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

I don't know. Do you think you need an SSD?

If you do want an SSD, might as well get a top performer. However, you can't go wrong with another brand, provided it's a good brand with a good controller. You'll easily see the difference between an HDD and an SSD even if it's slower than an Intel.

 

I dont need one, I just want to achieve my dream machine
It's pretty much the only thing slowing me down..
Do you think if I wait until this summer I'll get faster performance, along with cheaper prices?

 

Really thinking about a X25 atm, though at Uni, there is definitely budget constraint. Might have to get rid of this laptop first...

 

Even with the newer and nominally faster drives coming out, Intel G2s will remain relevant for a very long time, methinks. And $400 is a gret price, really.

Hmm. Wait a week of so. I have G2 160GBs of my own coming from a steal eBay auction. I might be able to get you something better than $400.

 

Oh,that would be awesome kind sir
My seller is out of unit anyway, so I'll have to wait until I hear about another good deal..!
*SoccerThierry waits more..

 

Personally, I wouldn't call it a great price, though relatively it might be pretty good.

 

It's how much I got mine for a couple of months ago. I'm trying to make myself feel good here.

 

So I installed Ubuntu in a partition on my 160GB G2 Intel since everyone ignored my question, and Ubuntu is FAST. Much more than Windows.

 

lol really? But u do have to understand the ubhutu doesn't require as many resources as windows to run so it is going to be faster.. IMO , $400 is a great investment for Intel G2 if u need speed...

 

I know Ubuntu uses less resources and is lighter than Windows, but I am saying the speed increase I felt was greater with going from Ubuntu on an hdd to ssd vs the transition of Windows from hdd to ssd.

 

Before I can sell an SSD that has personal data on it, how do I go about securely erasing/deleting it?

From within windows, could I just delete the files from the recycling bin, then run a program like Eraser and perform 1 overwrite on all the freespace?

Would that work?

 

If the SSD's controller supports the ATA secure erase command then you can use HDDErase DOS based program or GParted to secure erase. It sends a command to the controller to reset the drive. It can be tricky finding a machine that it will work on though.

Within windows with the drive plugged in as a spare you can open an elevated command prompt, type d iskpart> list disk> select disk 0 (if 0 is the disk you want to erase)> clean all

The clean all command writes 0's to the whole drive.

 

That'll work with an Intel G1?

 

HDDErase is the only way I know to reset/restore performance, writing 0's with the clean all command should make it very difficult/impossible to retrive info from it. The only sure way I think would be a secure erase with HDDErase or Gparted.

 

How about something like DBaN, or something that uses Guttman passes?

Or am I talking about the same thing.

 

If you are selling an SSD you not only want to remove your data off of it, you want it's performance restored to like new so the customer is happy -- that will require removing the data from it. Writing anything, be it 1's or 0's is data and the drive will perform as if every cell has been written to.

The OP didn't state what drive he has but if it has TRIM, it is possible to do a quick format and give the drives controller some time to wear level and restore the drive. If it is a drive without TRIM or GC, you have to use the ATA secure erase command to reset the SSD. I would think the Intel G2's would be the easiest to reset by formatting and running the SSD toolbox.

 

so I've setup my Intel X25-M 160GB 34nm Postville SSD in my Aspire 1410 SU3500 with the Acer Vista 32bit SP1 recovery dvds and updated the majority of the system (SP2, Intel INF, GMA 4500MHD drivers, Intel SSD Toolbox 1.3, DX11, java 6u19, flash 10.0.45.2, chrome 4.1.249.1045, firefox 3.6.3, google toolbar on all browsers, ESET NOD32 v4.2 even with the stock McAfee Internet Security with auto scanning disabled, Windows Live, Adobe Reader 9.3.1, DivX 7, I left Google Desktop as the stock version from Acer set to default vista desktop search tool aswell). After all that I'm finding 0 performance difference!?!?! Everything running equally as fast as my stock Toshiba 5400rpm HDD. Is this a limitation with my chipset? Or is it the fault of my anti-vir(us/ii)?

After seeing no performance changes I tried moving the pagefile to seperate partition on the same SSD using a 64KB allocation unit NTFS partition vs the stock 4KB allocation unit the Acer recovery dvds made for drive C:. Still no change in performance. I turned off a few services too, ReadyBoost, Superfetch, Tablet PC service, Windows Firewall, Windows Defender and no improvement yet.

Any ideas what will make programs/system boot/load more instantly?

 

it all depends on your needs however an SSD gives you the largest improvement per dollar and the fastest most noticeable improvement in performance than anything else you could buy for your system. Putting an SSD into your existing compatible system will make your usage performance increase more than even buying the latest available spec non-SSD system on the market today.

Without the performance benefits you gain other conveniences like physical shock durability and huge lifespan.

With no moving parts there's no damage or performance hinderence to physical shock/movement during operation.

No moving parts to wear and tear so SSDs last years longer than a spinning HDD.

They consume far less power and produce much less heat which makes your electric bill go down (more money in your pocket) and makes laptop batteries last longer as well less heat means less need for the laptop fan to use power working.

Data is far less effected by temperature since there's no magnetics involved which should also make your data more durable passing around powerful magnets even during operation.

When your SSD approaches expirery you will get a warning which for Intel SSDs occurs 1-3yrs before expirery that the cells are starting to ware out but no data loss/damage will occur.

Finally when your SSD does expire there is absolutely no data loss or damage, it simply just loses the ability to write/erase data which effectively write-protects your SSD. Plus an expired/write-protected SSD will retain its data for another 10yrs like a Sanyo Eneloop NiMH battery.

Now combine that with the performance boosts and you decide if those features are worth $4/GB vs the average 10-40¢/GB spinning HDD.

 

Download the CrystalDiskMark 2.2 to test your SSD current performance.

Don't forget to clear the folder after disabling the Superfetch

 

what do you mean clear the folder after disabling superfetch?

also there's a CDM 3.5.5a does that mean alpha or is it a complete safe release?

 

The Prefetch folder under Windows folder

C: > Windows > Prefetch

 

well I didn't turn off prefetch just the superfetch and readyboost services

 

Superfetch = Prefetch folder

 

but my 2nd question you havn't aswered yet, should I use the CDM 3.5.5a or just the 2.2 version? I can't tell if 3.5.5a is alpha release or official release

I havn't thought of updating my SATA drivers, do I need to? How come my Mobile Intel 4 Series Express chipset doesn't have NCQ?

50MB 5 iterations

Code:

--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  229.318 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  110.466 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  174.792 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  107.280 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :    8.187 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   37.324 MB/s

         Test Size : 50 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 4:00:35

EDIT 5:12AM EDT:
I found what I think is the latest driver for the SATA controller. Guess I'll see if that makes a diff...

Strangely I got a huge performance boost when I uninstalled the Intel Matrix Storage driver version 8.8.0.1009 which reverted me to Microsoft Standard AHCI 1.0 Serial ATA Controller driver version 6.0.6002.18005

50MB 5 iterations

Code:

--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  246.264 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  111.478 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  182.075 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  110.704 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   15.393 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   44.287 MB/s

         Test Size : 50 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 5:05:30

1000MB 5 iterations

Code:

--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  255.594 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  108.045 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  187.463 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  111.015 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   15.713 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   39.308 MB/s

         Test Size : 1000 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 5:26:28

 

Guys... you can leave superfetch/prefetch alone on Vista.

Also:
DON'T EVER come along and switch of random processes and/or services - and whoever had the speed problem, the Antivirus might be your most likely culprit alongside manufacturer bloat.

 

Do a clean install. Turn off Hibernate. Turn off system restore. Dare I say turn off Pagefile if you have 4Gb RAM or more? (runs for cover)

 

Hibernate - its not needed that you turn it off, in fact, leave it turned on, it doesn't do any harm.

In fact it will save your data if you send your laptop too sleep and the battery run out... (considering you have hibernate enabled)

System Restore - its not clean cut - its your choice, I have turned it off, however it means I couldn't use it in the even of any OS related accident.

Pagefile - leave it on.

On another note - none of the 3 points mentioned above would affect the "in usage speed" of your laptop.

 

@Ghetto Child
Your CDM test is fine (not top) which shows your SSD is in good shape.

Like DetlevCM suggestion, try to look for the culprit/bloat which makes your laptop slow.

Or a clean install FTW.

Just make sure you have all the drivers before the clean install.

 

I agree totally that none will result in any speed change. Hibernate will get you almost 3Gb back and Pagefile 3.5Gb which is very valuable with the storage capacity of an ssd. I still, after several years now and alot of power usage, have yet to have any negative effect because of pagefile being turned off.

With respect to System Restore, even Intel is now recommend it be turned off with the ssd. I don't think there is any proof to the contrary that it makes it a very difficult job for TRIM as the allocated restore volume grows.

Here is my question for the experts and I would love some first hand input.

I can find countless people throughout the net who have tested TRIM on RAID, most commonly RAID 0, and they have shown through tests before and after after writing large amounts of data and then deleting it, that TRIM is in fact working on the RAID volume.

Further, Intel appears to be confused as their own documentation reflects that it works and then they again state that it doesn't work.

I have dug deep and cannot find a single instance of someone testing and being able to show conclusiverly that it doesnt work yet.....

I can find dozens of posted results with their methodology that seems to prove that TRIM is working in simple RAID volumes...

I can also find tons of people who will scream that TRIM doesn't work on the RAID volume because Intel says so yet offer no further proof.

I would like the experience here in order to have a place of reference if I may and will, within the next few minutes, show examples of what I have been stating although i know the first was from a member here and i cant find it...

So.....the floor is open folks!

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=4297492&postcount=26

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...Support-coming&p=500684&viewfull=1#post500684



At the end of the day, IMHO I cannot find any other reasonable explanation to account for the return in performance except to say that TRIM seems to be working in the RAID volume.

Thoughts?

 

new results after rebooting and running tests again the two 512K speeds dropped and then a few more tests installing the latest Intel Rapid Storage (RST) driver my speeds are back up. So it looks like the initial culprit was the Intel Matrix Storage driver 8.x.x.x.

Why should I turn off ReadyBoost and Superfetch now? Is it because it has no effect on performance? Does it degrade the SSD's lifespan? My test results are approx 1MB/s different with RB and SF on vs off.

I always leave pagefile on but I partitioned my SSD and moved the pagefile to a 64KB allocation unit 10GB NTFS part. I'm using 3GB ram but I will upgrade to 4GB later on, I wish Aspire 1410 could handle 8GB. I'll never stop using hibernate because I only shut down/reboot once a month to once ever few months.

I'll now post my list of results from various tests. I didn't label which result was to which system settings so they're various tests with virus scanning on & off, readyboost/superfetch on & off, Google Desktop Search on & off. All tests were 5 iterations.

Code:

--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : [url]http://crystalmark.info/[/url]
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  239.910 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  110.394 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  182.255 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  109.680 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   11.522 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   17.518 MB/s

         Test Size : 50 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 6:03:44
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : [url]http://crystalmark.info/[/url]
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  249.216 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  107.590 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  183.074 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  108.281 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   11.833 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   16.971 MB/s

         Test Size : 1000 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 6:10:03
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : [url]http://crystalmark.info/[/url]
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  241.607 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  110.663 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  102.938 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  110.213 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   11.541 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   17.553 MB/s

         Test Size : 50 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 6:40:27
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : [url]http://crystalmark.info/[/url]
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  240.106 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  110.969 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  179.766 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  108.813 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   11.480 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   17.481 MB/s

         Test Size : 50 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 6:49:16
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : [url]http://crystalmark.info/[/url]
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  249.394 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  108.571 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  182.770 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  109.924 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   11.791 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   16.997 MB/s

         Test Size : 1000 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 6:58:42
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : [url]http://crystalmark.info/[/url]
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  242.485 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  111.078 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  180.969 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  110.431 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   11.538 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   17.577 MB/s

         Test Size : 50 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 7:06:09
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : [url]http://crystalmark.info/[/url]
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  245.113 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  111.862 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  182.739 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  111.273 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   16.673 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   47.911 MB/s

         Test Size : 50 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 8:29:37
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : [url]http://crystalmark.info/[/url]
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  246.504 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  112.101 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  188.367 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  111.551 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   16.008 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   48.044 MB/s

         Test Size : 50 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 8:43:28
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : [url]http://crystalmark.info/[/url]
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  246.424 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  111.223 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  188.148 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  111.199 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   16.242 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   48.137 MB/s

         Test Size : 50 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 8:52:07
--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
      Crystal Dew World : [url]http://crystalmark.info/[/url]
--------------------------------------------------

   Sequential Read :  253.616 MB/s
  Sequential Write :  107.624 MB/s
 Random Read 512KB :  187.929 MB/s
Random Write 512KB :  110.686 MB/s
   Random Read 4KB :   16.419 MB/s
  Random Write 4KB :   40.987 MB/s

         Test Size : 1000 MB
              Date : 2010/04/08 8:56:47

 

I suppose there is the "space issue" - on the other hand, why do you buy such a small SSD in the first place today?

And a SSD is not a storage media.

Pagefile - better safe than sorry

And System Restore - I've not seen Intel documentation - as I haven't been digging.
But it won't stop anything from running.

 

Again...agree totally that an ssd shouldn't be ones main storage media...but this is the thought process and, quite frankly, main reason so many haven't jumped yet.

 

I suppose this dates back to the times when people would only ever have 1 computer with 1 HDD...

Well, they will change eventually

 

I only play with services that sound like they're not necessary like the Tablet PC one and WMP Network service. I usually test them one at a time to see if I need them running at all and I always set it to manual so as to allow the system to turn it on if it's necessary and not start it automatically at boot.

I always turn off system restore because I just don't use it. I rather fix things manually and actually learn/know what went wrong in the first place. The one time I tried using system restore it had zero effect solving my problem. I rather just reclaim the disk space SR uses. I still want to know how I can set in the register where to store the hibernate and pagefile files. I want to put them on a seperate drive/partition but inside a specific folder per OS partition on this SSD (one folder for vista 32bit, another for win7 32bit, one more for win7 64bit, etc).

If you don't actually need hibernation then you should use disk cleanup to remove the file to reclaim all that space. Pagefile I think should always be kept in the off chance a program makes an error and doesn't release the ram you don't want to get a frozen/crashed system just because a program hiccuped.

Well I did have most of the important drivers just didn't think about the SATA controller. The Acer recovery came stock with 8.8.0.1009 Intel Matrix Storage Manager which is not extremely old yet it was hindering performance more than uninstalling for the stock vista SATA AHCI 1.0 driver.

As for the value of the 3GB+, I can live with the 3GB+ loss to pagefile and hibernate that's why I bought the 160GB to have more room. I'm only going to triple/quad-boot for a few months then go back down to a dual of Win7 & Linux both 64bit.

I almost forgot it seems the Desktop Window Manager service (DWM) has an effect on the SSD performance too. I'll double check that later on.

 

I read online that compressing the drive improves performance, reduces actual written data, and therefore extends the life of the SSD. Is this a good idea for the entire OS drive? Especially on a notebook like the Acer Aspire 1410 C2D SU3500? Is it more effective to just compress specific folders and files like temp internet files, pagefile, hibernation file, system temp folders, program temp/cache folders? Is there a performance benefit moving all program/system temp/cache files to a 2nd partition on the same SSD?

Could someone out there test these out? Thanks

 

Winsat disk benchmark of my new OCZ Vertex LE...

 

You can change where the pagefile is located, ie i have it on the first partition of my secondary drive rather than my ssd

 

just wonder if it's faster than intel x-25m in real world performance?

 

Sorry for not specifying, it's the X18-m G2.

So run diskpart>list disk>select disk 0, then maybe format and clean install, then run the toolbox and TRIM it?

Would that pretty much do the trick even if my computer (Envy 15) doesn't support ATA secure erase (which I'm sure it doesn't).

 

You don't have to do any of that stuff with that drive, just do a quick format with it plugged in as a spare then run the Intel SSd toolbox on it and you should be good to go.

 

Wow, I always though TRIM didn't work in RAID0, cause I wanted to run an Envy 15 with two x18-m G2's in RAID0. I guess it works after all and I should do it?

 

So far I can't tell the difference but I just got my machine put together and up and running. Got some issues to deal with like taking it all back apart so I can RMA the mobo cuz it doesn't recognize the C-1 ram slot.

 

Okay. I'm most concerned about securely deleting the data (not so much about performance regain). Is that what you meant?

Also, do you mean like a quick format from the windows 7 install disk, or should I format it from an active hdd runing within windows? Do you also run the toolbox from your other hdd, or do I have to reinstall windows on the hdd I want wiped to run it? How does that work?

Thanks so much for the help!

 

Yeah, just plug the drive into a machine with an operating system, say, Windows, then go to control panel>administrative tools>computer management>storage>disk management>right click on the drive and select format. Yes, just run the toolbox on it, you can check if the data is gone by running an HDTune graph, if it is a fairly straight line over 200 mb/s then the data is gone and the NAND is clean.

 

sorry in adavnce if this has been dealt with before - did not want to go through 455 pages to find out.
I just purchased and installed into my desktop, a Intel X25-M 160gb ssd (2nd gen SSDSA2MH160G2C1). Used ghost to clone my sata drive onto the ssd.
rebooted from the ssd and w7ultimateN64 runs like a charm (all tasks, including purchase of ssd from infotec done today).
I then did some searching and discovered there was a tool from Intel, the Intel Solid State Drive Toolbox, which I downloaded and installed (version 1.3.0.000).
Upon running this program, it shows 2 drives, my SSD C drive, and my SATA D drive - both with the accompanying message "Error connecting to drive".
Of course, since I am unable to select any of the 2 drives, I also cannot select any of the 5 options to execute on the drives.
Why is my seemingly perfectly-functioning ssd drive unale to "connect" with this tool?
Thanks in advanced.

 

make sure your 160gb is set to ahci mode and not IDE. Check your bios setup.

 

I don't see that as an option anywhere. I see "Extended IDE Drive", which is set to "Auto" (other option is "none") and Access Mode, which is set to "Auto" (other option is "Large").

Would changing any of thses settings do the trick?

 

Just a thought but, have you cloned from a previous upgrade? If so you may have a hidden directlory called Windows Old which is being read incorrectly. In any case, the most valuable tip I can give you is to back up any data and do a clean install onto that ssd. Its value cannot be stated enough as it gets rid of all the garbage that has collected over time and ensures your system is set up perfectly. I cant even count the number of times this has addressed different problems which have been experienced through reinstallation of cloned operating systems.

 

thanks, les. I was trying to avoid that, but maybe I should just bite the bullet.

 

Before I do a fresh w7 install onto my ssd, I'm going to check out dsome other options. Even though it was a "clone", the drive it was cloned from had a fresh w7 install only a few weeks ago - hardly enough time to accumulate "bad habits" that would be migrated onto my new ssd.
Could it be that the lack of ahci option in my bios drive choices is related to the bios itself which a firmware upgrade, if available, would solve? I'll check later if there's a firmware upgrade to my asus m/b P5N-E SLI ACPI IOS Revision 1406 11/18/2009 - which seems to be quite recent now that I look at it. Maybe that's not the problem after all. I'll keep digging around.