Anyone here use IDE mode with an SSD?

The Intel 80GB G2 in my desktop just seems slow. It seemed snappy when I first got it, but things lag considerably when opening programs, and file transfers seem slow. Benchmarks are ok, but actual use is slow. TRIM is enabled, it's aligned and everything.

It is an older motherboard, and when I turn on AHCI in the BIOS it takes an extra ten seconds to activate the AHCI BIOS and detect devices before it boots into windows, which kind of defeats the purpose of a fast booting OS. So I've considered switching to IDE mode, but are there any significant issues / performance degradtion from that? I've read that it does support TRIM, but anyone here confirm that?

Thanks.

 

If you switch to IDE mode I think you have to re-install the OS.

 

There are ways to switch to IDE mode without having to install the O/S again.

However, only AHCI supports TRIM and NCQ too afaik.

I do not think it is a wise move (performance-wise) to switch to IDE mode with an SSD unless you're running an SSD with aggressive GC and/or running it in RAID.

 

After some googling I did find that TRIM in fact will work in IDE mode.

Trim works in IDE mode - Overclock.net - Overclocking.net

and you can switch to IDE mode with a registry edit:

Switch AHCI TO IDE (Tutorial HowTo) !!! - Vista Forums

I will give it a shot and let you all know how it turns out...

 

Just change it in the BIOS. If you already have intel chipset drivers and/pr the rapid storage drivers installed, windows won't need to reinstall (unless if you are running XP...)

 

I just changed it in the BIOS. Seems about same. I might do a reformat and reinstall though and see if it helps matters any.

 

look up steady state. the performance of ssd drops after initial 'break-in' period.

 

by the way, the only way to get your ssd back as snappy as it once was fresh out of the box (FOB state) is to perform an ATA Secure Erase. you can do this using HDAT2 in DOS. first, set the password.

 

steady state should never affect read speed like opening programs unless it is other background tasks that has write going on.

How full is your drive ? Intel should be the most consistent model in keeping its performance(well the write was relatively slow).

 

There is a performance drop off going from AHCI to IDE. See here. Since your BIOS is AHCI aware, could bootup in IDE mode, then hotswitch to AHCI mode using setpci commands, then chainload to your OS. The DIY ViDock Setup 1.x can be used or the grub2 bootloader.

 

I'm running in IDE mode and don't really see any performance drop from AHCI. If anything it's running more smoothly. Obviously multitasking performance will be affected, but won't be doing much of that on my gaming desktop.

 

I think someone on the forum said their motherboard AHCI mode was flaky so they would run in IDE mode..

 

That someone was me, and I'm flaky too.

 

Well if you were a biscuit then that would be okay lol

I've seen people installing Windows with an SSD in AHCI first and having problems. So I installed in IDE mode first and did the registry fix to change to AHCI

 

Well, my desktop mobo is somewhat old. When I switch to AHCI, it goes through another boot process than regular POST that takes at least another ten seconds. So much for fast boot! lol. This machine has to last me another year because I'm opting for a new notebook in 2011. So I can live with IDE mode for the time being. It's working fine for now.

 

What motherboard/chipset is it? Did you flash it to the latest version?

I have a PM965 and X58 motherboard, both in AHCI post very quick.

 

It's a G33. And AHCI is not native in the BIOS, yes its the latest version too from July 2008. It has a separate AHCI BIOS.

edit: well I'll be boogered. Looks like I never did update to the latest BIOS. I swear I did, but the BIOS on there was from July 2008, newer one from July 2009, so I guess not. Did the regedit to AHCI and installed Intel RST drivers. The AHCI BIOS definitely loads A LOT more quickly now. Woot! Thanks, +1!

 

lol? The importance of driver updates I say!

 

I usually check for BIOS updates a few times a year for my machines. I must have just decided at the time, that it wasn't necessary, and probably wasn't because it looks like it addressed only the AHCI BIOS (AHCI ROM they call it) and video BIOS (integrated X3100).