTek discloses this compatibility issue on their website and they also state that, "At this time, the following Hitachi Deskstar hard drives have the SSC feature disabled, and are compatible with the SeriTek/1VE4 host adapter:"
Model 7K500 (500GB) - Part Number HDS725050KLA360
Model 7K400 (400GB) - Part Numbers 0A30984 and 0A30985
Model 7K250 (250GB) - Part Number 0A30340
Model T7K250 (250GB) - Part Number HDT722525DLA380
Model 7K250 (160GB) - Part Number 0A30339
Model T7K250 (160GB) - Part Number HDT722516DLA380
Model 7K250 (120GB) - Part Number 0A30338
Model 7K250 (80GB) - Part Number 0A30337
Model 7K80 (80GB) - Part Number HDS728080PLA380
Model 7K80 (40GB) - Part Number HDS728040PLA320
Other Serial ATA hard drives from manufacturers such as Maxtor, Seagate, and
Western Digital do not have this feature enabled by default and are
therefore compatible.
Thoughts
The SeriTek/1VE2+2 provides a nice way to add both internal and external SATA ports to your PowerMac. I would recommend the SeriTek/1VE2+2 to any PowerMac user that wants to get started using SATA drives in a PowerMac G4 or to a PowerMac G5 user that would like to have the option for more internal and external SATA options. The ability to hot swap hard drives using the two external ports and the ability to boot off of any port on the SeriTek/1VE2+2 makes it a great SATA upgrade tool for any PowerMac.
Pros
Mounts up to two internal and two external SATA drives.
Supports Mac OS 9, and OS X version 10.1.5 or later.
Performs faster than FireWire 800 in most situations.
Allows data transfer to all four drives simultaneously.
Multitasks disk transfers which increases CPU efficiency.
No Bus contention issues on a PowerMac G5 when used with 64-bit cards.
Backward compatible with standard 32/64-bit PCI.
48-bit LBA support for drive sizes larger than 137GB.
Works on all PowerMacs with a PCI slot.
Provides fast transfer rates.
Can be used with boot drives.
Supports Power Mac G5 PCI-X bus.
User-upgradeable firmware.
No additional Mac drivers needed.
Supports deep sleep.
Well designed and easy to install.
Cons
No support for legacy Hitachi SATA I drives.
FirmTek SeriTek/1VE2+2 gets 5 AMUGs out of 5!
The SeriTek/1VE2+2 is a great way to start adding SATA hard drives to any PowerMac. With the SeriTek/1VE2+2 you can support internal or external SATA connections. With fast performance and lots of connection options the SeriTek/1VE2+2 is a winner. If you would like to read about 1VE2+2 performance using a four drive RAID you may want the read the 1VE2+2 article at barefeats.com.
FirmTek Special Offer - (Requires AMUG Membership)
AMUG Members can save $10 on the SeriTek/1VE2+2 ($139.95 retail), $25 on the SeriTek/1VEN2+2 External Bundle ($305.95 retail) by ordering it at http://www.store.yahoo.com/firmtek/ and entering the code found in the AMUG members only area in the comments section of the FirmTek order page. This promotional code will expire October 15, 2005. FirmTek will adjust the price of the SeriTek/1VE2+2 from $139.95 to $129.95, the SeriTek/1VEN2+2 External Bundle from $305.95 to $280.95 when the order is processed. The SeriTek/1VEN2+2 External Bundle includes one dual enclosure and the SeriTek/1VE2+2. AMUG membership is required for these discounts to apply.
Contact Information:
FirmTek, LLC
sales@firmtek.com
http://www.firmtek.com
Copyright 2005
Arizona Macintosh Users Group, Inc. (AMUG). Visit AMUG at www.amug.org for news, discounts and friends. JOIN AMUG!