SSD queries

bigjimmyauk · 31 May 2011 at 20:46

Just contemplating SSD's again but curious about my motherboards controllers as i have heard conflictiing reports about marvell controllers

my mother board manual

http://download.gigabyte.eu/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-790fxta-ud5_e.pdf

Specs
Storage Interface  South Bridge:
-
1 x IDE connector supporting ATA-133/100/66/33 and up to 2 IDE devices
-
6 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (SATA2_0, SATA2_1, SATA2_2, SATA2_3, SATA2_4, SATA2_5) supporting up to 6 SATA 3Gb/s devices
-
Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, and JBOD
 Marvell 9128 chip:
-
2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (GSATA3_6, GSATA3_7) supporting up to
2 SATA 6Gb/s devices
-
Support for SATA RAID 0 and RAID 1
 JMicron JMB362 chip:
-
2 x eSATA 3Gb/s connectors (eSATA/USB Combo) on the back panel sup- porting up to 2 SATA 3Gb/s devices
-
Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, and JBOD
 iTE IT8720 chip:
-
1 x floppy disk drive connector supporting up to 1 floppy disk drive

Is it worth me getting a SSD with the controllers i have i was looking at vertex 3 but worried the 6gb/s controller won't cut it speed wise.........

bigjimmyauk · 1 Jun 2011 at 13:31

Anyone able to help me on this?

Admiral Huddy · 1 Jun 2011 at 13:35

I can't see why not. The 88SE9128 supports AHCI and so does the jmb362

9128 Spec

jmb362 spec

Can you expand on the problems you've heard?

bigjimmyauk · 1 Jun 2011 at 14:01

Admiral Huddy said:
I can't see why not. The 88SE9128 supports AHCI and so does the jmb362

9128 Spec

jmb362 spec

Can you expand on the problems you've heard?

Yeah sure seen a lot of stuff both on the forums and using google foo that suggest the marvell controllers are terrible with SSD's and get nowhere near the speed the manufactuer's state. People using intel rapid storage drivers rings a bell but that means nothing to me.

basically i don't wanna spend 200-300 on a SSD only for it to be crippled by the motherboards controller

southy1978 · 1 Jun 2011 at 22:56

I was in the same boat as you when contemplating an ssd, i thought what the hell and went for it anyway! Glad i did now as the performance increase is fantastic! I'm running a 60gb ocz agility3 on my sata 6gb marvel 9128 port. It doesnt quite get to the speeds of a 6gb intel controlled port but you will notice the difference!

|Thomas| · 1 Jun 2011 at 23:05

bigjimmyauk said:
Yeah sure seen a lot of stuff both on the forums and using google foo that suggest the marvell controllers are terrible with SSD's and get nowhere near the speed the manufactuer's state. People using intel rapid storage drivers rings a bell but that means nothing to me.

basically i don't wanna spend 200-300 on a SSD only for it to be crippled by the motherboards controller

Crippled is a bit of a strong term for it. A marvell sata 3 controller is significantly faster than sata 2, and using an ssd that supports sata 3 will reflect that. However, you won't be able to the speeds that an intel controller can achieve. The exact numbers and benchmarks should be in the vertex 3 first look thread.

In real world terms I'd be surprised if anyone could tell the difference between a marvell and intel controller. Either way you'll have a blazingly fast ssd.