Simple Questions about GA-X58A-UD3R and SSDs

[srbarry]

Re: Simple Questions about GA-X58A-UD3R and SSDs

Thanks psycho and srbarry.

@psycho - wouldn't it be better to put the sata3 ssd on the intel port for now until the marvell drivers get worked out? I am only speaking from what I have read online but it sounds like with Trim not working on the sata3 ports at the moment I have a better chance of harming the ssd by putting it there.

Also, if I do put it on the Intel port 0 is it still recommended to get the latest drivers from intel and load those during the win7 install?

I am still on the fence (due to the issues with this board and sata3 ssd's like srbarry and the initial reason for this thread) about getting a 90gb ocz vertex 2 instead of the c300. One of the main reasons is (and please correct me if I am wrong on this) that with the c300 a firmware update requires an os reinstall while with the vertex it doesn't.

Thanks again.

Bottom line for me is that the performance difference gained by going with the crucial c300 and trying to use the sata 6 is nowhere near worth the extra cash and head aches. I guarantee you that you wouldn't be able to notice any difference in everyday use.

Also, the problem is with the chip itself, don't expect there will be new drivers that will resolve the issues with the marvell chip with regard to ssds.

Forget about the new sata port. Just use the Intel sata port and get yourself one of the less expensive ssd's. My windows 7 install was about 30gb, so a 90gb ssd is plenty. You can probably get a 90gb ssd for about half the price of a c300.

Having gone through this, I woundn't even consider paying up for the c300 and messing around with the marvel controller (with this board). Do yourself a favor and just pop one of the many good sata 3 ssds into the intel controller and you'll be fine.

[Kramttocs]

Re: Simple Questions about GA-X58A-UD3R and SSDs

Thanks srbarry - that is the route I believe I will go. Yeah, with my other hdd's, the size isn't a big issue, but getting a 90 over a 64 is nice for peace of mind. My current win7 install is right at 30 also. I really like the thought of getting a sata3 but based on everything I have read, you are correct in that it isn't worth the headache when combining them with this board and that it's better to find a good sata2 at this point.

Thanks again for everyone's input.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Simple Questions about GA-X58A-UD3R and SSDs

So are you all set then? If you have anymore questions you still need answered let us know.

[Kramttocs]

Re: Simple Questions about GA-X58A-UD3R and SSDs

Hey lsdmeasap,

Thanks for the follow up. I actually installed the OS last night and although everything went smooth I do have one question for you. Preface: In Bios, I changed the ICH Control Mode to AHCI and I changed the Sata0-3 Port Native Mode to Enabled - not really sure if this was necessary or not but found some posts saying to. I then loaded them during the install (before I saw your other post).
After the install (and with just the ssd plugged into port0) the boot time was like I had hoped for.
After all the updates I plugged in my other sata drives and filled up the intel ports:
1= 1tb wd black 6gb/s
2 = 1tb wd black
3 = 640gb wd black
4 = liteon dvd drive
5 = front esata case (haf932) port

The past few times when I boot, the starting windows screen lingers for quite awhile both before and after the win logo shows up. Once it passes this, the logon and desktop fly by. I apologize because I haven't had the chance to pull all the other drives to verify that they are causing the delay or not but I wanted to see if you had any thoughts.

Thanks!

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Simple Questions about GA-X58A-UD3R and SSDs

It could be one of the other drives, or maybe the eSATA.

I'd do as you mentioned, and pull the other drives adding them back one at a time testing to see if you can find which causes this.

[Kramttocs]

Re: Simple Questions about GA-X58A-UD3R and SSDs

I really should have just done that before I even posted. After several reboots, I figured out what it was. It didn't even cross my mind to list it when I was listing the sata drives but I have an external wd hdd for backups and it turns out that I had mistakenly plugged it in the usb3.0 port on the back. Once I switched it back to a standard port, my boot time is back to good.
Thanks again for all your help!

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Simple Questions about GA-X58A-UD3R and SSDs

Nice to see you found the cause of the issue, and speeds are back in order!

[uDraft]

Re: Simple Questions about GA-X58A-UD3R and SSDs

I'm a newbie thru and thru, in need of advice.
I have a GA-X58A-UD3R Rev.2 w/i7/12gb RAM and the following drives-
120gb Vertex2 SSD (w/w7-64bit)
2-600gb DigiRaptors as RAID1
SATA DVD
I originally plugged the SSD and DVD into GSATA2 and the RAID1 drives to GSATA3. I had BSOD once a week til I moved the SSD to SATA2 port.
Where should I have these drives plugged in for best performance?
thanks everyone!

[Kramttocs]

Re: Simple Questions about GA-X58A-UD3R and SSDs

I'm a newbie thru and thru, in need of advice.
I have a GA-X58A-UD3R Rev.2 w/i7/12gb RAM and the following drives-
120gb Vertex2 SSD (w/w7-64bit)
2-600gb DigiRaptors as RAID1
SATA DVD
I originally plugged the SSD and DVD into GSATA2 and the RAID1 drives to GSATA3. I had BSOD once a week til I moved the SSD to SATA2 port.
Where should I have these drives plugged in for best performance?
thanks everyone!

80gb Vertex2 with win7 64bit
I have everything in the Intel SATA ports (blue) and nothing in the GSATA ones (white). I know you are asking for information from the performance standpoint and I don't know what, if any, gain the GSATA have over the SATA but if it came down to a little performance gain vs weekly BSOD's I would stick with the SATA ports myself - with the SSD in _0. Since my last post on 1/15/11 I haven't had any issues.

[uDraft]

Re: Simple Questions about GA-X58A-UD3R and SSDs

I'm a newbie thru and thru, in need of advice.
I have a GA-X58A-UD3R Rev.2 w/i7/12gb RAM and the following drives-
120gb Vertex2 SSD (w/w7-64bit)
2-600gb DigiRaptors as RAID1
SATA DVD
I originally plugged the SSD and DVD into GSATA2 and the RAID1 drives to GSATA3. I had BSOD once a week til I moved the SSD to SATA2 port.
Where should I have these drives plugged in for best performance?
thanks everyone!

Also, is there any difference between using SATA2 Port 4 and SATA2 Port 0?

[Kramttocs]

Re: Simple Questions about GA-X58A-UD3R and SSDs

Boot order. Port 0 will boot before 4.

[Psycho101]

Re: Simple Questions about GA-X58A-UD3R and SSDs

Not just boot order. Only ports 0-3 are able to be set to/used in native AHCI mode (no IRQ needed, no legacy IDE component at all). Also, some SSD's have to be installed on the first port before a firmware flash or secure erase can be performed.

As with any build, regardless of SSD use or just standard spinners, you ideally want your primary boot drive (OS/Programs etc) on port 0, any other drives can then be plugged in order, so 1, 2, 3 etc. Place your optical drives in the reverse of this convention, ie if you have one, place it on port 5, if you have two then use 5 & 4 etc. If you are in a situation where you have 6 HDD's/SSD's, then place your optical drives on the GSATA ports.

Note that for best performance, enable AHCI in the BIOS, and also enable ports 0-3 Native Mode. If you have had to use a GSATA port for your optical drive and experience any issues with OS installation from optical disc, booting from CD/DVD or flashing firmware when booting from a DVD/CD, you may have to temporarily move your optical drive from that port to an Intel port while you do what you need to, then swap it back.