SSD Thread (Benchmarks, Brands, News, and Advice)

I'm having the most bizarre problem right now.

So my SSD (OCZ Vertex LE 240GB) can't be detected by my MSI GX660R, it seems. I've tried both SATA ports and neither BIOS nor boot selection can detect it. (Both SATA ports detect my Samsung Spinpoint HDD just fine, though) However, when I plug in the OCZ into an HDD dock and hook the dock onto another of my computers, it gets detected fine. I can see all the boot and personal files just fine.

The last thing I was doing was flashing my 5870 vBIOS, which was successful.

The hell is going on here?

 

Tinderbox, I have not tried that myself.

But, everything I have read on hyperfast has led me to believe I wasted my time reading about it.

 

Weren't you having this same problem (failed to detect the SSD) with your previous SSD?

 

No, I've only ever used the OCZ in my new MSI.

The thing is, I used to be able to re-detect the SSD just by rebooting and entering BIOS to switch up the boot order. (One time I did have to physically reseat it) Now my laptop can't detect it at all. When I plug it into a dock and use another computer (Asus G51vx, Win7 HP x64) I can see the SSD just fine.

 

Try to reflash your BIOS in case that happens due to a bad flash. Do you use AHCI mode for your SSD?

 

Power drain might do the trick

 

I entered BIOS and reset everything to default (Except I changed SATA from RAID to ACHI) before re-flashing to 5870 default. Things seem to be working okay so far. Weird as hell.

 

nvm solved

 

What? This controler is sandforce one?

Have u used it? I see u have an SSD. Did it help?

 

No the C300 is not sandforce, having said that, it still does not work well with CDI, from my experience anyway.

 

Got my Intel X25-M 80GB Gen2 (32nm) today. Latest firmware already installed.
Safe Mode CDM score below.
Does this look "normal" ??
Any and all comments appreciated. No registry tweaks applied yet.

 

Here's my 80GB on my desktop no tweaks. Yours seems better.

 

He ran it on safe mode

 

Yeah, htwingnut's graphic looks like Aero is on, so couldn't be safe mode. My scores are significantly lower when not in safe mode. I'm using the Intel RST 9.6 driver. My drive is the exact same model as his. But I partitioned mine at 70GB to leave 12.5% free for wear-leveling instead of the default 6 to 7% or so it comes with. This is supposed to give the drive a longer lifespan.

Having used it only a few hours now I can say this: I'll never go back to platter drives. This is how computing should have been all along. I'm amazed at the speed-up in Internet browsing due to the faster read/write of all those little cached files and elements (I'm using SRWare's Iron browser).

 

Yep. Take a look here
Laptops w. Intel Series 5 chipset can not take full advantage of fast SSDs

 

So wait wut? If you partition your drive and leave an unpartitioned space ~10% of your drive size wear leveling will work better? So why the manufacturer 7% and 28%? There must be some reason for it other than just some arbitrary number.

 

can someone help me with the proper ssd alignment for a vertex 2 60gb? I want to align in diskpart and then clone over because I can't afford to do a reinstall until christmas

 

The endurance of your SSD goes up almost exponentially the more unpartitioned space you leave it for a "scratchpad" (wear-levelling). Up to about 27% and then you reach the point of diminishing returns. 17% is probably optimal but on an 80GB, that's giving up a lot of space. This only works on brand new drives or those that have been secure-erased. Just shrinking your partition at this point won't help because those cells have already been used.

Watch this video from the Intel Developer's forum (it's very informative):
How Intel SSDs Work

NOTE: That page needs to install an activeX control to run the video. If your browser won't run it you'll have to use Internet Explorer (unless your browser has an extension to handle activex).

 

Is this "scratchpad" space true for all drive controllers or just for Intel? What about Sandforce (Vertex 2) or Toshiba (Kingston)?

 

Sorry, I don't know. I've only studied the Intels and how they work. I edited my previous post, you may want to reload the page.
And watch that video... you'll learn a lot.

 

I just watched/listened to the first 15 minutes. The rest was on the new SAS stuff that while interesting, don't have time to care right now.

Based on that slide show setting up a "spare area" by changing the partition size of the SSD is unique to Intel. Also he noted that you should set it on a fresh drive for best long term endurance. You can do it after a secure erase, but it isn't as effective as a fresh drive.

edit: lol I see I reiterated what you said. But good info nevertheless.

If Intel made an affordable 60GB I would have been sold, but $200 for an 80GB is just too much for my current needs and 40GB is too small. Already have a 40GB in my netbook, an it's a stretch. No way would I be able to sacrifice 7-10% there either.

 

I figured I could do 12.5% (10GB). After installing Windows 7 Ultimate x64 and a half dozen programs (mostly small ones) I still have 58.4GB left. Of course, I gained a lot of space by turning off virtual memory (paging file) and hibernation. That gave me back almost 9GB. And I have the original 500GB platter drive in an external enclosure for most data (large files anyway).

Some say they've been doing without any paging file for years and have never had a problem so I thought I'd try it since I have 4GB RAM in this thing. And hibernation makes no sense to me. It starts up and shuts down so fast I don't need hibernation.

 

@lousygreatwallgm: Yeah, I went through that thread. It seems there's not a whole lot I can do about it without causing my laptop to get a little hotter than I would like. Not worth the trouble and the risk to me. I can live with it the way it is. I expect this SSD to outlast this laptop anyway... it'll be in my next laptop or in a desktop eventually. I rarely keep the same laptop for more than 6 months. Another model is always begging me to buy it. Hopefully the next one will have a better chipset or a BIOS that allows me to disable the C-state.

 

everyone's always talking about ssds degrading so quickly with too many read/write cycles... but what are we really talkign about ... after 7-10 years? Hell by that time our hdd will be running at the same speeds our ram is now, except it won't get erased once the power is cut off . So who the hell really cares? even if it would only last 5 years... do you really think you'll be using the same drive in 5 years from now? tech moves wayyy too fast for that...

Or am i missing something and can it degrade within 2-3 years?

 

Disabling C-state is different than the suggested tweak (JJB specifically). Care to share your idle temps?

PS: The suggested tweak doesn't add so much heat

 

Without the proper OS optimization, maybe yes

i.e., Defrag

 

There a LOT of variables here depending on the type, brand and usage of the drive and how you set it up. They will continue to improve and come down in price. The Generation 3 Intel drives will be 25nm, nearly double the capacity for the same price. Anyone who's used an SSD never wants to go back to a mechanical HDD again. They do make that much of difference.

 

+1
I often get some apps to not responding on my other laptop (C2D 2.8GHz, 4GB DDR2, HDD) when trying to load multiple apps simultaneously or when scanning the laptop (anti virus). Got used to SSD response time

 

For sure! Once you go SSD, you can't go back...

 

I've gone back about four times. It's not unthinkable I'll go back a fifth time.

I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Which program will You use for cloning?

I was always using Acronis True Image Home 2010 and if You clone to different drive it won't keep original alignment.
Now I see that there is new Acronis True Image Home 2011, maybe that will work. I'll test it later and let You know.

 

Agreed! this is the way it should be! SSD's all the way!

 

I would prefer Acronis but with all their trouble with overriding alignment I will likely be using XXClone or Ghost as I here they dont cause this problem

 

Have we heard anything about Gen 3 ssd's in this years IDF?

 

My Patriot Inferno Review has been posted here:
Patriot Inferno 120GB SSD Review

 

Yes...it does!

Agreed. Although it was a point of concern during the first generation of SSDs, all of the recent tests indicate that this is no longer a significant hindrance to their function.
We can simply concentrate solely on the relatively astronomical price now.

 

Yes. Watch IDF video HERE.
NOTE: That web page needs to install an activeX control to show the video. Use Internet Explorer if your browser doesn't show the video unless your browser has a plug-in for activeX controls.

EDIT: Actually, that's from the 2009 IDF. I don't know if the 2010 forum has taken place yet.

 

It may not be a "significant hindrance", but if you want your drive to last as long as possible (up to the 10 year maximum for the life of the MLC cells), even with a Gen 2 drive it's a good idea to leave some unallocated space. The more, the better. Watch the IDF video.

Intel's very conservative total writes estimate for the Gen 2 X25-M 80GB is 15TB total. That's with the default ~7% unallocated space. Increasing that space to 17% will triple that to 45TB (and again, that's a conservative estimate). So, it is a concern in terms of longevity. But, of course, it all depends on how you use your computer -- lots of big writes, shorter lifespan.

With the Intel SLC drives (enterprise class, much more expensive) you're talking about total writes in the PB (Petabyte) range!. Those are for server use.

 

I dunno. I have a couple machines that are six to eight years old with original 40GB HDD and still get occasional use. But for the most part yeah, I guess if the drive fails you can at least read from it and move the data to a new drive. One issue I see with that though is with an HDD you can erase the drive. If an SSD is mostly failed and you have some sensitive data on it, you can't destroy that data.

Speaking which, for data recovery, I'm assuming you can't look for "faded" signatures on the drive like you could with a traditonal HDD if data is somehow deleted?

 

@htwingnut:
From what I've heard, when an SSD dies... well, it's just dead. Not there. It won't be seen by the computer and nothing can be written to it or read from it.

With the Intel Toolbox, you'll get a warning about this since it tracks drive lifespan by giving you a percentage of lifespan left. Just have a full image backup of the SSD on another drive somewhere.

 

raydabruce, when an SSD's nand chips have all worn out: they are still readable (for up to 10 years), just not writeable.

When it 'dies' - that usually means the controller is dead - not the nand chips themselves. Replace the controller and you can possibly get your data back.

 

Ok thanks for all your replies . Can't wait to own an SSD in my laptop. Space is a real issue for me, because i need alot of my files on the go (big files as well). 256gb would be the lowest i'd go, but i'm nto willing to spend the insane price for those ssds right now. and the Sammy 256gb..well, i 'd like to have something top-of-the-line as of the time that i buy it... so i'm not going to settle for one of the slower ssds that's at the end of its lifecycle (came out a while ago without a substantial refresh).

When i can grab a 256gb ssd for about half of the price they are now, then i'll take the plunge. Untill then, i'm going to have to wait it out ... no matter how painful using this hdd is. The i7's potential only truly shines when coupled with an ssd... so i can't wait to get rid of this MAJOR bottleneck

 

I put the 500GB HDD that came with my 1830T into an external USB/eSATA enclosure. All my big files are on there. With Win7 Ultimate x64 and a dozen programs installed I still have over 50GB free on my SSD. Whatever files I need to work on will just be transferred onto the SSD before I leave and put back on the 500GB in the evening so I don't have to carry the external around all the time... but I could carry it, if necessary... it's not all that big or heavy.

 

Okay, yes, I read about the 10-yr limit. But I assumed that included both read and write. I'm really not worried about it -- I'll probably buy a bigger, faster, cheaper SSD in a couple years and this one will still be going strong, most likely, with a lot of lifespan left.

 

How about Seagate Momentus XT. Close to SSD performance in most tasks, at much lower prices.

Check the review in my signature for real life comparisons.

 

The XT does look like a good value. But when I look at failure rates for mechanical drives vs. NAND flash-based drives, I gotta go with the full-fledged SSD. I like the idea of zero moving parts in my laptop. I can close the lid (standby or hibernate) and immediately start moving without worrying about damaging the hard drive. Plus it's lighter and gets better battery life. The storage capacity solution, at least for me, lies in an external HDD (500GB) which I rarely need to carry with me.

I'm wondering why you didn't include any Intel drives in your testing. I'm guessing because of cost. My X25-M 80GB cost me $199. I think I got a pretty good deal but I'm sure I won't think so in a year or two.

 

I just got my SSD's and Momentus XT. Two Kingston 64GB and one Vertex 2 60GB. The Vertex 2 mailed separately in just a bubble wrap envelope. I guess I never thought of shipping for the SSD's. Not like hard drives, they don't need to be super protected from impacts and jostling. Although a swift hit with a blunt object could still do damage I guess.

My problem is that my ODD adapter to fit my SSD in hasn't arrived yet, so won't be configuring my laptop until that happens. So I guess I just mess around with my desktop and netbook tonight.

 

Anything special I should do with my Vertex 2 or Kingston SSD's before I go and install Windows? I know now with Intel the more untouched space you partition off the longer your drive will last, but it seems not to apply to the Sandforce or Toshiba drives.

I just don't want to ruin an opportunity that later I find out I should have dones something with it as a fresh drive. Thanks.

 

I'd search the manufacturers' websites for initial setup instructions.

 

Installed two Crucial C300 256gb drives in a RAID 0 setup. CrystalDiskMark Results: