For SSD which is best? IDE or AHCI

Synaptic Sam · 23 Aug 2011

I'm debating whether to turn on AHCI or to stick with IDE for my Intel SSD+WD platter HD system.

I've found this tutorial for changing after OS install:
AHCI : Enable in Windows 7 / Vista

but am a bit confused because according to MS the variable in the registry should be 0 (zero) not 3 !

To resolve this issue yourself, enable the AHCI driver in the registry before you change the SATA mode of the boot drive. To do this, follow these steps:

Exit all Windows-based programs.
Click Start, type regedit in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
If you receive the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.
Locate and then click one of the following registry subkeys: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\IastorV
In the right pane, right-click Start in the Name column, and then click Modify.
In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.
On the File menu, click Exit to close Registry Editor.

Error message when you start a Windows 7 or Windows Vista-based computer after you change the SATA mode of the boot drive: "STOP 0x0000007B INACCESSABLE_BOOT_DEVICE"

Also am concerned that AHCI may not play nice with optical drives. Some have reported this at least.

Is the performance improvements worth it? My Windows Experience Index for my boot drive (Intel SSD) is currently 7.5 FYI

or is it simply best to have it for future firmware updates? does Intel recommend IDE or AHCI?

Thank you in advance

BugMeister · 23 Aug 2011

see here for more info:
SSD Benchmark Tests: SATA IDE vs AHCI Mode | AHCI vs IDE,SSD,AHCI,IDE,SATA,Solid State Drive,Benchmark Performance SSD Testing AHCI vs IDE,Benchmark Performance SSD Testing: Intel ICH10 SATA AHCI vs IDE Mode Speed and IOPS Comparison

I run AHCI mode, I had no problems attaching a second SSD..
it all works really well..

Synaptic Sam · 23 Aug 2011

Thanks, I did find that by googling but it is more than 1 year old. Anything more recent?

essenbe · 23 Aug 2011

I have 4 SSDs and run them all in AHCI and it does not bother my CD/DVD. Almost all manufacturers of SSDs recommend AHCI for best performance. Also, with almost every program that does a secure erase, you will have to 'hot plug' the ssd. IDE does not support hot plug, but AHCI does.

Solarstarshines · 23 Aug 2011

Synaptic Sam said:

Thanks, I did find that by googling but it is more than 1 year old. Anything more recent?

I can tell you right now i was given that same tuturial on how to convert SATA to ACHI it works like a charm follow it and you can't go wrong

OldMX · 24 Aug 2011

Windows Vista and Seven were designed for AHCI, so, if your hardware supports it, its a no-brainer.

Synaptic Sam · 24 Aug 2011

cool, do I need to install/update the new SATA drivers from Gigabyte? or is that just for RAID?

GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket 1155 - GA-Z68A-D3-B3 (rev. 1.0)

SATA RAIDVersionSizeDateDownload Here Intel SATA Preinstall driver
(For AHCI / RAID Mode)
Note: Press F6 during Windows setup to read from floppy.

10.6.0.10020.39 MB2011/06/22Asia China America Europe Europe(Russia) : FTP / Http

essenbe · 24 Aug 2011

The raid drivers also include the Intel AHCI driver IaStor. I don't use raid but do use IaStor. I installed the IRST and then disabled it in services.msc. That's just what I did. YMMV.

Synaptic Sam · 24 Aug 2011

Just realized that the SATA driver from gigabyte's website I linked to is the same as the one from intel

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Deta...ology&lang=eng

File name: iata_enu_10.6.0.1022.exe Version: 10.6.0.1022

Synaptic Sam · 28 Aug 2011

Thanks guys. The change over to AHCI went without a hitch thanks to the great tutorial.