verifying optimal performance 750 ssd

[DPick2]

So I've got a 400gb 750 HHHL ssd installed, finally got it to boot with a fresh install of Win7 64bit (GPT).

Benchmarks are coming out reasonably well, but real world performance has seen some indicators that it might not be configured correctl - Windows takes over a minute to boot up and VideoStudio X7 takes 6-7 sec to open, etc.

Using the intel ssd toolbox I've updated the 750 firmware, and downloaded and installed intel's NVMe drivers for win 7.

What am I looking for to verify that it is configured correctly and getting optimal performance?

System:

i5 4690k

msi gaming 5 z97 mobo

16 gb ddr3 ram

GTX 960

two 1TB HDDs

one 80gb intel x25-m ssd

400gb 750 ssd

[jbenavides]

Hello Surf,

The screenshots you provided suggest that the SSD is working correctly, it is connected at PCIe Gen 3.0 x4 as it should be. We were not able to confirm the version of the toolbox and the firmware.

Considering this, here are some suggestions in order to make you are using the optimal settings for your SSD.

- Make sure you are using https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/18455/Intel-Solid-State-Drive-Toolbox Intel® SSD Toolbox 3.3.3, and that the firmware of your Intel® SSD 750 Series is 8EV10174.

- Use Intel® SSD Toolbox to run the Intel® SSD Optimizer.

- Check with the http://www.intel.com/support/oems.htm Computer Manufacturer Support and confirm you are using the most recent BIOS for your PC.

[DPick2]

Okay I upgraded to windows 10 to try to improve compatibility and performance.

Boot times still take up to a staggering 1m 15sec!!!

Benchmarks are underperforming as well.

1557 makes sequential read.

When in intel toolbox, if i highlight the intel 750 drive icon the popup says "controller for this drive is in AHCI or RAID mode." Could that be an issue?

I updated to the newest SSD toolbox and drivers as you indicated.

[jbenavides]

Hello Surf,

The advertised performance is obtained using specific conditions and test configuration, new drive, preconditioned, with 32 queue depth and multiple workers, etc. If you are benchmarking your boot drive, you will get lower results than the advertised. Crystal Disk Mark has fixed tests and you would need to modify the test parameters to obtain realistic values.

Please check the following thread for more information about benchmarking:

The Intel® SSD 750 Series is a PCIe NVMe drive and with your motherboard this is handled by the CPU. The message about AHCI should not be relevant, and possibly refers to the Onboard storage controller.

Boot times vary from system to system, PCIe normally takes longer to initialize than SATA, however, they are a lot faster once the OS is fully initialized: http://www.intel.com/support/ssdc/hpssd/ssd-750/sb/CS-035809.htm Intel® SSD 750 Series — Slow to Boot Time FAQ

You can apply some additional actions to make sure you are getting the most out of your new SSD:

- Check with the http://www.intel.com/support/oems.htm Computer Manufacturer Support and obtain the most recent BIOS for your system.

- Contact the board manufacturer to confirm you are using their recommended configuration for NVMe drives.

- You might want to check if you get better performance when the drive is connected to a PCIe slot that is exactly version 3.0 x4, instead of using an x16 or x8 slot.