The short answer is maybe. If you have an older hard drive that is rated as UDMA 66 or UDMA 33 than getting a new card will make no difference in speed unless you want to have it if you decide to upgrade to a new hard drive. If, however, you have a newer HD rated as ATA 100 or ATA 133 than having a new PCI controller card will significantly boost access and write speeds. You can get a dual channel ATA 100 PCI controller card through Startech.com for $45 or through one of their venders (ecost.com) for @ $26. Before you purchase anything, check the specs on your motherboard and hard drive. If it is a machine that is 1 year old or less, chances are that it is already rated at ATA 100. Hope this helped.