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Thread ID: 113665	2010-10-30 05:20:00	SSD Performance Degradation Issues	gadgetfreak (16055)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1148808	2010-10-30 05:20:00	I have been reading lots of threads on SSD performance degradation issues, but have a few questions that some one of the experts on here might have quick answers for ... ? 1. Does the Quad Raid0 256GB SSD drive in a Sony VAIO VPCZ128GG support TRIM in Windows 7, and if so does it run automatically or is it a manual process? 2. There is an article on Anadtech (can't find the link at the moment) that suggests that on some Intel Controllers, the lack of TRIM support is not a problem if the majority of the write access are of sequential nature instead of random access. I would think most computers would be used mostly in random access manner? 3. There is updated Intel firmware that supports TRIM for RAID?	gadgetfreak (16055)
1148809	2010-10-30 06:56:00	What's the brand of the SSDs in the laptop? I'm assuming it must be two, since it's in RAID0. If I'm not mistaken the typical PC user would write data sequentially than random, but I'm not sure whether or not your statement holds true. And the only SSDs with TRIM or TRIM-like features that I *think* I know of are Intel X25-M Gs and X25-V and SSDs with later Sandforce and Indilink controllers. You'll have to google the specifics of your laptop's drive, ask Sony if they don't tell you.	qazwsxokmijn (102)
1148810	2010-10-30 11:28:00	What's the brand of the SSDs in the laptop? I'm assuming it must be two, since it's in RAID0. If I'm not mistaken the typical PC user would write data sequentially than random, but I'm not sure whether or not your statement holds true. And the only SSDs with TRIM or TRIM-like features that I *think* I know of are Intel X25-M Gs and X25-V and SSDs with later Sandforce and Indilink controllers. You'll have to google the specifics of your laptop's drive, ask Sony if they don't tell you. The RAID is made up of 4x 64GB SSD, according some threads on the net, it's a Samsung SSD. I can't seem to find the brand/model at the moment, will install some sys info software later on and see if I can find out more. I don't want to start loading up the drive yet till I can get more understanding of the SSD performance issue. W7 device manager reports the Controller as an Intel ICH8-E/ICH9M-E/5 Series SATA RAID Controller. Apparently the drives and the controller both support TRIM and Windows7 can pass on the TRIM command but only to non-RAID disks. I've read some where that there is a new Intel driver that supports TRIM for RAID drive. I lost that link when my (desktop) PC crashed as I was reading lots of pages. Will have to do more googling, I think it was a page buried in a 400+ page thread, so it will take a while to find it again. The current driver is from Intel version 9.6.0.1014, dated 3/03/2010, the update driver option said it's the best driver already.	gadgetfreak (16055)
1148811	2010-10-30 11:32:00	It's not the SATA RAID controller you are looking at, it's the controller on the SSDs themselves, and I don't think Samsung has any SSDs that support TRIM as they are cheaper manufacturers of SSDs. And yeah, you do lose TRIM when you raid them, not sure if Intel's released a tool to TRIM RAID systems, but once RAID'ed the X25-Ms are blazing fast and you'd probably upgrade before the effects of rubbish accumulation becomes inconvenient.	qazwsxokmijn (102)
1148812	2010-10-30 11:53:00	It's not the SATA RAID controller you are looking at, it's the controller on the SSDs themselves, and I don't think Samsung has any SSDs that support TRIM as they are cheaper manufacturers of SSDs. And yeah, you do lose TRIM when you raid them, not sure if Intel's released a tool to TRIM RAID systems, but once RAID'ed the X25-Ms are blazing fast and you'd probably upgrade before the effects of rubbish accumulation becomes inconvenient. Thanks for your amazingly quick reply! Just been reading another thread, it appears Sony put in different SSD in different markets, Samsung and Toshiba are the two brands quoted. Here are couple of entries on the notebookreview.com site... "I have the VPCZ1290 with the 256GB drive option and Intel RST reports two physical 128GB Toshiba drives. I don't know that I'd call them lousy... I checked the FAQ and much of this thread but couldn't find exactly what SSDs are being installed by Sony in the USA CTO options. Are all Z12s ordered in the USA being assembled with Toshiba SSDs, or are any of the configurations coming with the slightly faster Samsungs? When I owned an older Z last year, it came with two 128GB Samsungs and they were really fast." "For the ssd chips: Samsung may be better than Toshiba, but you won't feel it under real life conditions." > you'd probably upgrade before the effects of rubbish accumulation > becomes inconvenient So you reckon I don't worry the SSD degradation issue and just start using it like a HDD then? One other thread also suggested that putting the user home folder onto a memory card to reduce 'writes' on the SSD, do you have any opinions on that? Any idea if there is any performance penalty if the home folder and/or swap file are stored on a Class 10 SDHC card instead of the SSD?	gadgetfreak (16055)
1148813	2010-10-30 12:00:00	Hi qazwsxokmijn, Just found this thread, looks like it may have the answers I need, but don't have time to read it now. Will read it tomorrow ... forum.notebookreview.com	gadgetfreak (16055)
1148814	2010-10-30 19:08:00	I sold a Vaio with that RAID setup a while ago - wasn't able to figure out exactly what was happening with the drives but damn it ran well!	wratterus (105)
1148815	2010-10-30 23:21:00	I sold a Vaio with that RAID setup a while ago - wasn't able to figure out exactly what was happening with the drives but damn it ran well! Yeah, I am very impressed with the speed of the Quad SSD. According to the thread listed in my previous post (forum.notebookreview.com), the pre-installed Intel RTS driver (9.6.0.1014) on my VPCZ128GG does indeed pass on the TRIM command to the RAID array, phew, I can start using the laptop without worrying about the speed degradation now. Surprisingly in my googling attempt, I've learnt that Mac OSX Snow Leopard still does not support TRIM and Apple has no plans to support it in future updates, even though Windows 7 has built-in support since late 2009. Some of the threads also suggested that Apple currently does not sell any computers with SSDs that supports TRIM, that's shocking, considering the amount they charge for the SSD equipped MacBooks. forums.macrumors.com discussions.apple.com The 13" MBA with all the trimmings, 2.13GHz C2D upgrade, (VGA, DVI, LAN dongles), 256GB (non RAID) SSD, Max 4GB DDR3, SuperDrive is $3379 which is just slightly less than what I paid for my Vaio Z. (granted, I did not pay retail) But the VAIO Z with bundled docking station and 3 years extended warranty has so much more! i7-620M (2.66GHz tubro boost to 3.33), 8GB DDR3, 256GB Quad RAID, 3 USB, VGA + HDMI, Auto/Speed/Stamina discreet/onboard graphics with 1GB dedicated DDR3, built-in DVD/RW (shame they didn't have the BluRay option in NZ). The Bundled Dock has DVI, 4 additional USB, LAN and LAN Hub port. Basically a complete desktop replacement and ultra mobile power house in one!	gadgetfreak (16055)
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