Intel SSD 520 Series 120GB

[idata]

Hi, I have DELL XPS 630i PC with Nvidia 650i SLI chipset. I purchased Intel SSD 520 120GB but it's running as SATA1 not SATA2. The HDD 500GB Samsung connects as SATA2 but not the SSD. In BIOS I don't have options to enable AHCI or anything. Does anyone has an answer on why I can't run SSD on SATA2?

[idata]

That's good info, thanks for posting that for stuck Nvidia chipset users. The link to the Nvidia thread is useful too.

I did notice an error in the thread about TRIM in RAID. It is true that SSDs that are part of a RAID volume/array (RAID 0, 1, 5, etc) will not receive the TRIM command. But, when the SATA mode is set to RAID, SSDs that are NOT part of a RAID volume, just single stand alone SSDs like most people use them, will receive the TRIM command. The RAID software that is the middle man between the Windows file system and the special way files are stored in a RAID volume, is not able to send the TRIM command to the RAID volume for whatever reason. A single SSD that is not part of a RAID volume has no need for the RAID software to translate the Windows file system view of a file into the actual RAID storage method, so the RAID software does nothing, and the Windows file system commands, including the TRIM command, get to the SSD normally. A single SSD on an Intel SATA controller in RAID mode is really operating in AHCI mode. You only lose TRIM if a SSD is part of a RAID volume.

Another thought for you. Windows 7 has a built in RAID driver, as they do for AHCI mode, msahci. Windows 7, according to Microsoft, during an OS installation, will automatically load their RAID driver if you set the SATA mode in the BIOS to RAID, without loading any driver at all when that option appears during the installation. I've never done this, but Intel also states in some of their RAID documentation, that this is the case.

My point is that AHCI is a subset of RAID, at least with Intel's RAID/AHCI driver, so you might be able to get AHCI capabilities like NCQ by using RAID mode. Will this work with your chipset? I don't know, I don't own a board with that chipset.

I would not suggest that you change to RAID mode with your current OS installation, which will cause problems. If you had a "spare" (HA!) SSD, you could test this by trying to install Windows on it in RAID mode on your Nvidia chipset board, and see if it works. As I said, just an idea.