Changed from IDE to AHCI...

[frodofeet]

For anyone interested, or trying to decide whether to go AHCI, here's my experience so far...

Received my new PC from ocuk (Ultima Viper, i7 950) with the OCZ Vertex2 60GB. SSD came setup as IDE, but I was expecting it to be AHCI. After speaking with an ocuk tech, was advised that ocuk still use IDE as default, as the jury was still out on whether AHCI really provides any benefits. So it's worth keeping in mind to anyone ordering a new system, to request AHCI when you order.

I wanted to check for myself because I'd read conflicting reports online.



PC straight from ocuk

Installed as IDE.
SSD was on port 3, DVD on port 1, HDD on port 5. Rather a strange choice I thought. Not sure if ports used really matter in performance terms, but I didn't like the order much.

Using ATTO Disk Benchmark:

Avg. write = 245 mb/s
Avg. read = 235 mb/s

WEI = 7.4 HD / 7.4 Overall

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/frodofeet/misc/ATTO.jpg



PC after changing to AHCI

I used the registry hack method as Windows was already installed, and I didn't fancy doing a clean install.
I changed the sata cables around to have SSD on port 1, HDD on port 3, and DVD port 5 (silly perhaps, but it felt right ).
Everything went okay, no problems at all.

Using ATTO Disk Benchmark:

Avg. write = 270 mb/s
Avg. read = 280 mb/s

WEI = 7.7 HD / 7.5 Overall

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/frodofeet/misc/ATTO2.jpg



Anyway, I must admit I'm surprised. I wasn't expecting much of an increase (if any). I guess these are just numbers, not a true reflection on actual real-world usage, but I'm certainly pleased with the results. Now I need read up on what to do next with Windows tweaks, and perhaps look at updating the SSD drivers. Not sure if the Intel RST drivers will help performance any? Plenty to read over at the OCZ forums...


http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?79848-THE-BASIC-GUIDE-amp-FAQ-ABC-for-OCZ-SSD

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...55-Change-from-IDE-to-AHCI-after-Installation

 

[Duke]

I don't know about your motherboard, but some have different controllers for the SATA ports. I think it was a Gigabyte I had before that had the Intel controller and their own one (can't remember the chip) and the Intel one was far better.

So it might be worth checking that, incase the difference is because of that rather than changing the mode?

 

[frodofeet]

Good point, thanks for the tip, will check it out.

 

[DamoTourettes]

Er, why does OC set them as IDE?

Same same - just got an i7 950 with the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R, and an OCZ Vertex 2E 120GB SSD. Email I got from OC said "The tech team here all use their drives setup as IDE." Not particularly awesome - if you were selling PC's based on OC performance and expert knowledge, would you not want to try and squeeze as much performance out of it as possible?

Anyway, just ran a similar benchmark after flipping over to AHCI from IDE, and got the following: -

Question I've now got is, apparently there's some Intel drivers that are meant to make the most of performance increase, although I really don't know what they are. Would this be related to the IC10 controller, and if so, does anyone know where I might source the most recent revision?

Cheers -

Damo