Problem(?) with SSD

[sox 06]

Has anyone installed an SSD (solid state drive) in a computer running Windows 7? I did so about a year ago and something has been bothering me ever since.

Can you figure it out? The bleeping 5.9 rating for my primary hard disk. Now I know the Windows Experience Index means nothing and is not a good benchmark, but I'm a bit OCD when it comes to things like this. The 5400 RPM mechanical drive in my laptop gets a rating of 5.4! So Windows is telling me that my SSD is only .5 points better than a 5400 RPM drive?

I've read a mind-numbing amount of things online about this and have tried everything. I just flashed my SSD with the latest firmware, disconnected my 1TB data drive, did a clean install of Windows 7 (with AHCI enabled), updated everything, installed Intel's Rapid Storage Technology (my motherboard manufacturer says to do so), installed the chipset drivers and still get a rating of 5.9.

So, I'm just wondering if anyone has gone through something similar and can shed some light on this.

[Tavish]

Have you tried running AS Benchmark tool to check the drive performance? It would help eliminate some possible causes.

[sox 06]

Have you tried running AS Benchmark tool to check the drive performance? It would help eliminate some possible causes.

I have not run AS SSD yet, but I will tomorrow. I have run the WEI hard disk assessment from the command line (winsat disk -drive c) which gives you a more detailed report and my read/write numbers are a bit off. The SSD states it should have 160 MB/s read and 70 MB/s write (I know its not the best SSD, but I think it should still score better than a 5.9). However, the winsat test shows read speeds at around 142 MB/s and write speeds around 56 MB/s. I'll run AS SSD and post the results tomorrow when I have the time.

[Mookie4ever]

Have you tried hitting it?
Take an open palm and smack the side of the monitor.
That's the best I've got.

[jfg]

The only thing I can think of is doing SSD tweaks and optimizations (http://www.overclock.net/a/windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds-by-sean-webster), but I don't think that should have any effect on Windows benchmark tests.

[sox 06]

Here is a screenshot of AS SSD. Looks as if my SSD stinks or is on the way out?

[sox 06]

Here's a screen shot of the Windows disk assessment tool run from the command line:



The read is a little better than with AS SSD, however, the writes are MUCH better and are above the specs stated for this SSD

[Tavish]

Was the SSD an upgrade to the PC or was it original to the machine?

[sox 06]

Was the SSD an upgrade to the PC or was it original to the machine?

I custom built this system and originally I had a 1TB spinner as my only HDD. When I got the SSD, I formatted both drives and did a clean install of Windows 7 on the SSD (which I did AGAIN a week or so ago with only the SSD connected during the install). So even though the SSD was technically an "upgrade," it has a fresh install of 7 on it (not a transfer).

It seems to run pretty good (boots Windows 7 in about 17 seconds ), although not as good as I might expect. I've looked at some SSD's on Newegg (where I got this one) and most of them have much better read/write specs (300MB/s and 200MB/s) so I know my SSD won't score a perfect 7.9 in the Windows Experience Index. However, when I'm getting writes of 17MB/s with AS SSD and 37MB/s with CrystalDiskMark, something isn't right.

[jfg]

SSD's should be plugged into the lowest SATA port on your motherboard, usually port 0. Sometimes your motherboard will have certain ports marked for SSD. You could try checking that.