Is this about the fastest speed Im going to get?

[jedwards16]

I have a Crucial C300 64GB hooked to the SATA2 port on a GA-P55-UD4P. I ran a benchmark using HD Tach and my average read speed is 207MB/s. Is that about the max Im going to get with this setup? Is there any way to improve that?

I see controller cards that support 6gb/s like this one. Can I use that without having to reinstall Windows again?

Im going to have 2 total SSDs and I expect the second one to have similar speeds. One will be an OS + applications drive and the other will be for MMORPGs. Am I going to need the fastest for these or will I be able to get by?

My only worry is degradation. I know I have TRIM and all that but I read that they STILL degrade so how much of a speed drop will I see in a year or so?

Thanks


EDIT: Fixed

 

[Fetal]

its 6gbps not 6gBps :/. hahahahah

Its Six Gigabits Per Second NOT Six Gigabytes Per Second.

 

[gtvr]

207MB/s is just over 1.6Gb/s. So 3Gb/s of sata II is plenty for this drive. 6Gb/s of SATA III is not needed.

 

[jedwards16]

Thanks. One last and kinda dumb question:
I just got my second SSD that I will be installing FFXIV on. FFXIV isnt out until september but Im wondering if its ok to install it in my rig and just let it sit there until FFXIV is released. There wont be a single thing installed on it during this time.

I only ask because I dont know if the simple act of even powering on a drive can eventually lead to degradation. Should I just let it go until its ready to be used?

 

[gtvr]

There's no mechanical parts like a standard SSD, so power up/down shouldn't be a huge issue - SSDs degrade more with writes than anything else, as far as I know. Assuming you don't turn it on and over 20 times per day or something, or don't have a big power surge.

 

[jeroly]

Since you're basically planning to just use the drives for the OS, apps and games rather than mission-critical data, and since you have two SSDs anyway, why not run them in RAID 0 and get close to double the speed? You should leave around 15% of disk space unpartitioned so that you don't see performance degradation over time.

+1 to the AHCI setting. I believe I've also read somewhere that those drives benefit from being completely wiped prior to use.

 

[RetiredChief]

I picked up this on:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813995004&cm_re=asus_u3s6_pcie-_-13-995-004-_-Product

It includes Usb 3 supoort inaddition to Sata6. It's cheaper and has a slightly higer satisfaction rate and slightly lower dissatisfaction rate.
To packaging state compatable with - only list Asus MB., But comments seem to indicat capatability with Gigabyte MB (mine is P55-UD4P also). Bought it at microcenter on Sunday and have not had a chance to install it yet. (PS should have checked Newegg first as CONSIDERABLY cheaper - bought on spur of the moment).

Raid0 would improve Sequential read/write but does little for the MORE important Random 4K and Acess time. And you lose Win 7 Trim Cmd.

 

[mark_k]

I picked up this on:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813995004&cm_re=asus_u3s6_pcie-_-13-995-004-_-Product

It includes Usb 3 supoort inaddition to Sata6. It's cheaper and has a slightly higer satisfaction rate and slightly lower dissatisfaction rate.
To packaging state compatable with - only list Asus MB., But comments seem to indicat capatability with Gigabyte MB (mine is P55-UD4P also). Bought it at microcenter on Sunday and have not had a chance to install it yet. (PS should have checked Newegg first as CONSIDERABLY cheaper - bought on spur of the moment).

Raid0 would improve Sequential read/write but does little for the MORE important Random 4K and Acess time. And you lose Win 7 Trim Cmd.

I am interested in getting a SSD also but I think I will get this board also.
I have the ASUS P6T Delux running GTX 280s in SLI.

My question is will this card fit while running SLI?
The PCI slot is between the two vidio cards and it is right up tight against the upper video card.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/page-269596_10_50.html#t2069295

 

[RetiredChief]

Update on Asus U3P6 pci-e card.
Got home from work and removed my SIIG U3 pci-1x card and installed the asus card.
Did not install any software from the CD. For the USB3 it picked up the SIIG USB 3 driver. I then removed my Intel G2 from the intel controller and connected it to the card - The computer bootup as if I did not change a thing. I then connect the WD 1TB Sata 6 HDD (Dumb move on my part - no real advantage in Sata6 vs Sata 3 for HDDs). Booted to windows 7 and partitioned it and formatted it.

mark-k - This card is a pci-e 4x card, not a pci-e 1X. I only run a single GPU so I stuck it into the 2nd Video card slot (Gigabyte P55-UD4P which is a pci-e 8x slot.

 

[mark_k]

Thanks RetiredChief,

I think I will wait and upgrade my mother board......

 

[jedwards16]

Best answer selected by jedwards16.