Compatibility Asus P5PL2-E and WD black 1003 FZEX 1Tb

My computer (built in 2007) currently has an Asus motherboard P5PL2-E ( http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P5PL2E/). I would like to replace my current HDD by a WD Black 1003 FZEX 1Tb ( http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=760#Tab3) but I’m concerned that it may not be recorgnized by the bios/motherboard since it is older.

Asus’ helpdesk tells me that the WD HDD uses a newer SATA connection so I may encounter problems. Also the motherboard may not recognize HDD larger than 1 Tb.

With all that in mind I wonder if I should run the risk of ordering and installing a new HDD. I’d like to keep the motherboard & processor, since they work fine.

Does anyone have any info or advice to give me regarding this?

Hello wolf_star, welcome to the WD Community. I recommend you to go with the recommended hard drives by the manufacturer of your motherboard, but note that SATA 3 (6 Gb/s) WD internal drives are also compatible with SATA 2 (3 Gb/s) interface by changing the jumper setup. Check the link below for more information. 

http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/981/session/L3RpbWUvMTQyMDQ4OTc0NC9zaWQvYWo4NVJJYm0%3D#satadesktopjump

1 Like

Hi that board has a sata 3 Gb/s connection so that drive which is sata 6 Gb/s should have no problem working. It is only when you run into a sata 1.5 Gb/s controller you may have problems. 

1 Like

Thank you for the welcome:)

And thank you for the link, this could prove useful if I run into trouble with the connection.

My board has indeed a 3 Gb/s connection. I read online that 6 Gb/s were compatible with 3 Gb/s connections so hopefully that will be true in my case, without changing the jumpers.

I’m still weighing my options (just replacing the HDD, or the board & HDD), there’s no hurry so I may take a couple of weeks to decide. I’ll post back the results.

Thanks again for the help :slight_smile: