10 Replies Latest reply on Jan 31, 2010 6:16 AM by skline00

Intel X25-M slow read speeds Windows 7 64bit

Morgain Jan 4, 2010 1:20 PM

I have a problem with my newly bought Intel X25-M SSDSA2MH160G2R5 160GB SSD with Intel's latest firmware 02HD.
I installed Windows 7 64bit on it using a Compaq Presario v6346ea notebook with 4GB Ram which is also updated with the latest firmware F.2D (Phoenixbios)

I've checked the speed of the Intel X25-M under 2 circumstances with CristalDiskMArk and in both cases the READ speads are way too low:

1) Sata Native Mode Disabled in BIOS (Standard AHCI 1.0 Serial ATA Controller is NOT visible in Device Manager and programs in Windows 7 reacted slow):

2) Sata Native Mode Enabled in BIOS (Standard AHCI 1.0 Serial ATA Controller is visible in Device Manager)

I also checked my registry and I found HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ Msahci \ Just start already value 0

My SSD is never seen as a removable drive though which I've read seems to be the case when using AHCI

When Sata Native Mode enabled:

1st ATA Channel 0: is ATAPI Cdrom - DMA Mode 2 (DMA enabled) - drivers atapi.sys, ataport.sys

2nd ATA channel 0: ATA Disk State Mode 6 Ultra DMA (DMA enabled) - drivers atapi.sys, ataport.sys

ATA Channel 2: I see no devices

I can't seem to get the speed of the Intel X25-M any higher, no matter what tweaks I try ("Superfetch/Prefetch/Drive Indexing/Search Indexing/System Restore Points off", Write Cache on)

I haven't tried the Intel Matrix drivers yet as I have heard that they don't support automatic Trim and I've seen many other Intel X25-M users using the Windows 7 drivers with much higher CrystalDiskMark speeds, so that shouldn't be an option.

Does anyone have similar experiences or can give any advice to make the read speeds get to their expected levels?

1. Re: Intel X25-M slow read speeds Windows 7 64bit

Dverez Jan 4, 2010 2:04 PM (in response to Morgain)

I`ve similar results because my Sata speed is ONLY Sata150 not Sata300!!
99% you have the similar thing. I can`t do nothing unless if I change my computer for a faster chipset (Sata300) one.

Message was edited by: Dverez
Like Show 0 Likes(0)

Actions
2. Re: Intel X25-M slow read speeds Windows 7 64bit

Morgain Jan 5, 2010 7:12 AM (in response to Dverez)

Thank you very much for your reply, this could certainly be the case. I've never considered that my SATA controller could have been a bottleneck regarding the speed I could get with a Solid State Drive.

I'm trying to find out the speed of the SATA controller on my Compaq Presario v6346ea notebook at the moment, but I can't find anything clear on the HP/Compaq website about it. It would be a mayor bummer if it supports only Sata150.

Does making use of a Sata150 controller also affect Random Access Times to the SDD negatively compared to using a Sata300 controller? Cause the above shown 4K random access benchmarks also seem too slow compared to benchmarks I've seen from other people (example: 4K Read 24.01 write 50.75).
Like Show 0 Likes(0)

Actions
3. Re: Intel X25-M slow read speeds Windows 7 64bit

Dverez Jan 5, 2010 9:40 AM (in response to Morgain)

If you run the Intel Storage Manager program from the start menu, you can see the actual Sata speed. I`ve noticed mine from there. Don`t check the manufacturer homepage it doesn`t say it most of the time.
I think the "mobility" can affect the Random Access Time (becuase laptop, everything is "compressed" in smaller area), the Sata speed doesn`t matter (this is just my idea!).

Message was edited by: Dverez
Like Show 0 Likes(0)

Actions
4. Re: Intel X25-M slow read speeds Windows 7 64bit

a1uc Jan 15, 2010 6:03 AM (in response to Dverez)
Like Show 0 Likes(0)

Actions
5. Re: Intel X25-M slow read speeds Windows 7 64bit

skline00 Jan 15, 2010 7:14 AM (in response to Morgain)

If I was to guess, it's the controller. It's a notebook, not a desktop. How old is the notebook? I just upgraded my desktop with an AMD 965be quad core CPU, MSI 790FX-GD70 mb etc. My speeds with the 80 gig Intel G2 are faster but my controller is a SATA II with the newest features. The question to ask is "Is my notebook faster than when I had the mechanical hard drive?"
Like Show 0 Likes(0)

Actions
6. Re: Intel X25-M slow read speeds Windows 7 64bit

ZXTT95 Jan 15, 2010 11:53 AM (in response to Morgain)

Something to keep in mind is that even if the chipset is capable of 3 Gb/s, the laptop BIOS may be configuring it for 1.5 Gb/s - and not exposing this as a setting you can change. One possible reason would be that it uses less power, although I've seen varying opinions on this.
Like Show 0 Likes(0)

Actions
7. Re: Intel X25-M slow read speeds Windows 7 64bit

johnclevenger Jan 31, 2010 2:09 AM (in response to Morgain)

I was having the same problem. Turns out my motherboard has two SATA controllers, an Intel and a Gigabyte. The Intel has 6 ports and the Gigabyte has 2. My SSD was plugged into the Gigabyte, which was causing the issues. Plugging it into an Intel port immediately fixed the problem.
Like Show 0 Likes(0)

Actions
8. Re: Intel X25-M slow read speeds Windows 7 64bit

skline00 Jan 31, 2010 3:35 AM (in response to Morgain)

Aluc: Your speed s are very fast!
Like Show 0 Likes(0)

Actions
9. Re: Intel X25-M slow read speeds Windows 7 64bit

a1uc Jan 31, 2010 4:55 AM (in response to skline00)

This is my new speed with a Raid0 setup
Like Show 0 Likes(0)

Actions
10. Re: Intel X25-M slow read speeds Windows 7 64bit

skline00 Jan 31, 2010 6:16 AM (in response to a1uc)

THAT IS FAST!!!!!!!!! Mama Mia!
Like Show 0 Likes(0)

Actions

Go to original post