SSD Toolbox can't communicate with Intel SSD nor HDD in SATA RAID

[idata]

I've discovered that having a direct SATA connection to Intel SSD is not enough for the Toolbox to communicate despite what the SSD product FAQ's and other instructions say. It appears that configuring mobo BIOS for RAID is yet another hurdle the application can't get over. I didn't test this w/o BIOS RAID configuration so I don't know if that works or not.

The relevant system components are entirely Intel. My Intel DX79SI mobo with i7-3930 processor is configured with one 300GB Intel 320SSD as system disk and a set of 3 mechanical drives in a RAID5 data set controlled with an Intel C600 SATA controller. It boots and runs fine. However the SSD Toolbox reports that SMART is disabled so it can't display SMART wearout and drive health data. Neither can the Toolbox view SMART data for any of the other SATA HDD in the RAID set. Given this issue I don't trust that it is properly reporting the firmware level, or that it can safely update SSD firmware if it thinks it's warranted.

It doesn't appear that Intel has posted this as a known issue in any literature, but I'm assuming this problem isn't strictly limited to my system. I'd like a response saying this is either a known issue else is known to work. We can proceed from there.

[DShar11]

It will not work on raided drives.

I have had two 520's in R0 for almost a month now. If anything they are speeding up. These are very impressive drives to be sure, at least up till now.

[idata]

No kidding Dave, I should have slept before posting, not after.

Frankly, I was reluctant to say check the SMART setting in your BIOS, since I don't have that system and don't know what the UEFI/BIOS is like. You did notice I threw that in at the end, right?

As I wrote, I've read that the Toolbox was glitchy on X79/RSTe, although I should have known that was a general statement, or not true... Doh!

What do you mean, "... impressive up until now"?

[DShar11]

I simply meant that I do not have much experience yet with SF drives and i am pityful at predicting the future.

But I could not be more pleased with the 520's, pleased enough that I am selling my beloved M4's.

Almost four weeks with the drives now and I am on my second x79 mobo. Been overclocking the chip and gpu's mercilessly, and not one single drive issue. Says a lot to me, and I keep edging up in drive bench's also, thay are just getting broken in, lol.

[idata]

I simply meant that I do not have much experience yet with SF drives and i am pityful at predicting the future.

But I could not be more pleased with the 520's, pleased enough that I am selling my beloved M4's.

Almost four weeks with the drives now and I am on my second x79 mobo. Been overclocking the chip and gpu's mercilessly, and not one single drive issue. Says a lot to me, and I keep edging up in drive bench's also, thay are just getting broken in, lol.

You sir are a maniac .

I have 14 SSDs, and not one of them uses a SF controller, until my 520 of course. I have avoided SF like the plague until Intel used it, the only company I would trust to get the SF firmware right. Of the four manufactures of SSDs I own, including Intel (G2's, 510, 520) none of them have given me any problems at all, absolutely nothing, I don't know what a BSOD is . Seriously, I've had more HDDs fail on me than SSDs, my SSD failure rate is zero.

Sell your M4's?! I love my M4s (I consider Crucial/Micron to be Intel's cousin), in the US their prices have dipped so low recently, I can get a 128GB M4 for $170 or a bit less at multiple places. Today I saw the 256GB M4's for $295 with free shipping at the Egg!! I still paid ~$240 for a 120GB 520 at a local B&M store, but it was a little painful.

My M4s have better results with AS SSD than my 520 (and my 510... OMG, my G2's can beat it!) although the Copy Bench results are very similar to the M4s, better in one file/data type, a bit less in another, used singly, non-RAID, P67 chipset, 6Gb/s ports, IRST driver. I don't worship AS SSD results, since my worst benching SSD (510) is the fastest virus scanner of any single SSD I have, except now perhaps the 520. What I need now is more real 6Gb/s SATA ports on my board!!!

BTW, do your 520's show a huge number in the Uncorrectable Error Count SMART attribute? There is a thread about it in this forum. My 520 is showing a huge number for that attribute, but I can't see anything wrong with it. The Toolbox rates it Ok, another SMART tool did not.

[DShar11]

Just checked both in the toolbox parsec. Both show 0 as the raw value for uncorrectable errors.

I am not sure about how much faith to put into the smart values yet. I still have Power Cycle Count, Unexpected Power Loss, and Unsafe Shutdown Count all raising at the same pace, and that is obviously wrong. Don't get me wrong, means nothing to me really. As you know these or any SF drive will get hammered in as ssd when compared to any drive with that marvelle controller. I can live with that. the 520 kicks but in every other bench, and some by a huge margin.And my R0 scores for pcmark vantage hdd suite are very very good. Hammered my M4 R0 score pretty good

http://3dmark.com/pcmv/485963 http://3dmark.com/pcmv/485963