Trying to decipher my SSD performance

[DeaconFrost]

I had an SSD sitting around that I put in my new HP Envy 4t. It is a Crucial M4 256 GB. It went in (with part of the bracket removed). Performance was excellent, but I figured I'd be better off getting a thinner drive and giving this one to my wife for her laptop....since it can easily handle regular thickness SSDs.

The drive I bought for me is a Corsair Force 3 240 GB. Now, I know that rated speeds are mostly marketing drivel, but I'm seeing a huge difference in read speeds between the two. Everything else is identical...computer, OS, and even driver versions.

So, is what I'm seeing normal, to be expected, or is something going on with my Corsair drive. I'm getting less than half of the rated speeds.

 

[kbrady1979]

It almost looks like the Corsair is running off SATA II, weird. Even with a Sandforce controller, benchmarking on AS SSD, those numbers should be better. Have you checked for a Firmware update for that SSD?

 

[DeaconFrost]

There is an update to 5.03, but there's nothing written about speed increases.

 

[kbrady1979]

It might be worth it to see if that is the problem, depending on how badly you want it fixed.

 

[jetroho]

DeaconFrost , It's the firmware .
Trim does not work on ALL Sandfarce 22xx series controller drives . I have two SanDisk drives ( a 120 & a 480 ) with the same SF controller with the same issues .
It appears that Corsair is the first manufacturer to release the 5.03 based firmware for their drives that fixes Trim . That said I have already read that the 5.03 firmware still has I-O speed issues .
I have been advised by SanDisk that they are not going to issue a 5.03 based firmware for their drives , that they are validating version 5.04 and expect to release a 5.04 version in "about a month" . This deal is a sad story that has been going on for months .
This Tweaktown article explains the issue about as well as I have seen :
LSI SandForce 5 Series SSD Firmware - TRIM Lost and Found, Performance Investigated :: TweakTown USA Edition
This notice is for the new firmware :
Corsair releases 5.03 TRIM-fixing firmware for 22** series SandForce drives :: TweakTown USA Edition