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

The X58A-UD7 is it a nice board? LMK cause I might buy one for my incoming 970..

 

I will let you know within a few days as i said i would review it... I will be stacking it with SSDs eheheh.

 

I have a lessor GB board. I love it. Got it for the solid state capacitors and extra copper. Too bad about the power supply. Cannot blame the store for that though

If I hit even a very small lotto I will see you at CES

I want the G3 and I want it NOW! Intel has been very slow.

And as far as USB 3, you are brave to go there. I have it but have not bothered to try it as I have nothing to try it with!

 

so today i'll get a 120gb intel ssd and a usb3 stick. will be fun to test how fast i can install an os with it

and btw, my systems all have 150W psu's max. 1000W, woah, still can't get my head around such a beast

and i know the ssd feeling. "nah, can't afford one" "here use this" "omg here's the money that thing is AWESOME".

people just don't understand how they might sound expensive, but are definitely worth every penny.

 

Dave.... I have two USB3 drives I am working with which are the SuperTalent SuperCrypt and Express Ram Cache. If you are considering a USB3 you HAVE to see this video and consider this:

<param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hCfE2SVuSFk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hCfE2SVuSFk?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width='640' height="385"></embed></object>

 

Man, I'm almost sold on that Ceedo. I might try it with my Corsair Voyager and see how well that runs it.

 

Sure a nice video.

Still, I have my stuff solved without ceedo (home server ftw), and i already ordered a stick. I just need it for my windows setup images (and the home server restore boot image). I hope i can get both 32bit and 64bit images + the restore somehow onto the disk (omg i think i have to touch linux for this).

But it's a great video and a great deal. SSD got shipped by now (and the stick, but all with different delivery services.. very strange)

 

I dunno. At first it's like... WHOA! But after a little time, it's not such a big deal. I went back to a hard drive (momentus xt) in my laptop and it's not that horrible. I only reboot about once a week, so my boot times aren't that spectacular because I'm sure other stuff is cached in there. With a maintained hard drive it's not that big a deal.

I can see specific applications where it'd be worth it, but overall other than a $100 60GB boot drive in a desktop, it's not quite mainstream ready for laptops. Most people buy laptops <$800, and many will balk at anything less than 250GB, and a 160GB+ drive costs $300-$400. Hard to justify half the cost of your machine. I've personally seen more people disappointed than satisfied after using it for a couple months, mainly because they thought they should have spent all that money differently.

Main reason I got the 120GB Intel is for my M11x for vibration and battery life, not necessarily the speed benefits.

 

most have an external 1tb or 2tb drive for the big stuff + most don't want to rebuy a full new laptop to get "more speed" (which means again around 800$). then, even a 300-400$ offering is suddenly very affordable.

but i said that since the beginning: an ssd is the better bang for the buck compared to a new system. else, it's expensive (but still awesome).

 

Toshiba announces its first enterprise-class SSD line - Computerworld

 

Ok, time to ask some experts for advice. I recently did a back up of my non RAID ssd. Created a backup image with Achronis. Now I set up the RAID array with two intel X25-M 160GB SSDs, and imaged it with the previous image. It will not boot into windows, so I'm looking for a way around this to get it to work. Any advice would be appreciated, and looking to not have to reinstall/tweak everything. Also I security erased the drives before imaging.

 

DR650SE,

See if you can do a startup repair and have the proper RAID drivers to provide to Windows. That should be all you need.

(But I'd recommend a clean install).

Good luck.

 

Thanks, I figured the same thing but I was trying to do that, and for some reason when I boot off the windows disc, I don't get the option for repair

 

When you boot off the windows 7 DVD, where you see the window that has the big button in the center that says "INSTALL" in the lower left is a link to "Repair Your Computer" or something like that. Then it will put in a different screen with other options.

 

Hmm, I'm not getting that option, I'm going to wipe the drives, reimage, and then give it a shot again, maybe I messed something up earlier.

 

It should look like this, I boxed the repair option in red. It should be in all Windows Vista and 7 install screens:

 

Yea, not getting that. Getting the language screen, then the screen with the disks and partitions.

 

I found this to be pretty interesting. This is graphs from french hardware sellers showing the failure rate of SSDs/HDDs. Gotta love my Intel SSD



Hög felfrekvens för SSD-enheter - Lagring - SweClockers.com

 

As your previous config wasn't RAID your image lacks the necessary Raid driver. Doing another reimage is a waste of time. Try the suggested Repair option as I think you have no valid boot record on the RAID boot device.
I think I read somethere in the net that some registry changes are also necessary to get Windows working.
Good luck!

 

Yea, I'm trying to get into the repair option, but booting the windows 7 installation disc isn't working so I'm not sure what to do. Tried win 7 home, win 7 ultimate, now going to try win 7 pro

 

Well Win 7 pro disc works, but I can't get to what I need to change drivers. Hmm...

What if I reistall Win7 Ult, than install achonis, and reimage the partition so that the boot record is intact from the win 7 install?

 

you link us a swedish text talking about a french text, into an english forum, which i read as a swiss-german. talk about multi-culture

and, while this is just some first numbers, i'll have to save myself that graph. anyone dissing ssds next time for not being more reliable: IN YOUR FACE!!

oh, and, that graph supports my theory of never buying ocz

 

Samsung 470 review by Techreport
Samsung's 470 Series solid-state drive - The Tech Report - Page 1

 

Hello Les,

First off, thank you, yes, that was more than quick...

However, it unfortunately does not answer the question... at all !

Recap of what I know...


For the TRIM command to work, 3 conditions must be met:

1. An O/S that supports the command;

2. A storage controller that can pass the command to the drive(s);

3. A drive that supports the command.


AFAIK, right now, we do have:

1. An O/S that supports the command, WIN7 for instance;

2. A Storage Controller that can pass the command to the drive(s), IRST 9.6 and earlier;

3. BUT we're missing SSDs that are ATAPI- 8 compliant which would make them able to "get" the TRIM command in a RAID array from the Storage Controller, which gets it from the O/S...


Honestly, I do not recall where I read that, and I'm struggling to find it, but basically, the ATAPI-8 standard will make an SSD being able to interpret a TRIM command even within a RAID stack;

As of now, WIN7 + IRST 9.6 and above WILL INDEED pass the TRIM command on a RAID array, BUT ONLY TO THE DRIVES THAT ARE NOT PART OF THE RAID ARRAY...

Basically, an ATAPI-8 compliant SSD will be able to TRIM in RAID, but there's no such ATAPI-8 compliant SSD on the market, as of now, as far as I know...

So, maybe I'm totally outta my shoes, or maybe I did not understand your answer, but at this point, my question remains unanswered: when should we expect (and from which manufacturer) to get ATAPI-8 compliants SSDs, so we'll finally be able to TRIM in RAID ? Because right now, SSDs do support TRIM, but not within a RAID stack...

Lastly, where's your answer from ? A manufacturer ? Yourself ? AnandTech and Corp ? Anything else ?

Rest assured that I do sincerely appreciate your reply; I just unfortunately don't see an answer to the question I was sending you to ask to manufacturers, as you offered so kindly.

Respectfully,

eYe

 

looks like there's no real need to upgrade my intel, then... esp. without sata3 (which the c300 uses, not?)

 

Will report back about driver vs controller...

Meanwhile...

Still trying to find where I read the ATAPI-8 thing, but for the time being, I stay certain that this is the missing link for us to TRIM in RAID...

computer is computing....
...
..
.

 

Soooo, what exactly is that graph saying? What was tested, how? We know nothing of the details behind those numbers. It's supposed to be failure rate, so higher would be worse right? So SSD's are worse than HDD's except for the Intel.

 

the atapi-thing on the ssd can't help if the raid controller doesn't transport trim trough. maybe the atapi-8 standard is the one that has the trim command specified in, dunno? but each part of the chain from sender to receiver has to understand, interpret and continue the trim command.

so far, everything does, except any raid controller existing. once we get that, all is fine. but while it would be simple for raid1, it's quite complicated for all stripe-style raids (not that complicated, but still).

 

Actually I just edited my post. I thought Lagre was larger, but it's Lower.

So this would mean HDDs are more reliable than SSD's except Intel.

 

IRST (Intel Rapid Storage Technology) do INDEED support the TRIM command, EVEN in RAID; however...

Problem is actual SSDs do not "get" (understand) the TRIM command within a RAID array, because they are NOT yet ATAPI-8 compliant which, again, will make them able to understand and interpret the TRIM command in a said RAID pile...

So far, I found this (which is NOT what I'm looking for) about the Samsung PM800 (older one):

• Host interface − Serial ATA interface of 3.0Gbps − Fully complies with ATA/ATAPI-7 Standard (Partially Complies with ATA/ATAPI-8)

And this too:

ATA/ATAPI-8
Trusted computing feature, free fall sensor, "Write-Read-Verify" feature, additional hard disk drive parameters management and enhanced data reading protocol (SCT Command Transport), flash memory with power-saving management capability (NV Cache, NV Cache Power Mode), nominal spindle motor rotation rate, time to spin up of the magnetic plates to the nominal velocity in seconds, WRITE UNCORRECTABLE EXT command.

Interestingly enought:

Specifications	200GB	100GB	50GB
Model Number	ST9200011FS	ST9100011FS	ST950011FS
Interface	SATA 3Gb/s (“SATA II”
Max I/O Transfer Rate	300MB/s
Peak IOPS Read/Write (4k) Sustained IOPS Read/Write (4k)	30,000/25,000 30,000/10,500	30,000/25,000 30,000/5300	30,000/25,000 30,000/2600
Product Application (JEDEC JC64.8)	Enterprise Standard
Annualized Failure Rate (AFR)	0.44%
New Bit Error Rate EOL Bit Error Rate	<1 sector per 1×10^17 <1 sector per 1×10^17
Features	SATA Rev 2.6, ATA/ATAPI-8, SMART, NCQ, ATA TRIM

And datasheet available here...


Computer's still computing...
...
..
.

 

I just checked the features that are listed on the back of my C300 box, and it says ATAPI-8 compliant, but AFAIK I have not seen confirmation of a pair of C300's using the TRIM command in RAID. Perhaps there is more to it then that.

 

That'd be nice if we could find out...

 

it makes no sense. sorry. atapi-8 might guarantee trim in its spec. still a device doesn't have to support trim to be atapi compatible (think harddrives).

and the thing with intel implementing trim in raid, but not supporting it for their own ssds, no, that i can't believe. might be true for those drivers that are still not yet officially out, yes.

there's simply no magic about trim. nothing. you think too much into it. if the ssd gets a trim command, it executes it (just like any other). if the raid controller sends a trim command, it will execute it. there won't be any missunderstanding. the only thing important is, that the raidcontroller has to find out what to trim, actually. like it dispatches all reads and writes down to the disks, and back up to the client, is has to dispatch the trim commands.

it's not a feature of the ssd to support trim in raid. because the ssd does not even know if it's in raid or not. it's the raid controllers feature to support trim for ssds. and that, none does by now.

 

Found this in PDF "OEM Technical Guide RST_rev1_0 10 0 Release"
"For the Intel® Rapid Storage Technology 10.0 Software Release"

19 TRIM
Win7 and ATA8 introduce support for TRIM support for improving the performance
and life-span of Solid State Disks (SSD). Beginning with the Intel® Rapid Storage
Technology 9.6 release, the product allows the pass-through of the TRIM command
on SSD’s that support TRIM.
19.1 TRIM command pass-through support: Windows 7
Win7 and ATA8 introduce OS support for the TRIM command. Support for the TRIM
command allows Windows 7 to pass information directly to the Solid State Disk (SSD)
that identifies sectors that can be deleted. The SSD will then go through and clear
out that information in the background thereby minimizing the chances of an
“Overwriting” process happening at crucial times. The SSD is also free to do some
additional optimizations with those sectors. E.g. an SSD can pre-erase any sector
that has been TRIM'ed. The TRIM command improves the long term Write
performance and the life-span of SSDs.
19.1.1 AHCI Mode
In AHCI mode, the Intel® Rapid Storage Technology driver only passes through the
TRIM command to be processed by the SSD.
19.1.2 RAID Mode
19.1.2.1 TRIM on pass-thru disks
The Intel® Rapid Storage Technology driver processes the host ATA Data Set
Management (DSM) TRIM command on any pass-thru disks that support ATA DSM /
TRIM in accordance with the ATA-8 specification.
19.1.2.2 TRIM on RAID volumes
The Intel® Rapid Storage Technology driver does not support TRIM commands on
RAID volumes.

 

Does C300 lost it's performance over the time. Is it good drive for person who write 10GB+ a day (Need to last 2+ years)

This is for my workplace's director. 70% of his writes are medium to large zip files/ultra hi res pictures & movies. rest is Small PDF/Powerpoint & GIF files.

 

I don't really understand the question of which we seek anymore. As SSDs are ATAPI-8 compliant and they pass TRIM when used alone, it doesn't seem to be that issue. To add, Intel itself states that it is not passed as a result of their drivers.

If I may....

This was very correct:

"19.1.2.2 TRIM on RAID volumes: The Intel(r) Rapid Storage Technology driver does not support TRIM commands on RAID volumes."

That statement does not say anything about the TRIM command only working on ATAPI-8 compliant devices, and you see they say nothing about the drive not being able to support it. The ATAPI-8 spec was the first time the TRIM command was defined and supportable on SSDs. I think people are confusing the ability to support TRIM in ATAPI-8 with being ATAPI-8 compliant. If TRIM works as a single drive in the system, it would work no matter what environment passed the TRIM command to it. This is why OSes that do not support TRIM don't TRIM even if the drive supports it. The same problem is occurring with RAID driver stacks. It is not properly sending the TRIM command to the drive.

While true the drive must support TRIM to support the TRIM command, there is nothing in the spec about any difference in a RAID or non-RAID environment. The TRIM command is very simple. The host sends a range of LBAs to the device and that tells the device to "invalidate" that range of data. That means the drive now knows that data is no longer required by the host and does not rewrite the data to new locations when garbage collecting. A RAID environment is tracked on the host or Host Bus Adapter card in the system. This is where the invalid data must be tracked and mapped back to the drive. This is where we need details on why the RAID drivers have so much trouble solving this problem.

HANDY REFERENCE

TRIM - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

I do around 10GB's of writes per day, and my C300 performs exactly as it did when I first got it.

But I've only had it for about five months.

 

My SSDs:

Laptop:


Desktop: (New SSD, gift from Intel, more tweaks needed)

 

@ mafteah: Which numbers You hope will be higher?
I think it's best what Intel G2 80 GB can do.

And what do You mean by: "gift from Intel"?

 

vaguely on topic, because it is an ssd tech -- but this is only for desktops. anyone want to see the first (or nearly so) SF-2000 series pci-e board? Check out the second post in this thread: Google Translate

quick stats: OWC Mercury Extreme, 3.2TB, pci-e 16x, 4GBps read, 480.000 IOPS -- probably costs as much as your car.

 

wow..that's some awesome numbers. I think we can see those pretty stuff next year @ CES

 

IntelTBRunonce I'm seeing this in my startups. Would this be from Intel SSD toolbox? If not, any ideas?

 

guys how to correctly partition new SSD before install windows 7 ? I mean alignment stuff.

 

bigspin, if you do a clean install, Windows 7 and Vista for that matter will properly partition your SSD so that alignment is ensured.

 

The directory that comes from is:
c:\program files\intel\turboboost\runtbgadgetonce.vbs

Are you using the Intel Turbo Boost Technology Monitor gadget?

 

win7 create some 100mb partition before the main partition. I wanna get rid of it & create 2 partitions (OS & Games)

This is what I'm planning to do

But this method i can't create 2 partitions, guy who wrote above article recommend shrink drive option after install the OS.

 

So I just got a 256gb Samsung PM800.

Its at 94 power on count, 70 hours power on count, and at 92% health. Should I be worried? Or am I just being paranoid?

 

What tool are you using to get these numbers?

 

Crystal Disk Info

 

You can use methods here Hack to Remove 100 MB System Reserved Partition When Installing Windows 7 My Digital Life

Just use method 3 and you will achieve your goal. Works for me.