Intel 80GB SSD RAID
- Thread starter Robert
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Think rjkoneill had RAID-0 array using 2 x gen 2 80GB Intel X25-m's, but he ended up ditching them and going for a single 160GB because he said that he wittnessed quite large performance drops after a few weeks due to there not being TRIM support when using a RAID array.
The Corsair 800D is a really nice case, I have the TJ10BW here, and although it's really well build, I wasn't that impressed with it, as I wanted to watercool my GPU's and CPU but there just wasn't enough room in the TJ10 to fit rads, so I bought the TJ07 instead.
The Corsair 800D is a really nice case, I have the TJ10BW here, and although it's really well build, I wasn't that impressed with it, as I wanted to watercool my GPU's and CPU but there just wasn't enough room in the TJ10 to fit rads, so I bought the TJ07 instead.
I did it, see Post #25
When Intel drivers v9.6.0.1014, there was talk that TRIM was supported on a RAID volume, but the Intel notes were only stating that TRIM would operate on a G2 attached to the ICHxR controller that was setup in RAID but the SSD was running in AHCI mode (ie., it was not a part of the RAID volume), so NO, TRIM does not operate on a RAID volume made up of Intel SSDs...
Oh that's interesting, did you just install the new v10 beta drivers over the v9, or did you run HDDerase after taking an OS backup image, then replace the image and install the v10 beta drivers?
Could you please post AS-SSD benches of old v9 (without TRIM) and then new v10, if you have them...
Thanks...
I'm afraid I wasn't very scientific about it, Just updated the drivers and ran a quick AS-SSD, and the results were pretty similar to when it was freshly installed on HDDErased disks. I certainly can't see any chance of RAID0 drives deteriorating to the point where a single drive with TRIM is quicker.
From what I've read, v10 doesn't actually support TRIM, but it tweaks the drivers to be able to use more system RAM as cache. My bootrace times are definitely improved, 10s to logon.
Thanks Zarf for that feedback...
Currently have 2 x X25 M's in RAID 0 as well, but I use that partition for my Games drive, so I couldn't tell you if the performance has degraded much.
However, I could benchmark it now and then compare it to someone elses newer benchmark and see the difference, since I've had this install for the best part of a year now.
PS: Just out of interest, how are you getting 10 second boot times when the RAID manager thingy takes like 10 seconds on its own? (Or is that just mine since I have 7 drives?)
However, I could benchmark it now and then compare it to someone elses newer benchmark and see the difference, since I've had this install for the best part of a year now.
PS: Just out of interest, how are you getting 10 second boot times when the RAID manager thingy takes like 10 seconds on its own? (Or is that just mine since I have 7 drives?)
It's using the Bootracer app, there's a thread on it somewhere. It only measures from the start of the windows load, so after the raid manager has initialised.
Surely, the greatest strength of SSD's is low latency. RAID will most likely reduce both latency and real-world performance, even if benchmarks do show massive gains in sequential read/write speeds.
The reason I believe latency is king is because my old X25-M SSD "feels" faster than my new OCZ 2E, even when the 2E wins most benchmarks. The one area where the X25 wins easily is latency. I would not dream of RAIDing either drive, even when/if true TRIM support arrives.
The reason I believe latency is king is because my old X25-M SSD "feels" faster than my new OCZ 2E, even when the 2E wins most benchmarks. The one area where the X25 wins easily is latency. I would not dream of RAIDing either drive, even when/if true TRIM support arrives.
Soldato
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There's less than 1ms between those 2 drives, I'm sorry but you aren't noticing a difference between a few milliseconds.
Soldato
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Slightly OT, where are people getting the v10 RST beta drivers from?
RAID has almost no effect at all on access times.
From what I recall, the Intels have better performance than the simple benchmarks like Atto and AS-SSD can reveal.
Check out some IOMeter benchmarks, http://pcper.com/article.php?aid=874&type=expert&pid=7 There's life in the old dog yet.
From what I recall, the Intels have better performance than the simple benchmarks like Atto and AS-SSD can reveal.
Check out some IOMeter benchmarks, http://pcper.com/article.php?aid=874&type=expert&pid=7 There's life in the old dog yet.
A Google search should get you to a link quickly, they are hosted on a site called Station Drivers.
I noticed the difference immediately when opening Photoshop. The X25-M loads CS4 in 3-4 seconds, but the 2E takes 2-3x as long in my system. Perhaps the 2E is not suited for CS4 or perhaps it just did not like my ASUS mobo, but either way my feeling is that the "slower" X25-M feels faster in many cases.
Bit-Tech actually did a review showing worst-case latency times for the 2E and X25-M. The 2E returned 160ms vs 3.5ms for the X25-M.
I have observed the same in my system. I am currently using an X25-M and a current (loan from work) Vertex 2E and the X-25M simply feels snappier. They are both very zippy, but I think people underestimate the importance of latency and the difference between quoted figures in benchmarks and from manufacturers and reality. I will no doubt be getting another X25-M or waiting for the G3 rather than buying an OCZ drive any time soon.
. If I hadn't owned the X25-M I would be very very impressed by the 2E. It is certainly a great step up from hdd's.Hmm... I have done some more fiddling about and timing load times etc. and there is very little difference between them. I found that the Vertex OS had lots of crap running in the background. I disabled that and the performance is very similar. I think I'll order a Vertex 2E (I don't have to pay VAT, yay) for this system to use alongside the X25-M. I have been putting off getting an additional SSD as initially I was waiting for the Intel G3 drives... And waiting... and waiting... Then I drastically needed more space hence the Vertex 2E loan from work. Seems I'm happy enough with the speed of the Vertex 2E compared to my existing X-25M and 60GB is all the extra I need - either way the X-25M will be my OS drive so whatever.
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