[Sk88erguy]

So i want to get a new hard drive, mine is obviously a weak link.

I want an SSD, but it seems my motherboard doesn't support AHCI? i don't know what that means but i do know all the SSD's need it to perform correctly.

Does this mean i need to buy a controller as well if i want to get an SSD?

And I would always turn off Disk Defrag, but in reading it seems people are worried about killing SSD's by too many formats, ect. Is this backed up by evidence of failing SSD's or just people being stupid and worrying about their new drives?

 

[Kramy]

Google says the option is missing from the BIOS of 750i boards. How odd...

I would think the controller would support it - but you may be locked to IDE mode if it doesn't. IDE mode can still pass through TRIM commands if the drivers support it. I don't know if nForce drivers do or don't.

 

[TheDreadedGMan]

It's still light-years faster then an HDD.

I've walked two people through the dance of trying to get AHCI mode on NVidia chips... doesn't work since they never licensed the AHCI standard.

They have a "fake AHCI" mode (can't remember what it's called)... which uses the nvstor.sys driver, but Windows and applications see it as a RAID mode which means no TRIM...

Since the "fake AHCI" mode doesn't support msahci.sys it doesn't support TRIM...

The best compromise is either live with IDE mode (which the two people I was helping opted for), or to leave it in "fake AHCI" mode, and manually TRIM it by switching back every once and a while...

I suppose if you got a Sandforce drive, TRIM wouldn't be as important...

Personally I would just stick with IDE mode... I'm stuck with it myself since I've got ICH7 with no AHCI mode... and it's still blazing fast compared to waiting for that HDD read/write head to move into position every 10 milliseconds.

 

[Shane1244]

I've got a 750i FTW motherboard. Trim works fine, you just have to un-install the nvidia storage controller drivers, and then install the default Microsoft ones.

 

[Sheyster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shane1244 Trim works fine, you just have to un-install the nvidia storage controller drivers, and then install the default Microsoft ones.

This...

On my 680i board I get 252 mbytes/sec reads and 242 mbytes/sec writes, benched using ATTO. It's a Sandforce based SSD. Well worth the upgrade even without AHCI.

 

[Sk88erguy]

OK so at least I have good options, thanks for all the info guys.

I dont think someone answered this directly, but I cant buy a PCI contoller to run my SSD off of and get ACHI+trim?

 

[TheDreadedGMan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sk88erguy OK so at least I have good options, thanks for all the info guys. I dont think someone answered this directly, but I cant buy a PCI contoller to run my SSD off of and get ACHI+trim?

Probably... but it will likely be slower then the southbridge since the latency will be a bit higher...

And more expensive... not worth it in most cases...

 

[Sk88erguy]

I just bought the OCZ Agility 2 120gb SSD off newegg.

I wanted to ask, by running the SSD in IDE mode with Trim support, will that in anyway "hurt" the SSD overtime?

 

[texaspaid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sk88erguy;12181263
I just bought the OCZ Agility 2 120gb SSD off newegg.

I wanted to ask, by running the SSD in IDE mode with Trim support, will that in anyway "hurt" the SSD overtime?

Nice choice. Running the drive in IDE mode will not damage it nor degrade it any quicker. As far as your question regarding running it through PCI interface I don't see that as an option. I was under the impression a drive through that interface cannot operate as a boot device.

 

[Sk88erguy]

OK thanks a lot for the help.

It doesn't seem that I will be losing out on much running it on IDE with Trim support, I thought about getting a Revodrive but for $185 a 120gb SSD is too good to pass up.

As far as installation goes, will i have to change anything other than putting my current HDD to Slave and just installing windows on my new SSD with a quick format? I know OCZ has a step by step guide, but nothing really about doing in in IDE mode, I just want to be ready right when i get the drive on Monday

 

[Aznboy1993]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sk88erguy;12182831
OK thanks a lot for the help.

It doesn't seem that I will be losing out on much running it on IDE with Trim support, I thought about getting a Revodrive but for $185 a 120gb SSD is too good to pass up.

As far as installation goes, will i have to change anything other than putting my current HDD to Slave and just installing windows on my new SSD with a quick format? I know OCZ has a step by step guide, but nothing really about doing in in IDE mode, I just want to be ready right when i get the drive on Monday

you don't need to worry about master/slave with sata drivers. it's all automatic. just plug in your new shiny ssd into an available sata port on your motherboard and install windows on it as normal. there are a few tweaks you could perform afterward but i dont waste my time with them. your choice though.

 

[Sk88erguy]

Oh ok cool, as you can tell i have not run a multi drive system for quite some time lol.

currently I have all my files and running my OS off this 80gb drive. Am i going to have to back my files up, or can i leave this drive untouched in the process?

 

[texaspaid]

You'll want to remove the SATA cable from your other hard drive and only have the SSD connected during the Windows installation. You can leave your WD drive untouched in the meantime. Once you finish the Windows installation reconnect your WD drive and make sure the SSD is set as the primary boot disc in your BIOS settings. Once you're up on your desktop you'll be able to pull up your WD drive and access your data.

Keep in mind your previous Windows installation will still be on there so what I would do is copy the data to another drive, preferably an external hard drive if you had one and then format the WD drive then put the data back on it from the external hard drive.

 

[Sk88erguy]

Thanks a lot I think I will be good to go, except I have one more question, I'm not sure if anyone here will know because this post was from September but those people who said to just use the default microsoft drivers, was this with IDE mode, or the "fake" AHCI mode from nvidia?

I just need to know whether to use IDE or that mode before I install windows, then i think I'm good to go.

http://www.evga.com/support/manuals/files/122-YW-E173.pdf Here is a link to my Motherboards Bios options, It seems you can only enable, or disable RAID. I am not sure if there is a "fake AHCI" mode at all?

 

[Sk88erguy]

I decided to sell my 750i, which I have already done for the same price i bought it.

So now i need to know what the smartest option is for me. I contemplated selling my ram, and my CPU, and going DDR3 with an AM3 setup maybe.. seems like its easier to find motherboards for the new sockets.

But what I want is to just get a 775 motherboard, i was looking at this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128447

But am wondering if that will be OK for my setup, with my SSD. Is p43 going to be OK with my SSD, and no raid isn't a big deal but I just don't want to be mad at myself for the next MB i get.

 

[texaspaid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sk88erguy But what I want is to just get a 775 motherboard, i was looking at this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128447 But am wondering if that will be OK for my setup, with my SSD. Is p43 going to be OK with my SSD, and no raid isn't a big deal but I just don't want to be mad at myself for the next MB i get.

The P43 will be just as fine as your 750i would have been for your SSD. I can't find anything on that Gigabyte board as to whether it supports AHCI or not, as that would really be the only difference. Since you won't be using an nForce chipset anymore you don't have to worry about changing Nvidia drivers to Microsoft ones.

 

[Sk88erguy]

Well, the p43 does have AHCI, so it will be better for an SSD. The 750i only has IDE mode, which while it does work, it is slower. For me, i am able to sell my mobo/cpu/ram and get an upgrade for all of them for almost a straight across trade cost wise.

I know SSD speed isn't the end all be all of a computer. But I decided to sell my stuff now because its still worth money, and I can get a quad core AM3, with DDR3 ram for no cost. Plus I will have my new SSD running at more optimal speeds.

 

[Uritziel]

Could you share how you sold your old hardware?

Thanks.

 

[Sk88erguy]

Ebay. Sold fast, there is a surprisingly strong market for LGA775 stuff, i bought this a few months back and came on nearly even.