M17x R2 SSD speed issue - Investigation and Discussion

I think that BIOS A09 have issues with the Crucial C300 (tried 2 drives and both have issues)

bios locks and resets to default on boot if I set it to ATA (which is needed to update the firmware of the drive)

Thanks

 

well, as a workaround i can suggest to make the f/w upgrade on a different machine and then stick it back @ AHCI mode.

 

yes, it's a valid workaround and firmware flashes are not that frequent from Crucial

but I think there are other problems in bios regarding SSD

Eg.

if I use latest diagnostic software it fails on HDisk Test (tested on 2 C300's) . . if I test same HD's on Asus Striker II Extream motherboard they don't fail

 

Yes, it's been mentioned before that the diagnostic fails.
I think that the drive does perform normally except that so if i were you i wouldnt worry about it.

 

yes . . I don't worry about it (just wish it is fixed) . . as far as the speed remains over 250/270Mb/s I will be happy

thanks for your replies

 

So ive just bought me a intel X-25 M G2 160gb and my boot up time is around 30-40 sec.. Installed some games and apps and dont see any improvement in loading times... Did a crystaldiskmark test and ive read this somewere else about low 4 k results... Havnt changed anything in bios or so. Any suggestions would be great..

Edit: And my OS(windows 7) is installed on this one and im not using my other 500 gb for the moment

 

you should apply Stimatisx's or JJB's tweak and you will see your 4k writes double.

 

Hi,

Not reporting a speed issue as much as a space issue,
I have this 60GB SSD which used to have around 50gb of free space once I disabled hibernate (powercfg -h off), the paging file and system restore.
However, since my latest clean install, the best free space I can get is 44gb.
Now the folder causing the trouble is "winsxs" located int he Windows folder.
It holds at present 9.58GB of data, even after 3 clean installs.
According to my readings, it must not be deleted or compressed and it's size may vary from one system to another.
However, since I am installing the exact same operating system (W7 - 64bit) on the exact same system and the SSD has been cleaned with sanitary erase to delete all partitions and restore it to its original format,
I was wondering if you fellow M17X owners ran into the same problem, if so how you fixed it and even how big your "winsxs" folder is.

Thanks for your input

Edit: Wait for the 2011 releases for SSDs that double the GB/$ compared to current offerings - if price is an issue and if you can wait^^

 

That directory is caches of every version of system dlls so that there aren't conflicts between programs that use the same dll, but different versions of them. It's been a known "problem" with Windows for a long time. There's no safe way to "clean house" on the folder without potentially screwing up the system or having some random undetermined program suddenly no longer work. If you're doing a full format and reinstall, though, that directory should be reset just like the rest of the drive. Something isn't adding up.

 

Yep, we got a problem. Going to flash the Bios since booting up today, no fans were working and when I powered the system off, then they started working. Never seen that before.
Will keep you updated, thanks.

 

After flashing the Bios and the vBios for safety, the Windows Folder is worth 14.3gb leaving me with 46.5 gb of free space, 2Gb better than before!
But 6.5Gb for Winsxs still seems to be on the heavy side.
Tired of clean installs^^

 

So no update I take it? Sad... Wheres Brian these days? Havn't seen him here since I returned from the desert.

 

Brian is no longer with Alienware, or at least the laptop division. He said his goodbyes a while ago.

 

10 char

 

Instead of taking care of this issue dell decided to concentrate their efforts on the "battery not charging" fix which is so much less important in my opinion!

 

The squeaky wheel gets the oil. It's much easier for the average user to notice that their battery isn't charging due to the icon letting them know. There probably isn't a whole lot of call volume concerning SSD speeds because the average user probably doesn't even know you can benchmark an SSD/HDD. That would be my guess.

 

yeah, you are right TurbodTalon, there was an attempt to raise awareness of this issue mostly led by Stamatisx, we notified Dell reps, we posted it on the official Dell forums however we didn't see any official statements regarding this even though we asked multiple times.

 

doh...my 1st SSD and i get this issue. why why!
i knew i shouldn't have bought that x25-m...just my luck
and no way dell or intel is going to fix it. cos u just know R3 is to be released...

 

^^ if you're so unhappy with your x25-m i am willing to take it off your hands for the right price...

 

Don't get too upset man. Even with a 'problem', that SSD is still many times faster than any current laptop HDD. That's the way I keep from getting frustrated about the issue. If the R3 is around the corner, I highly doubt this will be getting any attention. Just remember, it's still pretty dang fast!

 

yeah turbodtalon it could be alot worst...
but it could be alot better too hehe
just keep on gaming

 

Hello all! I'm going to be purchasing an M17x here in the near future. From the looks of this thread, there are SSD issues. I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to this type of stuff, but I do plan to configure mine with a SSD, so I just wanted to know in layman's terms what the issue is, and what I can do to avoid or fix it upon ordering and receiving my unit. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you!

 

Very very simply put, in laptops battery life, low temperatures, low noise and low power consumption are really important. One method implemented is the CPU to use different states according to the current load in order to save energy (keep temperatures low,etc, etc...). To change from one state to another it takes some time so basically the SSD waits for the CPU to change state in order to get served. This affects the random reads and writes as well as the access times. For instance you will notice the difference when installing a program but you won't notice the difference when copying big files (sequential speeds are unaffected). So far there are a couple of remedies (look at the first post for the links) but they don't deliver 100% of the SSD performance that you paid for (ie nvidia chipset combined with a previous generation Intel CPU delivers better SSD benchmark results than the current generation) and they always come with a price (higher CPU temperatures-thus more noise from the fans and shorter battery life). I don't expect any resolution since it's not problem for either Intel or any other manufacturer -for them it's a feature (Desktop users have the option to disable powersaving features and get better performance).
My advice is to go ahead and purchase your Alienware since the majority of laptops are similarly affected and buy an SSD cause it's really worth it (I have the impression that the next generation will have similar issues so this shouldn't be a reason for you to wait, I do though really hope to be wrong).

 

Hey guys,

Random question linked to SSDs on this rapidly evolving thread.
A few weeks back, I bricked my OCZ SSD.
I was installing MW2 from a STEAM backup, went for a wander around the house and when I returned, the BIOS screen was showing.
So I pressed ctrl + alt+ del over and over (5 times) and I realised the system wouldn't boot.
I then replaced my data HDD which was in the 2nd bay with my recovery HDD that has W7 installed and all the drivers...
It wouldn't boot either.
So I removed the SSD from the computer and the system booted just fine.
I then plugged my SSD back in using USB and the SATA bay after boot.
It never showed up as new hardware or on the "Manage" window or in Seatools for Windows.
Tech Support and I proceeded on the basis it just died - rare but has to happen sometimes.
RMA and for the past few weeks, I have had this new SSD but the identical version replaced by OCZ support.
Tonight, I go ahead to install MW2 and halfway through... brick the return!
However, this time I was in front of the laptop and here's what I saw.
The mouse slowed right down, the screen flashed a few times and then a BSOD, then a green flash and then a Client MAC ADDR errorwhich ended with "PXE-M0F - Exiting Boot agent - OS not found".
Finally, the same scenario I noticed with my first drive, no Boot possible.
Submitted a ticket with OCZ a few minutes ago.

Any ideas, thoughts, suggestions you might have?
Thanks!

 

Just a note on this thread. I called Alienware about my SSD they replaced it because it was defective, but I was also told by the Tech that they are working on this problem, as it is know and they plan on putting a driver or bios fix out there to fix the problem. I asked for a ETA but he would not give me one. I don't know if he was just telling me that to get me off the phone, so take it with a grain of salt.

 

Exactly. Will be interesting to see if Dell releases a fix for this prior to the rest of the manufacturers since this issue is across the board it seems and not just with Dell/AW.

 

Hey Guys. Not sure if anyone is still monitoring this thread as last post was a month ago. My SSD (OCZ Summit 128GB) seems to be suffering from the same problems everyone else is having. I'm not an SSD expert, I got the Summit because there was a great deal on it last year. I did do the firmware update from OCZ prior to installing W7. This was awhile ago. My question is, are my scores normal or am I also suffering from the same problems everyone else is? And will the registry tweaks others have suggested really provide me with a noticeable increase in performance?

See my screens below. I provided a CDM of both my Summit SSD (C: ) and my Seagate 250GB HHD (E: ). Just wondering if my numbers indicate I have a performance problem too or if they look OK for my hardware.

Any help you guys could give would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

I went away in October and came back with high hopes.... Sadly the issue remains.
Stamatisx my gratitude for sticking this out so long. I still have hopes that a BIOS mod with a C state toggle MAY be on the horizon.
Ummm at least the prices are dropping... hanging head... yeah....
Thanks for keeping up with the thread and for all the hard work you've done bringing it to the attention of the engineers and the workarounds/tweaks.

+1

 

For the non-Extreme CPUs, C3 needs to be enabled in the bios for turbo boost to function correctly.

error-id10t found a way to significantly improve his 4K Write speeds by playing around with some of the C State settings in the CPU without having to sacrifice turbo boost on his 720QM.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/7230873-post358.html

His results looked very promising so I built a new INI option into ThrottleStop 2.99.7 to help control this.
He uses:

CStateDemotion=3

You should also set the C1/C3/C6/C7 button in ThrottleStop to C1 which helps to limit the CPU package from entering the deeper sleep states. Turn off C1E too. For more info about this new trick, head to the ThrottleStop Guide thread for more info about what this new INI option controls.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/7231834-post361.html

If you see any improvements in your 4K Write speeds then post your CrystalDiskMark results here. This trick is only designed for the Core i CPUs.

 

Will that provide any love for us gen2 i-series owners?

 

If the C1/C3/C6/C7/MAX button doesn't exist or is disabled then your CPU does not support this option. Sandy Bridge are great CPUs but are not enthusiast friendly when it comes to mods. Your R3 will likely be locked.

 

Wait a min, I assume R3 is not affected by this issue, isnt it ?

 

Correct again.
it's greyed out and says C7 (using 2.99.6 so it doesn't matter anyway haha)

 

Is this still a problem? I was considering an SSD.

 

wondering the same thing, just ordered a m17x R2, and have an SSD I was planning on throwing in it.

 

It'll always be as this is a flaw of the Intel Chipset.

See This and This for workarounds.

I suggest you do one OR the other; NOT BOTH at the same time.

Cheers !

 

Hi all, SO....we can appply those tweaks (1 at the time) and everything will be ok right ?
I can't imagine a life without ssd drive in M17x ESPECIALLY

 

Yes, you can apply one tweak or the other no problem.

And the real nice thing is that you can always revert back without penalty

Try it and see of it's a good fit for you.

Enjoy !

 

Okay First thing is this thread still alive?I don't know to put my screen shot in here so here it goes.
+)crysral disk mark
Read Write
Seq: 205.6 104.2
512K: 195.0 93.11
4K: 24.74 67.95
4k qd32: 71.22 99.56

my turbo mode doesn't work I'm stuck at 2110 MHz, it won't go any higher. I did all the tweaks and not even getting the speed I was promised ...I have an ocz-agility3 ssd, my processor is a
840qm 3.2Mhz ...can some1 please help me?thanks.

 

what is the fastest ssd for the price?

will i be able to use the tweaks to take advantage of the full speeds of sataIII drives?

 

Sata III in the R2? Nope. Sorry

 

Really no sata3?

 

Nope. It's Sata II

 

So there is no hope for sata 3 not even with add on part?

 

the hdd controllers are part of the motherboard, without a new motherboard i'd say it's a no go.

perhaps something fancy with the expressport... but in that case it would be an external drive or some serious internal modding.