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    Bios Upgrade for SiI3132 Chip (eSATA Expresscard LogiLink PC0034A)??

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by K1lgoreTr0ut, Feb 2, 2011.

  1. K1lgoreTr0ut

    K1lgoreTr0ut Newbie

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    Hi,

    I am in the process of building a NAS from an old Thinkpad R52. For this purpose I bought a LogiLink PC0034A ExpressCard that bears two eSATA ports. Now I am wondering whether it would make sense to flash the BIOS of the controller chip which is a SiI3132.

    The reason is, I am finding a performance difference between Windows 2008 Server and Windows 7. Win 7 can read with max 100 MB/s from the two attached WD20EARS drives. Windows 2008 server which is the target system that I want to run on the R52 hardware only manages to do about 70MB/s.

    Has anybody here tried to upgrade the BIOS of a such a SiI3132 controller card with the BIOS from the SiliconImage page, and if so, how did it go?

    Thanks
     
    K1lgoreTr0ut, Feb 2, 2011
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  2. michael_recycled

    michael_recycled Notebook Deity

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    Hi,

    if one Windows installation gives faster results than another (on identical hardware of course), then this is likely a software problem, not a hardware issue (including Bios and firmware).
    Perhaps you have used different drivers or some different settings (I am not familiar with Server 2k8).

    If you really want to flash your card, then this is rather straightforward since the firmware update tool already is installed with SiI drivers. :cool:

    Additional remark: if a controller card is flashable depends on the manufacturer.

    Michael
     
    michael_recycled, Feb 2, 2011
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