The SSD Improv: Intel & Indilinx get TRIM, Kingston Brings Intel Down to $115
by Anand Lal Shimpi on November 17, 2009 7:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Storage
The Test
| CPU | Intel Core i7 965 running at 3.2GHz (Turbo & EIST Disabled) |
| Motherboard: | Intel DX58SO (Intel X58) |
| Chipset: | Intel X58 |
| Chipset Drivers: | Intel 9.1.1.1015 + Intel IMSM 8.9 |
| Memory: | Qimonda DDR3-1066 4 x 1GB (7-7-7-20) |
| Video Card: | eVGA GeForce GTX 285 |
| Video Drivers: | NVIDIA ForceWare 190.38 64-bit |
| Desktop Resolution: | 1920 x 1200 |
| OS: | Windows 7 x64 |
Sequential Read/Write Speed
Using the latest build of Iometer I ran a 3 minute long 2MB sequential write test over the entire span of the drive. The results reported are in average MB/s over the entire test length:
I ruined the surprise earlier, but the X25-M G2 160GB can now write at speeds of up to 100MB/s. The 80GB version doesn't get the benefit. The rest of the SSDs are approaching 2x that performance however. The poor Kingston drive is limited by its 5-channel implementation and barely manages more than 40MB/s. This will keep the Kingston SSDNow V series from cannibalizing X25-M sales, while at the same time offering a taste of what good SSDs have to offer at lower price points.
We're nearly tapped out on sequential read speed. The new TRIM firmware appears to drop performance a bit but not much. SATA 6Gbps will be necessary before we can see higher sequential read speeds from a single SSD.
True to Kingston's claims, the SSDNow V 40GB pulls around 170MB/s thanks to its narrower configuration. Not within arm's reach of the more expensive SSDs but still much faster than a mechanical drive.
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Anand Lal Shimpi - Monday, October 26, 2009 - link
Thanks guys :)Take care,
Anand
jimhsu - Monday, October 26, 2009 - link
Since I've been wondering about the free space issue, will there be a test where a drive is benchmarked vs. the amount of free space available? My guess is that the graph will be an exponential decay with the "noticeable" regime at 20% free space. Anyone cares to do this (say, at 90%, 80% ... close to zero free space)?Crittias - Monday, October 26, 2009 - link
So, without TRIM, is there anything else G1 owners can do? Can I manually wipe the drive and reinstall my OS every few months? If so, should I?mataichi - Monday, October 26, 2009 - link
I have the G1 and in Anand's previous SSD Anthology article he tells how to get back to 100% performance using HDDERASE.http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=35...">http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=35...
This is total crap that Intel is not supporting the G1.
DanH - Monday, October 26, 2009 - link
Buy the G2, clone the G1 to it and sell the gen 1. Really. It is not a big loss of money to do it.lorax1284 - Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - link
Basically, you suggest we pass our problem on to someone else who is less informed. It's called "Ethics". Look into it.Just because Intel has none doesn't mean I'm going to abandon mine.
klil - Monday, October 26, 2009 - link
The only option you, a G1 owner, have to make your drive's performance back to ~100% is to do a full format of the drive. I'm pretty sure it would have to be done very frequently, each time you write 80/160GB of data to the drive... nothing else you can do, sorry =(Intel's wipe ultility (SSD Toolbox) only works with the G2 (for use with Windows XP/Vista) and TRIM only works with the G2 as well (for use with Windows 7-to replace the Toolbox)... =(
Zoomer - Monday, October 26, 2009 - link
One can always try the Indillinx tool, after making a full backup, of course. Heck, 80GB would be less than two blu-rays.klil - Monday, October 26, 2009 - link
Another great article by the one and only Anand Shimpi, king of SSDsSo, basically Intel made a very stupid move by only allowing SSD Toolbox AND TRIM on G2 drives. I would like to know if its due to architectural changes (perhaps?), maybe you know it but can't reveal it to anyone... if I weer you i would edit out the part when you say the G3 are coming next year... or else Intel will kill you, they just lost a custumer for the G2 (me)
But would it make sense for them to release the SATA 6 G3 drives next year if their on-board ICH10 and MCH P55 does not support it? Maybe the P57 and X68 will? Who knows?
I'll still be waiting for those Gulftowns... =D
Bakkone - Monday, October 26, 2009 - link
Don't think its that much of a secret that we will se a new generation next year. We need a version that uses Sata3 (6Gb).