AHCI Drivers for Intel 510 120 GB SSD?

[DSchr2]

Background:

1) ASUS Crosshair V Formula motherboard

2) AMD 6-Core CPU

3) Intel 510 120 GB SSD set up on SATA Port # 1, all SATA Ports on AHCI

The ASUS AHCI drivers that come with the motherboard result in my being told that my Intel SSD is RAID Configured. It is not RAID Configured.

(Note: It must be the ASUS SATA drivers for the Crosshair V, as I do not have this problem on my Crosshair IV.) 

It is a single SSD for Win 7 64 bit and Programs.

What AHCI drivers are best, then, for a single 510 SSD?

Intel, MIcrosoft, ASUS - and which specifically?

Thanks!

[idata]

Well thank you, I appreciate your comments and am glad I could help you. Be my guest regarding posting my response on the OCN forum, drivers and chipsets can be confusing but it's really not very technical.

Using the AMD drivers is likely the best choice, if not the only choice. Intel provides driver downloads for all their chipsets, which is what I use and have never had a problem. I'm not sure about AMD, but it's worth checking since mother board manufactures can be slow about posting the latest drivers on the download pages of their boards. Just know which chipset the board has, and the OS being used to get the correct driver. AMD's SATA chipsets had the 6Gb/s capability long before Intel did, and from the tests of it I've seen, they perform great.

In case you don't know, when SSDs are part of a RAID array/set, the TRIM command will not get to the SSD. But, if the SATA mode is set to RAID, and a SSD is not part of a RAID array, TRIM will be passed to the SSD. With the Intel RAID driver, the SATA mode can be either AHCI or RAID, but you cannot create a RAID array when in AHCI mode. I am not aware of the "rules" about this with the AMD driver, but it is known that TRIM does not work with a SSD in a RAID array/set.

Whether or not the 510 SSD being seen as a RAID device by the AMD driver is an issue is unknown to me, and is why you asked about verifying TRIM, I imagine, and is an important point. AMD would be the best one to answer that question. I've never heard of that before, interesting, thanks for that info.

[DSchr2]

Geez, Sure hoping I don't wear out my welcome here but one final (I sure hope so! ) question:

Amongst the available AMD SATA (AHCI and RAID) drivers, which would be better for "the long run"? Now I am well aware that there is no such thing as a long run in computer technology, I do plan to replace my AMD 6-core with an 8-core AMD Bulldozer (if it ever makes the scene).

As of now I see two choices for AMD drivers:

AMD 1.2.1.292 VERSUS what I found at http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Pages/raid_windows.aspx http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownloa...d_windows.aspx

If you don't mind, then, kindly give me your opinion as to how I can be sure to load the appropriate AMD drivers in my Crosshair IV and Crosshair V installations. And thanks for going the extra mile (or two) for me.

[idata]

Not to worry, although we don't get many visits from AMD devotee's, you are more than welcome of course.

I certainly am not an expert on AMD drivers, but I can offer a few thoughts:

If you have any plans on creating RAID arrays composed of any type of drives, you must use the RAID driver, or change to it from an AHCI driver, which is not difficult. The problem with using SSDs in RAID arrays (if you do so) is the TRIM command from the OS will not reach them, so they cannot take advantage of that.

The other potential problem is this: Given a SATA interface in RAID mode (all the SATA ports provided by an interface/chipset are in the same mode) with a SSD connected to that interface that is not part of a RAID array, will that single SSD receive the TRIM command? The Intel RAID/AHCI driver (one driver serves both purposes) when in RAID mode will pass the TRIM command to a SSD that is not part of a RAID array. Will the AMD RAID driver do that? I don't know, you will need to get that information from AMD or a dependable source. This would be the downside in using the RAID driver with a SSD that is not part of a RAID array. OTOH, a SSD's built-in "garbage collection" function may be enough to make the absence of the TRIM command insignificant. Newer SSDs like the 510 have good garbage collection routines.

If you don't plan on creating any RAID arrays, then just use the AHCI driver. The RAID driver provides nothing more than the AHCI driver does, except the creation of RAID arrays.

I see that AMD does not have any drivers yet that are specifically for the 990 chipset you have, and it uses the 800 series chipset drivers. I read that the 990 chipset is basically the same as the best 800 series chipset (850?) but is updated to support the Bulldozer CPUs, which the 800 series does not do. My point here is simply to watch for 900 series chipset drivers that may perform better than the current drivers.

Updating/changing AHCI drivers is easily done and does not disrupt anything, so you should be able to try both of the AHCI drivers you are considering. You won't lose data or need to reload your OS, just run the installation program. You don't need to commit to one AHCI driver. As long as the driver is compatible with your chipset, as the ones you are considering are, you'll be fine. Usually the driver installation programs check what chipset they are dealing with and stop if it is not compatible. You saw how AMD offers choices of their chipsets in the drop down list on the download page. Just choose the correct chipset and you'll get the correct driver.

[idata]

I have had nothing but headache after headache until I used this:

To Enable AHCI In Windows

1) Run the Registry Editor (regedit.exe)2) Navigate to Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci3) Set the "Start" value to 0 (zero)4) Navigate to Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Pciide5) Set the "Start" value to 0 (zero)6) Shut down7) Start up again, but before Windows boots go into the BIOS configuration screens and change the disk mode to "AHCI". Save the new BIOS configuration and restart so that Windows boots.When Windows starts, it will detect the change, load the AHCI disk drivers, and do one more reboot to start up with themTo Enable Raid In Windows1) Run the Registry Editor (regedit.exe)2) Navigate To Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStorV3) Set the "Start" value to 0 (zero)4) Navigate to Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Pciide5) Set the "Start" value to 0 (zero)6) Shut down7) Start up again, but before Windows boots go into the BIOS configuration screens and change the disk mode to "RAID". Save the new BIOS configuration and restart so that Windows boots.When Windows starts, it will detect the change, load the RAID disk drivers, and do one more reboot to start up with themHow to enable TRIM Command in Windows 7 with a Solid State DriveTo enable or disable TRIM Command, you will need to open an Elevated Command Prompt window.How To Open an Elevated Command Prompt window: Click on Start Orb > Type "CMD.exe" in Search box > Right click on "CMD" and select "Run as Administrator" (If you receive a prompt confirmation, click YES)How to Enable TRIM CommandIn the Elevated command Prompt windows, type the following:fsutil behavior set disabledeletenotify 0How to Disable TRIM CommandIn the Elevated command Prompt windows, type the following:fsutil behavior set disabledeletenotify 1How do I know if TRIM is working in Windows 7?In the Elevated command Prompt windows, type the following:fsutil behavior query disabledeletenotifyResults explained below:DisableDeleteNotify = 1 (Windows TRIM commands are disabled)DisableDeleteNotify = 0 (Windows TRIM commands are enabled)

Just had to reboot several times to get bios in-line with hardware. Windows score now 7.3!

ASUS M4N98TD EVO, AMD 955 BLACK EDITION @ 3.2ghz, 8gb Corsair RAM, Dual EVGA GeForce GTX 465 SLI, WD 1TB Black, WD 500GB Black, WD 320GB Blue, Intel 320 series 160GB SSD, Lightscribe BD burner, Pioneer DVD burner, Antec 900 case, Windows 7 Home Premium.

[idata]

Hi,

Sorry if this is off-topic but as you appear to be the most knowledgeable person I've come across in this area I was wondering if you could clarify something I was told by someone else somewhere in this community.

The Intel SSDs cannot use the TRIM command when in RAID but I was told that they could use/still use something called Garbage Collection which in itself was a very efficient means of keeping things tidy and optimal. Is this true? What is the difference between the two and am I at a disadvantage through choosing to use RAID in this repect?

Many thanks in advance.