So I just figured out that the cheap SSD ($17) on a SI3114 works in WindowsXP, but Linux can't seem to start it. It's obviously seen in the BIOS, otherwise XP wouldn't boot.
A live hotplug, of a SATA-3 HD and a Teamgroup SATA-3 SSD, both see the devices appear in my 32-bit PAE Bunsenlabs...