SSD Performance: TRIM And Firmware Updates Tested

Test Setup

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System Hardware
HardwareDetails
CPUIntel Core i7-920 (45 nm, 2.66 GHz, 4 x 512 KB L2 Cache, 8 MB L3 Cache)
Motherboard (Socket 1366)Supermicro X8SAX Revision: 1.0, Chipset Intel X58 + ICH10R, BIOS: 1.0B
RAM3 x 1 GB DDR3-1333 Corsair CM3X1024-1333C9DHX
ControllerHighPoint Rocket 620
HDDSeagate NL35 400 GB, ST3400832NS, 7200 RPM, SATA 1.5 Gb/s, 8 MB Cache
Power SupplyOCZ EliteXstream 800 W, OCZ800EXS-EU
Benchmarks
Performance MeasurementsPCMark Vantage 1.0.2.0
System Software & Drivers
Operating SystemWindows 7 Ultimate
Intel Rapid Storage ManagerVersion 9.6

Test SSD: Samsung 470 Series, 256 GB

We used Samsung’s new 470-series SSD, also known as the PM810, for this article. It is one of the newest SSDs available, so we were curious about its general performance characteristics. Therefore, we had to deliver a little torture test to really push the drive as hard as possible, hoping to show the differences with and without TRIM, and the 0601 vs. 0701 firmware versions.