Installing an SSD? tips/tricks/benchmarks

In speaking with OCZ support the recommendation is no more than 60% Going up to 80% or higher you get degraded performance.

 

Keep in mind they also want you buying bigger more spendy drives

 

has anyone bought the SSD from dell? what brand is it?

 

Dell sends out samsung ssd's last I heard

 

i assume samsung SSD = bad?

 

actually dell sends the 470 series samsungs which are pretty awesome drives

 

No, not at all. They are good drives. If someone gave me a Samsung drive, I would gladly take it. The only catch is that they are overpriced for what you get when you get it from a system OEM like Dell. There are better drives out there for the money that Dell charges you.

 

ah ok, they could have said that when you config your notebook up though

EDIT: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1011/pg5/alienware-m11x-r2-review-internal.html

That's what the SSD looks like from Dell.

 

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 470 Series MZ-5PA256/US 2.5" 256GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

This is the SSD Dell is shipping with the R3's with. The price discrepancy is not that big, about $15, as compared to what Dell is charging.

I think the price/space ratio for the Samsung 470 series is pretty good among SSDs. About $2 per gig. Better than OCZ Vertex 2 and Intel X25M gen 2

 

I'm getting really bad random scores. Any ideas what's causing this? I have the a Samsung that came with the rig.

 

I psted in your other thread in the M15x section, but I'll post it here as well. Follow the instructions that I layed out which are linked in my sig. It's the Intel X25-M RAID 0 link. Though your drive is a Samsung, the tips should work for it as well.

 

hey guys, should I download the Intel Rapid Storage Drivers from Dell or Intel? Does it even matter?

 

Yes, definitely install those drivers. They are superior to the Microsoft drivers. You will notice performance improvement with those Intel drivers, especially when you start pounding your SSD with multiple I/O requests and the NCQ depth really increases.

 

Get the intel drivers, they will be more current

 

It's out !

 

Hmmm, only the Marvell controller though, would prefer an Intel Gen 3. Is what I think will go into my M11x

 

Do the Intel X-25M series come with TRIM/the latest Intel RST drivers?

 

Yes they do.

 

thanks Kent & scook (those startup times you posted are sick btw!). went to Intel's site and there are two files for DL: 1) Intel RST Driver Files - F6 Install, and 2) Intel Rapid Storage Technology; both are version 10.1.0.1008 released on 12/15/10. Which one should I choose?

 

You only need part 1, the driver files.

Part 2 is the full Intel RST package, including the management utility, which is not needed.

 

Are they out yet? I saw the Vertex 3 wasn't due until Q3/Q4.

 

@kent: thanks

 

guys, so I installed the IRST and now I'm getting random lockups and occasional freezes. Is it because I installed IRST last?

 

I got a Vertex 2 120GB coming today for the M11x. It will be $169.99 after rebate from that Shell Shocker on Newegg earlier this month, couldn't pass that up!

I will see how it does compared to the MicroCenter/AData drives I have

 

I've got an OCZ Vertex 2 in my R2 (and a coule of other systems here). It's been great. I had not ever run any formal performance tests up till now (but can say that my Windows primary disk rating went from 5.9 with Raid 0 to a 7.6 with the SSD.

This thread prompted me to run CrystalDiskMark and the results surprised me in that the 4K write was faster than the 4K read. Does this make sense to those of you that "know all"?

Below is a screen snip of my results:

 

It is common to have faster 4k writes, that is due to the caching

Now run that same test with the data set to 1fill

 

scook9 - Thanks for the quick answer. FYI - I did run the test with "1fill" here are the results:

 

Just noticed you have an R2. Do the jjb tweaks that Dr650se linked and your performance will go up nicely.

 

As I keep toying with the idea of an SSD or two (if i can sell my left kidney lol), I have been looking at this thread at the JJB tweaks and other tweaks as I too have an R2....(god...I2-R2...sounds like star wars.... )

Found this article the other day The SSD Optimization Guide | The SSD Review

Anyway, I looked through it and alot of it looks pretty good....I just wondered how this optimisation guide fairs in comparison to the JJB tweak guide etc etc.....

What dya think? - is it one in the same or what? - or is it to be used in conjunction with other tweaks or on its own.....

 

Les does know his stuff when it comes to SSDs. Anyhow you can get a hold of him on his site. Also I used Les' guide when tweaking my install for Win 7. Lots of helpful tips. As far as how it compares to JBB, they are both completely differant tweaks for differant reasons. Both serve there purposes well, and when used in conjunction together, they make a great combo. I did both tweaks on my RAID 0 install. If you want a quick link to both Les' guide and the JBB tweak, just click the link in my sig regarding my Intel RAID 0 setup. It has links to all the tweak guides I followed, as well as before and after benchmarks of my system.

Getting back to your questions, Les' guide is a guide to tweak Win 7 for optimal use of the SSD. JBB Tweaks, are done to overcome the PM55 Chipset limitations when it comes to SSD speeds. The OPM55 chipset and a few other chipsets for some reason have terrible 4K read/write speeds, which are essential to great SSD performance. Check out the benchs in my link to see the improvements when JBB tweaks are used.

Also make sure if you run SSD RAID, to use Intel Rapid Storage Tech and enable caching. It's essential to increasing speeds.

 

The PM55 chipset limitation isn't so much a limitation as it is an unintended consequence of the power-management settings of the CPU & chipset set. The JBB tweak basically turns off the CPU's deep power saving modes and so, the SSD is faster.

Like any of us really use this beast unplugged anyways....

 

Thanks for the info fella - much appreciated. +rep.

 

FYI - Open discussion relating to Moderation action is not permitted. You want to discuss an action involving you, PM a mod. Do not post about it.

On the subject of bans, please see: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sit...nouncements/550306-please-remember-rules.html

Again, this is not a topic for open debate.

Thanks.

 

Got my Vertex 2 and tested it some. In my desktop it is on par with the MicroCenter/Adata drives. In the M11x though it is slower. Not sure how to explain that other than the overall weaker platform. Noticed that the drive in my HTPC also is slower. I guess FSB systems just cant do drive access as well as an integrated memory controller system

 

Im getting close to biting the bullet on x2 160 X25-M's (G2)

Couple of things I would like some advice on are:

1) Considering I have a RAID 0 array at the mo, am I right in thinking that RAID 0 is the best way to go with the two SSD's?

2) Buying - the two that I am looking at are "bare drive" models ending in C1....with these OEM drives, will I get all I need to install them or will I need anything else (that little black plastic bracket thingy / Install CD - Im thinking that I wont but would hate to buy only to find out I NEED them...think the spacer is to adapt for a desktop and the setup cd, well im not sure if I need that or not! - dunno whats on it or what it is supposed to do (maybe copy/clone existing HDD data to the SSD?))

3) Installation - I know this thread covers tweaks etc but I have never installed a new drive before, let alone 2 SSD's. I have tried to learn as much as poss via the forums but would like someone to chime in on "how to" for me.

Is it as simple as change to AHCI in BIOS, slap the drives in, reboot from windows disc, format in install setup and follow on screen instructions and install latest Dell drivers including latest Intel RST as per a clean install? - I take it I have to format these little beauties....like I said, new to this so I would like to be 10000% sure.

Any help or advice gratefully received - PM's with info welcomed also.

Thanks guys - sorry for the noob post!

 

1) If you absolutely had to have 2x SSD's, then yes, RAID-0 is the way to go. However, be aware that you won't really get much of a performance boost with RAID-0 vs single drive. The host controller is going to be already saturated (or near saturated) by a single SSD, that it will be a bottleneck in RAID-0.

A single drive can output around 40,000 IOPS, while a host controller maxes out at around 45,000 - 50,000 IOPS. The only way to get around this would be to get a different host controller, which usually means a very expensive RAID card.

Additionally, TRIM support is not available for SSD's in RAID arrays. Over time, this will degrade performance. You will either need to manually run garbage collection utilities, or get drives with aggressive garbage collection built into the firmware (e.g. OCZ Vertex 2 drives)

The best value for your money is to use a single large SSD. But if you must get 2x SSD's, then put them in RAID-0.

2) The only accessory that is really useful is a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter bracket, found in retail Intel kits (SSD's almost always come in 2.5" size). However, if you plan on installing these drives in a laptop, then 2.5" drives w/o the adapter kit will be fine.

You do not need any of the additional software or drivers that come with the retail kit. The drivers you need are for your motherboard / chipset, and can be downloaded from Intel's website. The cloning software you want to use is Acronis True Image. You can either buy a copy, or use a free 30-day trial.

3) If you are doing a clean install of Windows 7, then you treat SSD's just like regular mechanical hard drives. Your system sees the SSD's as regular drives, so you should treat the SSD's like regular drives. Install the drives, make sure AHCI mode is enabled in BIOS, create the RAID array (if you choose to get 2x drives), and then install Windows 7 onto the SSDs.

A clean install of Windows 7 will do everything that is needed for SSD-enabled systems (e.g. disable Disk Defragmenter). There are additional tweaks that you can do. But to be honest, they aren't really worth it. You spend a LOT of time tweaking your system for absolutely miniscule returns on performance that you will never notice in real-world scenarios.

If you're a benchmark jockey, those tweaks are worth it. But if you're just looking to use your system, skip those.

 

I know there are much smarter folks than me on this thread - but here's my 2 cents worth:
The "bare" SSD should be just fine - it's like gettting a "bare HDD
For my purposes, I went from Raid 0 (dual HDDs) to a single SSD & the performance improvement from the Raid setup was plenty for me.
There is also an issue (unless it has been fixed & I don't know about it) with the Trim function not working on Raid setups. If that is still true, you're in the manual SSD maintenance mode.
Having said that, an SSD raid configuration is FAST

 

Thanks for the detailed info - Yep, Im aware that no TRIM support for raided SSD's...I had thought of one "larger" SSD but its a max of 256gb as opposed to 320gb for x2 raided 160gb SSD's - little bit more storage is what I thought.

I doubt I need to use any cloning software as my HDD's are relatively "stock" and nothing important on them, so I would just clean install to the SSD/S.

So, I know that my Sata II maxes out at and drives such as Crucial C300 256gb would not meet its performance max if used in my system (if im right, it will be limited to Sata II performance so wont be the advertised figures)

I wont need the brackets etc as purely for laptop use - thanks for that.

This is true - no Trim for raid atm....

Still trying to figure out which is the best....x1 large SSD or two in raid!

God help me! ahahaha

 

Trim for SSD's in RAID? - Intel brings TRIM to SSDs in RAID does that actually work?

Also, if you guys had the choice of:

x1 Crucial C300 256gb @ £340gbp or
x2 Intel X25-m G2 160gb @ £380

Which would you go for?

 

If you decide to raid them, Check the link in my sig (RAID 0 link). Shows the tweaks I did. And before and after speeds. Works for me, just about everything loads a lot faster. Plus I still have 1TB of storage space.

 

Yeah, I read about that in a different article but I'm confused because it seems everyone on this forum says that, or at least I think they are saying, that TRIM won't work on raided ssd's. So which is it people!? I haven't had the benefit to test this myself, but I assume that you guys must be much more in the know than me and must be right as this "news" came out nearly a year ago.

Intel release TRIM for RAID | bit-tech.net

The article talks about the Rapid Storage Technology driver which I think Mandrake tested on his R3 but only has 1 ssd and there were driver issues with his 460m. He might have mentioned whether or not ssds would have TRIM if they were raided but I'm not sure. This is all a bit over my head and I haven't read through this whole thread so any clarification would be very much appreciated.

 

I am getting pretty bad performance on my Vertex 2. At first I thought it was because my M11x was slower but it posted similar numbers in my desktop, any ideas? Figured I would ask here before going to OCZ (do not want to return as the deal was too awesome!) It appears to not be a TRIM issue as leaving the system idle overnight did not add any performance. The Vertex 2 should be comparable to the MicroCenter drive in performance

http://i51.tinypic.com/15chhg1.jpg

 

i already told you why....lol
i just rma'd another 2 120 gb drives.
i have rma'd so many times that they dont even ask me questions anymore. just give me a number and to send them in.
but they seem to degrade fast.. i was thinking it was just on the older drives.....

did you do wiper.exe?

 

But you have been using first gen Vertex drives, this is a sandforce drive.

 

and people have been having problems with those as well.... ocz rather

 

Interesting. Maybe I will just return it then. It is pretty much just the backup drive for my desktop now since my Intel 80gb G2 is in the M11x.

 

check on the ocz forums to see what other info you can come up with though....m personally....i think im pretty much done with them..

 

If you can return it without penalty, then I would do so.

If you need a drive immediately, you can get other drives based on the SandForce SF-1200 controller like the G.Skill Phoenix or the Corsair F120. They perform identically to an OCZ Vertex 2 (34nm).

If you do not need the drive immediately and can afford to wait a bit before re-purchasing an SSD, I would wait. In about a month, we should see the market start to get flooded with 3rd generation SSD's running on SATA-3 (6Gbps) interfaces and the SandForce SF-2000 controller. Apparently, those drives are donkey-poopingly fast.

 

I only have the option to get it replaced (maybe exchanged for a comparable - I would go for an A-Data S599 128GB)

I need to decide whether I want an exchange or a replacement. I also only have 4 days before the rebate offer is gone. So I may just send in for the rebate and look to OCZ to get it replaced

 

coming from a guy who has rma'd literally 12 times...i would ditch it.