[Rabnud]

I'm homing in on the Intel DG45ID mobo, which is SATA-only - no IDE socket. That's fine except, maybe, for the DVD optical drive; it needs to be SATA. However, the one I want (Plextor PX-850-SA) has the following caveat (page 40 of the manual):

NOTE: Your computer’s SATA connection must support the PATA
command set. Some computer motherboards have SATA RAID
(Redundant Array of Independent Discs) chipsets that do not support
the command set used by optical disc drives, or that do not have
BIOS settings to enable IDE/PATA functions. If you are unsure,
consult your motherboard manual or vendor web site for
compatibility, BIOS versions, and BIOS settings.

So far, searching thru various Intel online tech docs, I haven't been able to confirm that the DG45ID, with its P45 chipset, provides this level of support. It appears that the BIOS can be set that way, but I can't be sure. The P45 supports RAID 1 for the hard drives, which I intend to use; but it's not clear if doing so would negate any ability to work with the DVD drive.

Can anyone confirm this capability, or (hopefully not) refute it?

Thanks, and merry Christmes, Happy Chanukah, or whatever pleases you at this time of the year.

[leroys1000]

If the sata controller can be set to IDE,then it should be OK.
Some boards don't have that setting.
Check the boards specs.
It may have more than 1 onboard controller for
different raid and non raid.

[Rabnud]

Thanks leroys1000:

Having slugged through the DG45ID users guide and tech spec I believe I found enough evidence (albeit circumstantial) to confirm that the Plextor SATA DVD drive I want will work OK with this mobo, most notably:

a) the functional diagram clearly labels a path into the I/O Controller hub as "Serial ATA IDE Interface", on a mobo with no IDE or PATA connector.

b) spec para 1.6.4.1 includes the following text: "For compatibility, the underlying Serial ATA functionality is transparent to the operating system. The Serial ATA controller can operate in both legacy and native modes. In legacy mode, standard IDE I/O and IRQ resources are assigned (IRQ 14 and 15). In Native mode, standard PCI Conventional bus resource steering is used. Native mode is the preferred mode for configurations using the Windows* XP and Windows Vista operating systems." These mode settings are supported by the BIOS.

That seems to ice it, unless I'm seeing it all as wishful thinking.