IDE-AHCI-RAID... so far

[idata]

When I start my bios i can choose how to set up my SSD: AHCI,IDE,RAID

AHCI and IDE are similar (AHCI newer and more advanced, IDE more standard and compatible) AHCI, I guess, support the automatic TRIM in window7 while IDE don't but i am not sure about this...

RAID has two possibilities:

a) single SSD

Doesn't support automatic TRIM but support the TOOLBOX (correct me if wrong)

b) With RAID-0 SSD (2xSSD disk)

Doesn't support anything but go faster ^_^ (there is any way to trim or clean the empty space with this configuration?)

This said if you have just one SSD which one would you advice?

AHCI?

IDE?

RAID-mono disk?

[GCatt]

Fernando wrote:

davem1979 schrieb:

1. Is my Intel X25M using the Intel Matrix Storage Driver, and should I not worry that in Device Manager under "Disk Drives" it says it's using the Microsoft driver?

2. I still need to format the RAID 0 Samsungs, and the other 1tb Samsung. Using Disk Management, do I just create a simple volume for both of them? As well, for the RAID 0 Samsungs, I set the stripe size in the BIOS at 128K the default, but when I create the NTFS volume, it asks me for the size I think of the clusters, do I just use default?

3. Should I use MBR (master boot record) type of partition for those drives?

Here are my answers:

1. All your storage drives (SSD, RAID0 and single hdd), which are connected to the Intel SATA ports of your mainboard, are always using the same SATA driver, in your case the Intel MSM driver named IASTOR.SYS. The drivers, which are shown within the "Disk Drives" section of the Device Manager, are not the drivers, which are used by the SATA Controllers.

Conclusion: Everything is fine, there is nothing to worry about.

David,

Ferando is correct that all of your SATA devices connected to the Intel Storage Controller are using the Intel MSM driver. Since you have set the controller to RAID mode, that means ALL devices connected to the controller are in RAID mode, and your SSD will not receive TRIM commands since Intel's MSM driver does not support TRIM when in RAID mode. Please correct me if I'm wrong, Ferando. This is the exact reason I'm not using a SSD right now, as my Intel Storage Controller is also in RAID mode and will not send TRIM commands to the devices connected to it.

[idata]

When RAID mode is set in the BIOS, Windows 7 cannot pass the trim command to a single SSD on the Intel ICH10r or similar. This is why Intel has the "SSD Toolbox". With the SSD Toolbox, you can set up the single SSD on a schedule to be trimmed by the SSD Toolbox, or trim it manually, even when the BIOS on the motherboard is set to RAID mode.

The Intel SSD toolbox will not however trim 2 or more SSD's that are setup in a RAID configuration such as RAID 0, RAID 1 etc...

At this point in time, there is no reason to avoid SSD's, because we have all the tools necessary now to keep them optimized at peak performance. The only thing we don't have now is the trim command for 2 or more SSD's in a RAID configuration.

Best,

David

[DZand]

davem1979 schrieb:

The Intel SSD toolbox will not however trim 2 or more SSD's that are setup in a RAID configuration such as RAID 0, RAID 1 etc...

At this point in time, there is no reason to avoid SSD's, because we have all the tools necessary now to keep them optimized at peak performance. The only thing we don't have now is the trim command for 2 or more SSD's in a RAID configuration.

Currently the Trim command will not be passed, if your SSD is connected to any SATA Controller running in RAID Mode.

The cleaning of an SSD by using the Optimizer of Intel's SSD Toolbox has the same result but doesn't use the Trim command.

Furthermore the ability to use the Optimizer of Intel's SSD Toolbox doesn't depend on the number of SSD's running in RAID Mode, but only on the question, if they are part of a created RAID.

You can create a RAID containing just 1 SSD, but you won't be able to run the Optimizer of Intel's SSD Toolbox with this SSD.

[idata]

Am I correct in assuming that if I simply buy a separate PCI SATAII controller and plug my SSD into it while the Intel RAID controller on the motherboard supports, say, a RAID 0 array, I can get the best of both worlds, RAID and a TRIM'ed boot SSD?

- Eric

[GCatt]

Possibly, but if you want to boot from your SSD, you need to make sure that's possible from the PCI Card. I was intersted in the ASUS U3S6 PCI card to get SATA 6.0 GBps performance for a boot SSD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813995004&cm_re=u3s6-_-13-995-004-_-Product http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813995004&cm_re=u3s6-_-13-995-004-_-Product), but Asus confirmed that drives connected to that card are data only and will not boot. Also, the Intel on-boad controller will perform better than a PCI SATA interface due primarly to Intel's controller cache and on-board I/O.