For SSD which is best? IDE or AHCI

[Synaptic Sam]

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:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/61869-ahci-enable-windows-7-vista.html

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:

1. Exit all Windows-based programs.
2. Click Start, type regedit in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
3. If you receive the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.
4. Locate and then click one of the following registry subkeys: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\IastorV
5. In the right pane, right-click Start in the Name column, and then click Modify.
6. In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.
7. 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]

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]

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

 

[essenbe]

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]

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]

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

 

[Synaptic Sam]

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]

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]

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/Det...duct=Intel®+Rapid+Storage+Technology&lang=eng

File name: iata_enu_10.6.0.1022.exe Version: 10.6.0.1022

 

[Synaptic Sam]

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

 

[essenbe]

Glad you got it working.

 

[stereo]

I wonder how much will affect if i put IDE instead AHCI, with my SSD OCZ Vertex 2

 

[Sol Invictus]

I enabled AHCI mode using this tutorial, thank you.

Did anyone notice an increase in used resources after this? If I remember well, while in IDE mode, CPU usage while idle was around 2-3% and RAM usage was around 9%. Now, when idle, CPU is up to 10-12% with constant fluctuations/spikes and RAM is around 12-14%. A certain lag is also apparent. Is this a normal result after enabling AHCI mode?

EDIT:
Just to check out whether this was a "placebo" impression, I reverted back to IDE mode via BIOS. The change was clear: IDE mode works far better than AHCI mode. Didn't make any read/write measurments yet but CPU & RAM resources are back to normal. No lags whatsoever and my setup is very snappy indeed. I think I'll pass AHCI mode...

 

[BugMeister]

did you make the necessary changes in the registry..??

 

[essenbe]

Are you running it off the Intel ports or the Marvell ports?

 

[Sol Invictus]

did you make the necessary changes in the registry..??

Yep, I did what the tutorial said but still...

Are you running it off the Intel ports or the Marvell ports?

I think I use the Marvell ports. How can I be sure of it?

 

[essenbe]

Your manual will tell you which ports are which. But the ports are usually of a different color. If I am not mistaken you have Intel ports and 2 Marvell ports. I would expect your sata ports to be the same color except for 2 of them a different color. The 2 would be the marvell ports. By many accounts, Marvell does not play nice with SSDs. I don't know that for a fact as I have never tried running one on my Marvell ports. My best guess would be that you would get better results from the Intel ports. Run your SSD from port 0. Download As SSD and open it and select your SSD drive at the top. Post a screenshot of the window. You do not need to run the test.

 

[Sol Invictus]

Your manual will tell you which ports are which. But the ports are usually of a different color. If I am not mistaken you have Intel ports and 2 Marvell ports. I would expect your sata ports to be the same color except for 2 of them a different color. The 2 would be the marvell ports. By many accounts, Marvell does not play nice with SSDs. I don't know that for a fact as I have never tried running one on my Marvell ports. My best guess would be that you would get better results from the Intel ports. Run your SSD from port 0. Download As SSD and open it and select your SSD drive at the top. Post a screenshot of the window. You do not need to run the test.

Oh about the ports, there are 2 SATA3 ports on my M/B (colored in blue) and I did connect the SSD & the HDD to them. Both disks are SATA3 capable. All other ports on the M/B only support SATA2 mode so I didn't bother connecting my disks to any of them.

Here is the drivers download section for my M/B (Win7 Pro, x64): http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3449#dl
I believe that the Marvell RAID Utility (SATA3) is the driver in question here (which I've already installed).

 

[essenbe]

Your sata 3 ports are the Marvell ports. Try connecting to Intel port 0.

 

[Sol Invictus]

Your sata 3 ports are the Marvell ports. Try connecting to Intel port 0.

But those ports (0-5 & 8-9) are supposed to be SATA2 only. Is this the correct procedure?