This table contains a list of systems, motherboards and SATA controllers that have been tested and found to work with ESX 3.5 or ESXi 3.5 Installable. Please check out the source column for a system you are considering using as some systems will include special steps to enable ESX / ESXi to run on that system or have other issues to overcome.
None of these systems are supported by VMWare for running ESX. In some cases for ESXi, the system may be booting from a USB flash drive and be using no local storage.
NOTE: this list includes a number of SATA controllers that provide RAID functionality via a software component in the drivers supplied with the controller. Examples would be the Intel ICH series, Adaptec HostRAID cards, and the Nvidia MCP series. ESX 3.5 and ESXi 3.5 do not support that software RAID functionality thus you will only be able to access the individual drives connected to controllers such as these.
NOTE: this list is no longer maintained. For additional systems tested with ESXi 3.5 please see the forum.
Model Servers and PCs | SATA / SCSI Controller | ESX 3.5 | ESXi Installable |
Dell Dimension C521 | MCP51 SATA Controller | Working | |
Dell Dimension E510 | Working | ||
Dell Dimension E521 | Working | ||
Dell Inspiron 530 | Intel ICH9R | Working | |
Dell Inspiron 531 | MCP61 SATA Controller | Working | |
Dell Latitude D630 | Intel ICH8M | Working | |
Dell Optiplex GX270 | Working | ||
Dell Optiplex GX280 | Intel ICH6 | Working | |
Dell Optiplex GX520 | Working | ||
Dell Optiplex GX620 | Working | Working | |
Dell Optiplex SX280 | Working | ||
Dell Optiplex 620 | Working | ||
Dell Optiplex 740 | Working – see notes | ||
Dell Optiplex 745 | Working | ||
Dell Optiplex 755 | Intel ICH9 | Working | Working |
Dell Optiplex 760 | Working | ||
Dell Optiplex 960 | Intel ICH10R | Working – see notes | |
Dell PowerEdge R200 | Working | ||
Dell PowerEdge SC440 | LSI1068 | Working | |
Dell PowerEdge SC1420 | Working | ||
Dell PowerEdge SC1425 | Intel ICH5 / ICH5R | Working | |
Dell PowerEdge SC1430 | Working | Working | |
Dell PowerEdge T100 | Working | ||
Dell PowerEdge T105 | Working | ||
Dell PowerEdge T300 | Intel ICH9R | Working | |
Dell PowerEdge T605 | Working | ||
Dell PowerEdge 400C | Intel ICH5 | Working | |
Dell PowerEdge 750 | Working – see notes | ||
Dell PowerEdge 830 | Working | Working | |
Dell PowerEdge 840 | Using Adaptec 3405 | Working | |
Dell PowerEdge 850 | Working | ||
Dell PowerEdge 860 | SAS Perc 5/iR | Working | |
Dell PowerEdge 1400SC | AMI RAID controller | Working | |
Dell PowerEdge 1500 | Working | ||
Dell PowerEdge 1600SC | Working | ||
Dell PowerEdge 1750 | PERC 4E/SI/DI | Working | |
Dell PowerEdge 1800 | Working | ||
Dell PowerEdge 1850 | Working | ||
Dell PowerEdge 1900 | Working | ||
Dell PowerEdge 1950 | Perc SAS5i | Working | |
Dell PowerEdge 2500 | Perc 3/Di | Working | |
Dell PowerEdge 2600 | Perc 4i | Working | |
Dell PowerEdge 2650 | Working | ||
Dell PowerEdge 2800 | Working – see notes | ||
Dell PowerEdge 2850 | Working | ||
Dell PowerEdge 4400 | Perc 3/Di | Working | Working |
Dell Precision 370 | Working | ||
Dell Precision 380 | Intel ICH7 | Working | |
Dell Precision 390 | Intel 82801GR/GH (ICH7 Family) | Working | Working |
Dell Precision 490 | Working | Working | |
Dell Precision 670 | Intel ICH5 | Working | Working |
Dell Precision 690 | LSI Logic SAS1068-IR | Working – see notes | |
Dell Precision T3400 | Intel ICH9 | Working | |
Dell Precision T5400 | Working | ||
Dell R200 | Working | ||
Dell R300 | Working | ||
Dell SC 420 | Intel ICH6/ICH6R | Working – see notes | |
Dell SC 430 | No local SATA support | Working | |
Dell SC 440 | Working | ||
Dell SC1430 | Working | Working | |
Dell XPS 710 | Working | ||
Dell XPS 720H2C | Working | ||
Dell XPS – M1330 | Working | ||
Dell XPS – M1710 | Intel 82801/GHM (ICH7-M Family) | Working | |
Dell Vostro 200 | Intel ICH9 | Working | |
Dell 2500 | Perc3/DC | Working | |
Fujitsu-Siemens Primergy Econel 100 S2 | Intel ICH9R | Working – see notes | |
Fujitsu-Siemens TX150 S2 | Working | ||
Fujitsu-Siemens TX150 S4 | Working | ||
HP A6330f | MCP 61 SATA Controller | Working | |
HP Blade BL35p | AMD-8111 IDE | Working – see notes | |
HP Compaq d530 – Small form factor (SFF) DG755A | Intel 82801EB (ICH5) | Working | |
HP Compaq dx2400 | Intel ICH9 | Working – see notes | |
HP Compaq Evo D510 CMT | No local SATA support | Working | |
HP D330 | Intel 82801EB (ICH5 – PCI device id – 24d1) | Working | |
HP D530 USDT | Intel ICH5 | Working | |
DP DC 5800 | Intel ICH9 | Working | |
HP DC 7100 / 7600 / 7700 / 7800 | Working | Working – see notes | |
HP DC 7700 | Intel ICH8 | Working | |
HP DC 7800 | See ESXi thread | Working | Working |
HP DL140 G1 | Added Adaptec SA2420 | Working | |
HP DL140 G2 | Added LSI1078 MegaRAID SAS 8708ELP | Working | |
HP DL145 | Working | ||
HP DL160 G5 | Working – see notes | ||
HP DL180 G5 | Added HP Smart Array P800 or E200 | Working – see notes | |
HP DL320 G3 | Working | ||
HP DL320 G5 | Intel ICH9 | Working | |
HP DS320 G5p | Working – see notes | ||
HP DL360 G2 | Working – see notes | ||
HP DL360 G3 | HP SmartArray 5i | Working | |
HP DL360 G4 | Working | ||
HP DL380 G2 | HP SmartArray 5i | Working | |
HP DL380 G5 | Working (build 76563) | ||
HP LH 3000 | HP NetRAID Express 1si | Working | |
HP ML110 G4 | Working | ||
HP ML 110 G5 | Intel ICH9 | Working | Working |
HP ML115 G1 | MCP55 SATA Controller | Working | |
HP HL115 G5 | Working | ||
HP ML115 | MCP55 SATA Controller | Working | Working |
HP ML150 G5 | MCP55 SATA Controller | Working | Working |
HP ML 310 | LSI SAS1064E | Working – see notes | |
HP ML 350 G5 | Smart Array E200i | Working | Working |
HP ML370 | Working | ||
HP x4000 | Added Adaptec 29160N | Working | |
HP xw4400 | Intel ICH7R | Working | |
HP xw4600 | Intel ICH9R | Working – see notes | |
HP xw8200 | Intel 82801EB (ICH5) | Working | |
HP xw8600 | Intel 631xESB/632xESB | Working | |
IBM ThinkCentre P4 | IDE controller | Working – see notes | |
IBM Thinkpad x60T | Working | ||
IBM xSeries e325 | Working | ||
IBM xSeries x220 | Working | ||
IBM xSeries x225 | Working | ||
IBM xSeries x226 | Added SCSI controller | Working – see notes | |
IBM xSeries x326m | Working | ||
IBM xSeries x330 | Working | ||
IBM xSeries x335 | 53c1030 PCI-X Fusion-MPT Dual Ultra320 SCSI | Working | |
IBM xSeries x346 | Working | ||
IBM eSeries x440 | Adpatec AIC-7899, IBM ServerRAID Bios 6.10.24 | Working | |
IBM xSeries x3250 | LSI 1064E SAS/SATA RAID Controller | Working | |
IBM xSeries x3400 | Working – see notes | ||
IBM xSeries x3550 | Working | ||
IBM xSeries x3650 | Working | ||
Lenovo 8810BP1 | No local SATA support | Working | |
Lenovo ThinkCentre M55 8810 | Intel ICH8 | Working – see notes | |
Lenovo T60 2007-F4G | Working – PSOD on shutdown | ||
Sun x2200 | MCP55 SATA Controller | Working | |
Sun x4100 M2 | Working | ||
SuperMicro H8DA3-2 | LSI 1068E | Working – see notes | |
SuperMicro 5013C-i | Intel ICH5R | Working | |
SuperMicro 5015M-MT+B (PDSMi+) | Working | ||
SuperMicro 6015C-NTRB | Working | ||
SuperMicro 6015X-TB | Working | ||
SuperMicro 6025B-3V | Working – see notes | ||
SuperMicro 7045A-WTB (X7DWA-N) | Added Adaptec 5805 | Working | |
Tyan Thunder K8WE (S2895) | Working | ||
Motherboards | |||
ABIT AT8 32X | Adding Adaptec 29160 | Working – see notes | |
ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 | MCP51 Serial ATA Controller | Working | |
ASRock ALIVENF6G-GLAN | MCP61 SATA Controller | Working – see notes | |
ASRock ALIVENF6G-VSTA | Added Promise SATA300 TX4 Controller | Working | |
ASRock AM2NF3-VSTA | Working | ||
ASrock A780FULLDISPLAYPORT 780G | Working | ||
ASUS A8N | CK804 Serial ATA Controller | Working | |
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium 939 | Working | ||
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium NForce4+MCP | SATA NVRAID/Silicon Image SIL3114R RAID | Working | |
ASUS Crosshair | MCP55 Serial ATA Controller | Working – see notes | |
ASUS DSAN-DX | Added ASUS PIKE 1064E | Working | |
ASUS DSBF-D12 | Working | ||
ASUS DSBV-DX/SAS | LSI 1068 | Working | |
ASUS DSEB-DG | Working | ||
ASUS DSGC-DW (non-SAS) | Intel 631xESB/632xESB (or CPU-Z Intel 5000X / 6321ESB) | Working | |
ASUS DSVB-D | Working | ||
ASUS K8N-DL | Silicon Image 3114 | Working | |
ASUS K8N-DRE | Working | ||
ASUS KF4-D16 | Working -see notes | ||
ASUS KFN4-D16SAS | LSI 1068 | Working | |
ASUS M2-M3N8200 | Booting from USB flash drive | Working | |
ASUS M2A-VM | Working | ||
ASUS M2N-LR | Working – see notes | Working – see notes | |
ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe | nVidia Corporation NV570 SATA Controller | Working | |
Asus M2NBP-VM CSM | Working | ||
ASUS M2NPV-VM | nVidia MCP 51 | Working | |
ASUS M3N78-VM/X2 4850e | Working | ||
ASUS NCCH-DL | Working | ||
ASUS PC-DL | FastTrack Promise 378 controller | Working | |
ASUS P3KE | Intel ICH9R | Working | |
ASUS P4G8X | Silicom Image 3112 | Working | |
ASUS P5B-VM | Intel ICH8 | Working – see notes | |
ASUS P5BP-E/4L | Working | ||
ASUS P5BP-E/4L | LSI Logic LSI1068 | Working | |
ASUS P5BV-E | Working | ||
ASUS P5BV-E/SAS | Intel ICH7R | Working | |
ASUS P5BV-SAS | Intel ICH7R / LSI1068 | Working | |
ASUS P5E-VM | Intel ICH9R | Working | |
ASUS P5E-VM DO | Working – see notes | ||
ASUS P5E-VM HDMI | Working | ||
ASUS P5E-WS | Intel ICH9 | Working – see notes | |
ASUS P5K | Intel ICH9 | Working | Working |
ASUS P5KPL-CM | Intel ICH7 | Working – see notes | |
ASUS P5K-E | Intel ICH9R | Working | |
ASUS P5K-PL/1600 | Intel ICH7 | Working | |
ASUS P5K-SE | Intel ICH9 | Working | |
ASUS P5K SE | Intel ICH8 | Working | |
ASUS P5K Premium | Intel ICH9 | Working | |
ASUS P5M-VM | For ESX added Promise SATA 300TX2 Plus | Working | Working -see notes |
ASUS P5M2/M | ICH7R | Working | Working |
ASUS P5M2/SAS | LSI Logic LSI1068 / 82801GB/GR/GH (ICH7 Family) | Working | |
ASUS P5N-SLI | Working | ||
ASUS P5N32-E SLI | MCP55 SATA Controller | Working – see notes | |
ASUS P5Q | Working – see notes | ||
ASUS P5Q Pro | ESX – Added HP E200 RAID card ESXi – changed oem.tgz to support Intel ICH10 | Working | Working – see notes |
ASUS P5Q SE/R | Intel ICH10 | Working – see notes | |
ASUS P5QL Pro | Working | ||
ASUS P5Q-EM | Working -see notes | ||
ASUS P5QL-EM | Working – see notes | ||
ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe | Working – see notes | ||
ASUS P5V-VM | Intel ICH9 | Working | |
ASUS P5WDG2-WS Pro | Intel ICH7R | Working | |
ASUS Pundit P3-P5G33 | Intel ICH9 | Working | Working |
ASUS V3-P5G33 | Intel ICH9 | Working | |
Biostar TFORCE 945P | Intel ICH7 | Working | |
ECS GeForce6100pm-m2 v2.0 | MCP61P | Working – see notes | |
EVGA 122-CK-NF66-T1 | Working | ||
EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 | Intel ICH10 | Working – see notes | |
EVGA 780i | Working | ||
EVGA 780i FTW | Working – see notes | ||
EVGA with 650i Nvidia chipset | MCP51 SATA Controller | Working | |
FoxConn 6150K8MD-8EKRSH | Working – see notes | ||
Foxconn 945G7MD-8EKRS2H | Working -see notes | ||
FoxConn A7VMX-K | Added Promise SATA300 TX4 | Working | |
Intel 915GEV | Added Adaptec 29160 | Working – see notes | |
Intel D865GBF | Intel ICH5 | Working | |
Intel D945GCLF2 | Working – see notes | ||
Intel D945GTP | Intel ICH7 | Working – see notes | |
Intel DB33TL | Added Adaptec 31605 | Working | |
Intel DG33BU | Intel ICH9 | Working | |
Intel DG33BUC | Intel ICH9 | Working | |
Intel DG35EC | Intel ICH8 | Working | Working – see notes |
Intel DG45ID | Working – see notes | ||
Intel DP35DP | Intel ICH9 | Working – see notes | Working – see notes |
Intel DP35DPM | Working – see notes | ||
Intel DQ35JO | Working | ||
Intel DQ35JOE | Intel ICH9 | Working | |
Intel DQ45CB | Working – see notes | ||
Intel DQ965GF | Intel ICH7 | Working – see notes | |
Intel S3000AH | Working | ||
Intel S3000AHLX | Intel ICH7 | Working | |
Intel S3210SH | Intel ICH9R | Working – see notes | |
Intel S3210SLHC | Intel ICH9 | Working – see notes | |
Intel S5000PSL | SRCSAS18E | Working | |
Intel S5000PSLROMB | Working | ||
Intel S5000PSLSATA | Working | ||
Intel S5000VSA | Added local storage | Working | |
Intel SE7210TP1-E | Working | ||
Intel SE7520BD2 | Intel SRCS28x | Working | |
Intel 865GLC | Working | ||
GeForce6100SM-M2 | NVIDIA GeForce 6100S (MCP61) | Working | |
Gigabyte 945GCM-S2C | Intel ICH7 | Working – see notes | |
Gigabyte EG45M-DS2H | Intel ICH10 | Working – see notes | Working – see notes |
Gigabyte EP35-DS3L | Intel ICH9 | Working | |
Gigabyte GA-790GH-UD4H (with Phenom II 940 CPU | Added Adaptec 3805 / Dell Perc 5/i | Working – see notes | |
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L | Working | ||
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P | Intel ICH10 | Working – see notes | |
Gigabyte GA-PC35-DS3L/S3L | Working | ||
Gigabyte GA-G33-DS2R | Working | ||
Gigabyte GA-G33-DS3R | Added LSI logic 8344ELP | Working | |
Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R | Working | ||
Gigabyte GA-K8N51GMF-9 | NVIDIA GeForce 6100 | Working | |
Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2 | Boot from USB | Working (see notes) | |
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H | Working – see notes | Working | |
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-US2H | Working | ||
Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-DS4H | Added Adaptec 29160 | Working | |
Gigabyte GA-MCP61PM-S2 | Working | ||
Gigabyte GA-X38-DS4 | Intel ICH9 | Working | |
Gigabyte GA-X48-DQ6 | Working – see notes | ||
Gigabyte M61PME-S2 | Working | ||
Gigabyte P35-DS3P | Intel ICH9R | Working | |
JETWAY JM26GT3-SVP AM2 | Not Used | Working | |
MSI 865G Neo2 (MSI-6728 v2) | Intel ICH5 | Working | |
MSI 915P/G Neo2 | Intel ICH6R | Working | |
MSI G45M | Intel ICH10 | Working | |
MSI K8 Neo (MS-7030) | Working | ||
MSI K9N Ultra | nVidia MCP55 | Working | |
MSI K9N4 Ultra (AM2) | Local SATA not tested | Working (build 76563) | |
MSIK9N6PGM2 | Working – see notes | ||
MSI K9VGM-V | Added Promise Ultra133 TX2 | Working – see notes | |
MSI KA780G | Working | ||
MSI KA780G-F | Added Adaptec 3405 | Working | |
MSI MS-7527 G31M4-F | Intel ICH7 | Working – see notes | |
MSI P35 Platinum | Promise SATA300 TX2 Plus | Working | |
MSI P35 Neo | Working | ||
MSI P6N SLI | Working | ||
MSI X58 Platinum I7 920 | Intel ICH10R | Working | |
Shuttle SK45 | Working | ||
Shuttle SX38P2 Pro | Intel ICH9 | Working | |
Shuttle X48 | Working | ||
SuperMicro | |||
SuperMicro B7DBE | Intel Corporation 31xESB/632xESB/3100 Chipset Storage Controller IDE (8086:2680) | Working | |
SuperMicro C2SBA++0 | Intel ICH9R | Working | |
Supermicro PDSMi+ | Working | ||
SuperMicro P4SCE | Intel ICH5R | Working | |
SuperMicro P8SCi | Intel ICH6R | Working | |
SuperMicro P8SCT | Working – see notes | ||
SuperMicro X5DL8-GG | Onboard Adaptec 97xx didn’t work | Working | |
SuperMicro X5DPA-TGM+ | Intel ICH5R | Working | |
SuperMicro X5DPE | Intel ICH3-S | Working – see notes | |
SuperMicro X6DA8-G | Intel ICH5R | Working | |
SuperMicro X7DB8 | Working | Working – see notes | |
SuperMicro X7DBE | Intel Corporation 631xESB/632xESB | Working | Working – see notes |
SuperMicro X7DBE+ | Intel SRCSATAWB | Working | |
SuperMicro X7DBN | Working | ||
SuperMicro X7DCL-I | Working | ||
SuperMicro X7DBR-3 | Working – see notes | ||
SuperMicro X7DVL-E | See Notes | ||
SuperMicro X7DWA-N | Added Adaptec 5805 | Working | |
SuperMicro X7DWN+ | Using HP e200i RAID card | Working – see notes | |
SuperMicro X7DWU | Working | ||
SuperMicro MSCT+II | Intel 6300ESB SATA Controller | Working | |
SuperMicro X7DVA-8 | Intel ESB2 SATA Controller | Working | |
Tyan K8WE (Thunder S2895) | CK804 Serial ATA Controller | Working | Working |
Tyan Transport GT20 | Working | ||
Tyan 2882 | Working – see notes | ||
Tyan S2735 (Tiger i7501r) | Working | ||
Tyan S2912-E | nVidia MCP55 | Working – see notes | |
Tyan S3790 | Working – see notes | ||
Tyan S5396 | Added Adaptec 2820SA | Working | |
Tyan i7501 S2723 | Working – see notes | ||
Tyan i7520SD S5365) | Working – see notes | ||
Tyan 2915-E | LSI1068E | Working | Working |
XFX GeForce8200 (XFX MI-A78S-8209) | nVidia MCP78 | Working – see notes | |
Storage Controllers | |||
3Ware 9650SE/9690SA | Working – see notes | Working – see notes | |
Adaptec 1210SA | Working – see notes | ||
Adaptec 2120S | PCI-X / RAID does not work | Working with 3.03 | |
Adaptec 2405 | Note – this is a PCIe controller | Working | |
Adaptec 2410SA | Working | ||
Adaptec 2420SA | Working | ||
Adaptec 2610SA | Working | Working | |
Adaptec 2820SA | Working | Working | |
Adaptec 29160N | Working | ||
Adaptec 3405 | Working | ||
Adaptec 3408 | Working | ||
Adaptec 5804 | Working | ||
Adaptec 5805 | Working | ||
Adaptec ICP5125BR (31205) | 12-Port SATA/SAS PCIe RAID | Working | |
AOC-LPZCR2 RAID controller | Working | ||
Areca ARC11XX/ARC12XX/ARC13XX/ ARC16XX SATA/SAS RAID | Working – BETA | ||
Areca 1210 | Working – BETA | ||
ASUS ZCR SAS RAID 8300XLP | Working | ||
Dell Perc 3DC | Working | ||
Dell Perc 5/i | PCIe – heath status is shown | Working | |
Intel ICH10 | Working | ||
Intel SCRS28x / PCI-X 8xSATA | Working – see notes | Working | |
LSI 1068e | |||
LSI 8704ELP | Working | ||
LSI MegaRAID SATA 150-4D | Working | Working | |
LSI MegaRAID SATA 300-8X | Working – see notes | ||
LSI MegaRAID 8208ELP | Working | ||
LSI 1078 MegaRAID SAS 8708ELP | PCI Express | Working | |
LSI SAS-3442E | Working | ||
PNY P-DSA150-PCI-RF | Based on Silicon Image 3512 | Working | |
PNY – 2-Channel SATA II RAID PCI Card | (Silicon Image 3512 PCI id 1095:3512) | Working | Working |
Promise SATA300 TX2 Plus | Working | ||
Promise SATA300 TX4 | Working | Working | |
Promize S150 TX4 | Working – see notes | ||
Promize Ultra 133 TX2 (PDC20269) | Working | ||
QLogic QLE220 | Working – see notes | Untested – see notes | |
SIIG SC-SA4R12-S2 | Silicon Image 3114 chipset – using eSATA connector | Working | |
Silicon Image 3512 PCI SATA | Working | Working | |
Network Controllers | |||
3Com 3c905c-TX/TX-M | PCI id 10b7:9200 | Working | |
Broadcom NetXtreme BCM 5705 | Working | ||
HP NC7170 | Working | ||
Intel 82556DM-2 | Requires the driver from Update 4 or higher | Working | |
Intel EtherExpress PRO/100B | Working | ||
Intel Gigabit ET dual port | PCI id | See notes | |
Intel Pro/100 (Intel 82557/8/9) | PCI id 1229 | Working | |
Intel Pro/100 | Working | ||
Intel Pro/100 S | Working | ||
Intel Pro/1000 CT | PCI-E | Working | |
Intel Pro/1000 GT | Working | Working | |
Intel Pro/1000 PT EXPI9402PT | PCI-E | Working | |
Realtek 8168/8111C | Working | ||
Realtek 8169 | Working |