Requirements for Using Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) Native Command Queuing Feature

Native Command Queuing (NCQ) is a feature supported by Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI). It allows ATA drives to accept more than one command at a time and dynamically reorder the commands for maximum efficiency. NCQ, when used in conjunction with a hard drive that supports NCQ, can increase storage performance on random workloads.

In order to take advantage of NCQ, you need:

• Intel® Rapid Storage Technology (Intel® RST)
• Hard drive(s) that supports NCQ
• Intel® Chipsets using a controller hub that supports AHCI