SSDs in RAID 0 & TRIM

I was reading up on this issue and am wondering if anyone can offer any information and oppinions.
Im thinking of putting two 256GB Samsung 830 in Raid 0 in my new (on its way) P170EM + 128GB PM800 in the mSATA slot for backups (i dont need that much space for backups).
Now the problem is obviously TRIM, which still doesnt work on a RAID 0 configuration as i read. Does anyone have any info on when this should be supported (i know it was promised a while ago to be included in the beta 10.5 RST drivers)?
For now i could use Tony TRIM or does anyone have any better suggestion?
What do you think of this plan in general?

Id love toying with the extra speed, its lower power consumption, heat and i dislike the noise and vibrations platter drives produce, but on the other hand its expensive and im not sure how well it will work over time.

 

As far as I can tell, Intel I think are releasing it with windows 8.

But to be fair I have had no issues with normal use with mine.

 

I take it you've looked at the multiple threads in this forum regarding SSDs over RAID-0.

They outline your pros/cons, and I think of the ppl who are using this config have the image, secure erase, re-image down to a science so it takes 30-60 minutes for the whole process.

 

Thats what i want to avoid - some process like that. At best id be willing to do the Tony TRIM. Im wondering if thats a good alternative.

 

Actually, TRIM is just a front-end for your drive's natural garbage collect process so if you leave the computer on for a few hours doing absolutely nothing, the drives should automatically start cleaning themselves. TRIM is only for windows to tell the drive when and where to clean when something is deleted.

 

I've had my RAID 0 array for 2 weeks now, never had a crash or freeze.

 

Most reviews state the GC on these drives is rather rubbish - that it only starts working AFTER it slows down... Like trying to take care of the problem after its there unlike TRIM preventing it.
Im not worried about crashes or freezes, these drives should work without any problems. Samsung is one of the most reliable ones with the entire drive made by them afterall.
BTW what speeds are you getting Tsunade?

 

After some registry tweaks, my 4k scores were MUCH improved.

 

Do you know if TT will work on the types of drives in your array? I've seen some ppl post they were unsure the step to set bytes to 0xFF actually worked because the controller seemed to be differentiating between "empty" cells and writing 0xFF (all 1s). I cannot confirm this though.

 

That is assuming the controller have special logic for this data pattern. I have my reservation on something from 'Tony' ;-)

 

What were those tweaks?

 

Wondering the exact same as Gandalf above! What tweaks are we talking about?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sol...marks-brands-news-advice-813.html#post7025580

Sorry I didn't see your post earlier, links to registry tweaks in the links in the post.

 

I could be wrong but I believe TRIM support through RAID is now available in version 11.5.0.1149 of the driver which you can get here

Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology Driver for Windows 8 (64-bit) Beta - ThinkPad

 

Are these drivers for Win 8 only?

 

The above are.

These are not supposed to be, as Windows 7 (32 & 64bit is mentioned).
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Det...duct=Intel®+Rapid+Storage+Technology&lang=eng

 

The link you posted is for the 10.8.x.x version of Intel RST. I was referring to the Intel 11.5.x.x BETA drivers.

More specifically, I'm trying to find evidence that TRIM support in RAID is available, but only after a BIOS upgrade to the Intel ICH* portion.

 

Intel announced a while back(2011) that 11.5 will be the RST drivers that has TRIM enabled on SSD RAID.

If anyone wants to install it in Windows 7 here is the BETA drivers: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/573379-clevo-driver-thread-11.html#post8498542

 

I'm a idiot, wrong link.......... oh well Patrck posted it alright

oh man, you should make your own drivers thread, the front page is way outdated now

 

Thanks. In regards to RAID, the drivers from Patrick's link says:

Now, my x7200 runs ICH10, which is not the C600. I won't be trying this out any time soon.

And still have not found any evidence there is or is not a BIOS update that will be req'd.

 

Still isn't there any software which can TRIM SSD in RAID or just keep it running on almost the same performance as in the first installation?
even not a perfect one till INTEL RST 11.5 is released?

 

No.

10char

 

You can do that manually by using the clean disk function in CCleaner. Though its not the same but the result in the end is quite close.
However IMO unless you download/create/move loads of data around daily, you shouldnt worry much.

 

OK thanks I will use it for a meanwhile and measure the digression in speed.
I also activated FancyCache software so that more caching will be done on the RAM ( dedicated 9GB from my RAM) to ensure less wearing for the SSDs.

 

If you want to minimise wear, I would not recommend you use any clean disk function. Your SSD will do garbage collection by itself when it needs to and keep performance reasonable.

 

Assuming you log out or leave the lappie in a state where the drive sees no activity and can kick of some GC housekeeping.

 

+1

One would be better off deleting the unnecessary garbage files themselves.

 

?? What do you mean by this? Garbage collecting subroutines are operations your SSD will run in order to mark NAND cells free and available for a WRITE.

It is typically not an operation an end user can necessarily control (although some SSDs may come with their own software to kick off a GC session).

 

No need to manually do GC any more. SSD RAID0 TRIM support is available now... See latest post... http://forum.notebookreview.com/sol...rage/631570-where-rst-11-5-a.html#post8530580

 

I'm referring to instead of using the Clean Disk option, you'd be better off deleting the useless substantiated things yourself.

 

Not trying to be daft, but I'm not following. What do you mean by "deleting the useless substantiated things yourself" and how does that apply to the write amplification problem of an SSD? If you delete files w/ out TRIM, you're actually adding more dirty cells, thus increasing the need for the GC to clean the cells (or a secure erase to clean all of them).

 

No no, you misunderstand.

We're on the same page, I'm just saying there's no need to use artificial programs like CCleaner, Disk Cleaner et cetera sorry for the misunderstanding I didn't really speak clearly enough there.

 

K. 10chars