Sata 3

[idata]

Is there any performance increase to run a X-25m 80Gb as Sata 3 ?

David

[RGiff]

NO it will run at SATA 2 specs.

[idata]

It depends on what SATA 3.0 controller you use. In theory performance would still be SATA 2.0, but there are not many SATA 3.0 controllers on the market and they might not perform as well in some instances when compared to Intel SATA 2.0 controllers. You should also check that the SATA 3.0 controller is capable of passing the TRIM commands. If it can't you would certainly be better of with SATA 2.0

Personally I would use an Intel SATA 2.0 controller in preference to a SATA 3.0 controller even if I had a SATA 3.0 drive.

For enterprise use that might be different.

[idata]

Thanks for that, it was only a thought whilst I wait for Intel to bring out a sata 3 SSD. I know Crucial has got one but just don't like those micron chips.

Anyway my SATA 3 is on an ASUS X58 mobo and is Marvell® PCIe SATA 6Gb/s controller 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports as to trim I can't answer that question.

David

[idata]

There is no real benefit using the Intel SSD on a SATA 6Gb/s controlller.

Using a non-native or third party controller, there might actually be a negative performance impact. The reason being is the increase latency and weaker driver support.

EDIT: Here is a recent review of the Crucial C300 SATA 6Gb/s SSD on various controllers: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2010/10/28/are-on-board-sata-6gbps-ports-fast-enough/3 http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2010/10/28/are-on-board-sata-6gbps-ports-fast-enough/3

Remember, this is a 6Gb/s SSD while the Intel G1/G2 are not. These benchmarks are only to show the controller's impact on performance.

In particular, look at the 4KB performance...

4KB Read Performance:

* The AMD SB850 does about 85MB/s.

* The Intel ICH10R on a X58 does 80MB/s.

* 3rd party host-based controllers do 44-147MB/s. The standout here is the Marvell 9120/9128 controller. I'm a bit surprised how well it performs here. If you remove this controller from the benchmark, all other 3rd party host-based controllers do worse than southbridge controllers.

4KB Write Performance:

* The AMD SB850 does about 96MB/s.

* The Intel ICH10R on a X58 does 85-89MB/s.

* 3rd party host-based controllers do 45-89MB/s with most being outperformed by southbridge controllers.