Just Joined the SSD World

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Hi folks,

I've just joined the SSD world... finally :) With a nice shiny new Crucial C300 128GB. Should arrive in a day or two.

So I have a few questions:

1) Given that I'm running a Gigabyte UD5 mobo (which doesn't have SATA6) should I buy a SATA6 controller card ? Something like this one?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CC-000-AS&tool=3

Will this be compatible with my mobo? Funny how it's only Asus mobos that are listed as compatible. I figure it must be ok for use in other mobos...?


2) Should I set this drive to AHCI mode before I install Win7 or is it safe/easy enough to do it afterwards?

3) Is there any way I could simply clone my OS drive and copy it all back on to the new SSD? Or is it truly worth the effort of reinstalling everything?

4) Anything else I should know to get this SSD working to its best?


Cheers!
 
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i dont know much and have never owned one but set it to ahci before windows install(may need a driver) as then windows will tweak the prefetch and superfetch for you.

u dont defrag an SSD either and u will want to turn OFF indexing so id find a tutorial on that for windows and print and do this as soon as you install windows and the updates.

ive read also you should not use all the space on an SSD as it can be detrimental to its performance and lifespan in the long term.intel guidelines state to leave 20% free so first thing id do is create a partition and leave 20% free, turn on AHCI load windows turn off indexing then do the windows updates then chipset then drivers then games etc etc.


let us know if u notice games being smoother or anything, id love one but there aint many price drops coming it seems.


on SATA6 do u really need all that bandwidth? if that SSD even using sata 3.0 or 6? if u do im sure someone else can tell u if u do or dont later on.
 

uv

uv

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Howdy :)

1) The SSD won't throughput >3GB/s, so onboard is fine
2) Yes - afterwards is a pain to fix!
3) You can, but a fresh install is far simpler and faster tbh.
4) Grab the OCZ SSD Tweak tool - it's an easy way to tweak the OS for better SSD usage :)
 

uv

uv

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ive read also you should not use all the space on an SSD as it can be detrimental to its performance and lifespan in the long term.intel guidelines state to leave 20% free so first thing id do is create a partition and leave 20% free

That was on old first gen SSDs.
Nowadays, with TRIM and the like, this isn't needed at all.
 
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off topic does acronis work ok with an SSD? id imagine id be doing a format every week with 100GB or whenever a game or two would be finnished and need to be removed.
 
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Ever since Generation 2 SSD has taken in GC/TRIM support, user maintenance is not needed anymore as it works automatic for you so use your SSD as you would do with a normal HD on Windows 7 or other TRIM supported OS :)

BTW be sure to check for a firmware update on your Crucial C300 128GB due to the bug found with TRIM that Crucial has identified and fixing very soon i believe.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2974/crucial-s-realssd-c300-an-update-on-my-drive
http://www.forum.crucial.com/t5/Sol...8;jsessionid=68176BA556A6AEE151C4966B449BD71C
 
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Ninja - v good to know, thanks. I think I might just wait until the new firmware is out and tested before I actually use this drive. Don't want to install it, install my OS and apps and then have to format and start all over again in a week or two.

I presume that updating the FW on one of these drives requires a format?

cheers,
 
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I think only some older Generation 2 SSD's required a format with a firmware update so I would think a new SSD like Crucial's RealSSD C300 would just update the firmware while keeping all data intact.
 
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off topic does acronis work ok with an SSD? id imagine id be doing a format every week with 100GB or whenever a game or two would be finnished and need to be removed.

Acronis will work but it will probably not align the drive correctly and affect the performance as happened to me when i originally cloned my old os drive. Your better off with a fresh instal, windows 7 will do it all for you.
 
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I just bought OCZ vertex 60gb and upgraded to winblows 7. The SSD has not arrived yet. Will let you know if this is worth the £150 in short time.

I was reading the OCZ website they say for winblows 7 turn off prefetch service, disk defrag service and windows search index and disk indexing.

I think though i will just do a fresh install when it arrives listening to people who said they had problems doing an image from sata drive. I also bought a 2tb drive so that makes like 5tb now :D
 
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cool... i think a fresh win7 install is the best bet then.

and i'll check with Crucial if the FW will require a format. i really hope not.. otherwise I won't be able to use this drive for a while!

cheers all
 
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can i just check the process with you good folks?

1) backup OS contents deactivate my retail win7 key in windows
2) remove current OS drive
3) install new SSD
4) make sure new SSD is running in AHCI mode
5) install win7
6) reactivate win7
 
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The C300 can saturate a SATA300 link with sequensial reads and in the areas where it doesn't it still runs faster in SATA600 mode.

Micron made a video showing it running in both SATA300 and SATA600 mode against an intel 160GB G2 that I think you might find helpful, they use the 256GB version but you can get an idea: http://www.micronblogs.com/2009/12/benchmarking-c300/

If I had splashed out on a C300 I would definatly want it running in SATA600 mode. That said you might not notive the difference in real use.
 
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So I ended up having to install this C300 under IDE, as for the life of me could not get it to install using AHCI with my EX58-UD5 mobo. No idea why it wouldn't work but as soon as I tried to install win7 it just BSOD. This is also using Sata 2 as I don't have a Sata3 controller yet.

my HDTune bench:

min: 214.9 MB/s
max: 229.1 MB/s
avg: 222.7 MB/s
Access Time: 0.1ms
Burst Rate: 117.5 MB/s

What do you think? Considering it's on IDE and SATA2 not AHCI and SATA3.

Cheers,
 
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thanks guys!

uv - are you sure that the SSD won't max out over 3GB/s? With a SATA6 controller I thought this thing was capable of doing that?

cheers

The C300 IS capable of maxing out SATA 3Gb/s, and you will need a SATA 6Gb/s controller to take full advantage of it.

Your initial benchmark looks low to me, but HDTune isn't particularly good as a benchmark anyway. Try running an AS-SSD benchmark instead.

Your sequential scores should be in the 260-270MB/s region on SATA 3GB/s and around 350MB/s on SATA 6Gb/s.

Make sure you are in AHCI mode (you can move over after installation with a registry edit, google it)and your partition is 4k aligned (as-ssd will show you if you are aligned or not)
 
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good to know zarf thanks for the info. i shall run AS-SSD and see what comes up.

as i said i had a total 'mare trying to get it to work under AHCI and gave up in the end, but who knows. might work by doing it this way round

cheers
 
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