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Sean's Windows 7 Install & Optimization Guide for SSDs & HDDs - Page 315

post #3141 of 4645

5/29/12 at 4:33am

EarlZ
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Here are my benchmark results, I hope they are in good order..

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Intel Core i7 2600K @ 4.5Ghz	Gigabyte P67A-UD4-B3 rev1.1	2x GTX680 2GB (SLI)	G.Skill Ripjaws X F3 Black 2133Mhz 9-10-9 2x2GB
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive	OS
Corsair Force GT 240Gb	2x Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB	Samsung 22x DVDRW	Windows 7 x64 Ultimate
Monitor	Keyboard	Power	Case
Samsung 32EH5000 32" HD Direct lit LED TV	Razer Black Widow Ultimate	Silverstone Strider Gold 850	Lian Li PCP-80
Mouse	Mouse Pad
Logitech G700/Logitech G9/Razer Mamba	Puretrack Talent
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CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Intel Core i7 2600K @ 4.5Ghz	Gigabyte P67A-UD4-B3 rev1.1	2x GTX680 2GB (SLI)	G.Skill Ripjaws X F3 Black 2133Mhz 9-10-9 2x2GB
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive	OS
Corsair Force GT 240Gb	2x Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB	Samsung 22x DVDRW	Windows 7 x64 Ultimate
Monitor	Keyboard	Power	Case
Samsung 32EH5000 32" HD Direct lit LED TV	Razer Black Widow Ultimate	Silverstone Strider Gold 850	Lian Li PCP-80
Mouse	Mouse Pad
Logitech G700/Logitech G9/Razer Mamba	Puretrack Talent
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Samsung 830 - Series MZ-7PC128D/AM 128 GB 2.5 Inch SATA III MLC Internal SSD Desktop Kit with Norton Ghost 15
5 Reviews

Pros:
“Very fast. Samsung makes all components. Looks nice. Comes with mount, software, and free game.”

“Really fast boot, Great speeds, Free Game, free Norton Ghost”

More on Samsung 830 - Series MZ-7PC128D/AM 128 GB 2.5 Inch SATA III MLC Internal SSD Desktop Kit with Norton Ghost 15
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Crucial 256GB m4 SSD 2.5" SATA III CT256M4SSD2

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Crucial M4 256GB
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“Fast, Reliable”

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post #3142 of 4645

5/29/12 at 12:08pm

bigal1542

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Amazing guide, I look forward to using this tomorrow.

I wish I could rep ya for all the amazing work :/

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
3570k @ 4.4 GHz	ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77	2 X EVGA GTX 670 FTW SLI (1301/7650)	SAMSUNG 2 X 4GB @ 1866MHz (9-9-9-24)
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive	Cooling
128 GB Crucial M4	SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM	ASUS DRW-24B1ST	COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO
OS	Monitor	Keyboard	Power
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit	ASUS VH236H Black 23"	Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4	CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W
Case	Mouse	Mouse Pad	Audio
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced Blue Edition	Logitech G5	Razer Kabuto	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD
Audio	Audio	Other
Audio Technica ATH-A900	Klipsch ProMedia 2.1	NZXT Sentry Mesh Fan Controller
View all

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
AMD Phenom II 720 BE @3.2 GHz	Gigabyte GA-MA790XT	HIS Radeon HD 4850 1GB @ 700/1050	4GB G.Skill 1333 MHz DDR3 @ 7-7-7-20
Hard Drive	Optical Drive	OS	Monitor
640GB 7200RPM WD	LG 22X DVD+R	Vista Home Premium 64	22" Gateway
Power	Case
Corsair 650TX	Antec 902
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CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
3570k @ 4.4 GHz	ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77	2 X EVGA GTX 670 FTW SLI (1301/7650)	SAMSUNG 2 X 4GB @ 1866MHz (9-9-9-24)
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive	Cooling
128 GB Crucial M4	SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM	ASUS DRW-24B1ST	COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO
OS	Monitor	Keyboard	Power
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit	ASUS VH236H Black 23"	Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4	CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W
Case	Mouse	Mouse Pad	Audio
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced Blue Edition	Logitech G5	Razer Kabuto	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD
Audio	Audio	Other
Audio Technica ATH-A900	Klipsch ProMedia 2.1	NZXT Sentry Mesh Fan Controller
View all

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
AMD Phenom II 720 BE @3.2 GHz	Gigabyte GA-MA790XT	HIS Radeon HD 4850 1GB @ 700/1050	4GB G.Skill 1333 MHz DDR3 @ 7-7-7-20
Hard Drive	Optical Drive	OS	Monitor
640GB 7200RPM WD	LG 22X DVD+R	Vista Home Premium 64	22" Gateway
Power	Case
Corsair 650TX	Antec 902
View all

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post #3143 of 4645

5/29/12 at 6:28pm

Thread Starter

Sean Webster
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Quote:

Originally Posted by geordieandy

First up Sean thank you so much for this and all the other threads and guides on here as for those of us moving across to SSD's they are invaluable

I have a Dell Studio XPS 435MT which only seems to have 2 options in the bios - SATA or RAID with no mention of setting SATA to AHCI so having installed with 'normal' SATA do you think it is worth swapping over to RAID so I can make use of my Core i7 920 / ICH10 and Intel's SSD Caching as I will lose TRIM? I only have on board Sata II but got the following benchmark data which might help you to see if you think I can squeeze some more performance out of swapping to RAID...

I am using a Crucial M4 128GB for Windows and most programs / documents etc with some older documents saved on another 3.5" SATA drive so will not be using proper RAID via 2 SSD's.

You can not use caching on that mobo. However using RAID mode will give you better performance. Use thi to change to RAID: http://www.overclock.net/t/1227636/how-to-change-sata-modes-after-windows-7-installation

You will have to reinstall the Intel SATA driver. You will also still have TRIM support for the single SSD.

Quote:

Lastly a little bit of feedback... After the guide about formatting the drive as 4096 is a little confusing as when installing Windows you don't mention this and before reading pages of this thread I nearly reinstalled Windows to get this exact allocation size which having read further won't actually make any difference is this correct?

Thanks again.

I need to adjust it a little lol. It does not make a difference.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EarlZ

Here are my benchmark results, I hope they are in good order..

yep look good

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigal1542

Amazing guide, I look forward to using this tomorrow.

I wish I could rep ya for all the amazing work :/

lol, the "perks" of being a staff member.

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
i7-2600K	Asus P8Z68-V	MSI GTX 660 Ti PE OC	G.Skill Ares
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive
Plextor M5 Pro	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12	Asus DVD Burner
Cooling	OS	Monitor	Monitor
Thermalright Silver Arrow	Microsoft Windows 8 Pro	Samsung P2370HD	HPw1907
Power	Case	Audio
Corsair TX650	Corsair 650D	Asus Xonar DX
View all

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CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
i7-2600K	Asus P8Z68-V	MSI GTX 660 Ti PE OC	G.Skill Ares
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive
Plextor M5 Pro	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12	Asus DVD Burner
Cooling	OS	Monitor	Monitor
Thermalright Silver Arrow	Microsoft Windows 8 Pro	Samsung P2370HD	HPw1907
Power	Case	Audio
Corsair TX650	Corsair 650D	Asus Xonar DX
View all

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post #3144 of 4645

5/30/12 at 1:44am

geordieandy

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Sean Webster

You can not use caching on that mobo. However using RAID mode will give you better performance. Use thi to change to RAID: http://www.overclock.net/t/1227636/how-to-change-sata-modes-after-windows-7-installation
You will have to reinstall the Intel SATA driver. You will also still have TRIM support for the single SSD.

Great - I didn't realise trim would still be available when using RAID on a single drive so thanks again for clarifying that.

Last questions - once I switch is it worth me also setting up the Intel Smart Response Technology (SSD caching) on this SSD which is 128gb and has my OS and most of my programs on the SSD as C: ?

Is STOR_Win7_XP_11.1.0.1006.exe the best latest driver for this?

Will post back with benchmarks when I have made the change so if others want to see the difference (if there is actually any!) for similar crippled motherboards they can

Thanks again for all your help.
Edited by geordieandy - 5/30/12 at 2:04am

post #3145 of 4645

5/30/12 at 2:17am

Thread Starter

Sean Webster
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Quote:

Originally Posted by geordieandy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sean Webster

You can not use caching on that mobo. However using RAID mode will give you better performance. Use thi to change to RAID: http://www.overclock.net/t/1227636/how-to-change-sata-modes-after-windows-7-installation
You will have to reinstall the Intel SATA driver. You will also still have TRIM support for the single SSD.

Great - I didn't realise trim would still be available when using RAID on a single drive so thanks again for clarifying that.

no prob.

Quote:

Last questions - once I switch is it worth me also setting up the Intel Smart Response Technology (SSD caching) on this SSD which is 128gb and has my OS and most of my programs on the SSD as C: ?

You have a X58 mobo correct? You can not use SSD caching, you don't have that feature. Plus if you did it is not as good as having the SSD as the boot drive imo.

Quote:

Is STOR_Win7_XP_11.1.0.1006.exe the best latest driver for this?

I believe so, that is what I am using atm.

Quote:

Will post back with benchmarks when I have made the change so if others want to see the difference (if there is actually any!) for similar crippled motherboards they can

Thanks again for all your help.

Good luck.

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
i7-2600K	Asus P8Z68-V	MSI GTX 660 Ti PE OC	G.Skill Ares
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive
Plextor M5 Pro	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12	Asus DVD Burner
Cooling	OS	Monitor	Monitor
Thermalright Silver Arrow	Microsoft Windows 8 Pro	Samsung P2370HD	HPw1907
Power	Case	Audio
Corsair TX650	Corsair 650D	Asus Xonar DX
View all

hide details

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
i7-2600K	Asus P8Z68-V	MSI GTX 660 Ti PE OC	G.Skill Ares
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive
Plextor M5 Pro	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12	Asus DVD Burner
Cooling	OS	Monitor	Monitor
Thermalright Silver Arrow	Microsoft Windows 8 Pro	Samsung P2370HD	HPw1907
Power	Case	Audio
Corsair TX650	Corsair 650D	Asus Xonar DX
View all

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post #3146 of 4645

5/30/12 at 11:03am

geordieandy

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Followed the guide and all went as expected - phew!

New benchmark is below for those interested and is double the previous one overall with the biggest improvement being in the 4K-64Thrd. Any explanation as to why such a difference in this particular area?

Thanks again!

post #3147 of 4645

5/30/12 at 6:14pm

Thread Starter

Sean Webster
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RAID and AHCI mode both enable NCQ.

NCQ is one of the important features of AHCI for SSDs. SSDs can process requests faster than HDDs. It can process so fast that the SSD could end up waiting for work. NCQ allows the OS/controller to request up to 32 simultaneous requests at once. So you basically get more performance from your drive over older IDE mode.

Glad everything is better for ya.

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
i7-2600K	Asus P8Z68-V	MSI GTX 660 Ti PE OC	G.Skill Ares
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive
Plextor M5 Pro	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12	Asus DVD Burner
Cooling	OS	Monitor	Monitor
Thermalright Silver Arrow	Microsoft Windows 8 Pro	Samsung P2370HD	HPw1907
Power	Case	Audio
Corsair TX650	Corsair 650D	Asus Xonar DX
View all

hide details

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
i7-2600K	Asus P8Z68-V	MSI GTX 660 Ti PE OC	G.Skill Ares
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive
Plextor M5 Pro	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12	Asus DVD Burner
Cooling	OS	Monitor	Monitor
Thermalright Silver Arrow	Microsoft Windows 8 Pro	Samsung P2370HD	HPw1907
Power	Case	Audio
Corsair TX650	Corsair 650D	Asus Xonar DX
View all

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post #3148 of 4645

5/31/12 at 12:48am

MAD-DUKE

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Sean Webster

System Preparation!
Disconnect all the drives but the one you are installing to. You will reconnect them in step 5 of "System Setup after Installation." This is to prevent the installer from installing the Windows 7 boot partition on another drive in the system.

If I am doing Raid 0 with two drives, I would want them both connected?

post #3149 of 4645

5/31/12 at 1:49am

geordieandy

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Thanks again Sean. your Karma bank is a little bit fuller for all your great help

post #3150 of 4645

5/31/12 at 6:15am

Thread Starter

Sean Webster
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Quote:

Originally Posted by MAD-DUKE

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sean Webster

If I am doing Raid 0 with two drives, I would want them both connected?

Yes, you need to make the RAID array then install the OS on them, just have all other drives disconnected that are just for storage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by geordieandy

Thanks again Sean. your Karma bank is a little bit fuller for all your great help

Sweet, I love good Karma.

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
i7-2600K	Asus P8Z68-V	MSI GTX 660 Ti PE OC	G.Skill Ares
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive
Plextor M5 Pro	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12	Asus DVD Burner
Cooling	OS	Monitor	Monitor
Thermalright Silver Arrow	Microsoft Windows 8 Pro	Samsung P2370HD	HPw1907
Power	Case	Audio
Corsair TX650	Corsair 650D	Asus Xonar DX
View all

hide details

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
i7-2600K	Asus P8Z68-V	MSI GTX 660 Ti PE OC	G.Skill Ares
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive
Plextor M5 Pro	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12	Asus DVD Burner
Cooling	OS	Monitor	Monitor
Thermalright Silver Arrow	Microsoft Windows 8 Pro	Samsung P2370HD	HPw1907
Power	Case	Audio
Corsair TX650	Corsair 650D	Asus Xonar DX
View all

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