Installing new SSD to GT70, SATA3?

So I just repasted my GT70 0NE and installed the Samsung 840 Pro.I haven`t had a chance to try it out yet.

But I read from various threads that the notebook have
1xSATA3
2xSATA2

The lower right is SATA2 (where my 500GB HDD I got from MSI was) and the upper left is the only SATA3 according to this forum. But the mSATA raid0 card is already in the upper left and there is no slot there for me to insert the SSD or install any new HDDs. Nor is there any screws where I can mount the SSD to.

The only place I can install a new drive is the lower right next to the battery. Does this mean I only can use mSATA SSDs to use the SATA3???

 

Yeah, by default the lower right sata slot is SATA2 - for no obvious reasons since all the MSI GT former generation have SATA3 on both ports.

However, there's a fix to benefit of SATA3 speed on the lower right slot: http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/658595-official-msi-gt60-gt70-owners-lounge-82.html

Have fun with your beast.

 

Thanks Pau1ow. Unfortunately I won`t touch the LPM settings due to the fact that it controls the power management also within the CPU so it won`t just affect the SSD.

Are there really no other things I can do? Are they selling me a notebook that does not have a SATA3 port ready for new SSDs? Or have I missed something? If I remove the msata raid0 card, is it slots there I can slide the SSD in to to get the SATA3?

I don`t want to use raid0 or use msata SSDs. This Samsung 840 PRO is the best out there right now

 

That's because Intel chipset only supports 2 SATA III, so MSI has to sacrifice 2nd slot and use both SATAIII port on primary SATA with dual mSATA module in order to make Super RAID work.

 

Ken pretty well explains why MSI chose the primary slot as SATA III only..... to facilitate an mSATA SuperRAID0 configuration, and still allowing for a secondary data drive. Sure, you can remove the mSATA adapter, and this will allow installation of your Samsung 840..... BUT, you will now only have single SATA III SSD performance...... not SuperRAID0 performance.

 

I`m a little pissed off to be honest.

The lower right is indeed SATA2. The dock where the mSATA Raid0 card is located however, is SATA3 to some kind of weird connection to the motherboard.
I CANNOT USE THIS SATA3 interface. I removed the Raid0 card yesterday and there is nowhere I can plug in my Samsung 840 Pro.
What the hell? This is almost a deal breaker since A) They sell their top model without any possible way to install your own SATA3. A top model without any SATA3. Why? B) They don`t inform about this on their homepage nor do the resellers tell about it. They actually sell SATA3 SSDs to these notebooks.... C) My Samsung 840 is much faster than any Raid0 setup people here are using. Raid0 mSATA is faster with file transfer, thats it, everything else, file access, IOPS, everyday scenarios like programs games etc, power draw, my Samsung 840 smokes raid0 which is the reason why I`m a little dissapointed.

So right now I have only one option left, and that is editing the LPM settings in registry although I`m very reluctant to do so because it interferes with CPU power management as well.

Here is my CrystalDiskMark from my Samsung 840 in the only available SSD bay:


Here is what it looks like on SATA3:


Here is the SATA3 bay where I removed the Raid0 card. The screw holes to mount the SSD are there but as you can see, no SATA3 connection available unless you have to purchase wires that you plug in the two white connections on the right there??

 

I feel your pain ):

 

You indeed need the SATA PCB that comes along all the MSI notebooks (but yours).

I wouldn't worry too much about the LPM stuff though...

 

Tried the LPM fix, didn`t help either

Before:


With LPM fix:

 

Hmmmm, interesting....... I stand corrected. So MSI has proprietized the primary slot? I think it has always been 'assumed', all one would need do is remove the mSATA adapter. Now that I think of it, I really do not recall any actual attempts at this. I think most have been content with the mSATA SuperRAID0 in the primary slot.

I feel your pain too, and I know this is a disappointment. Not much help, but I guess you can look at it this way....... like an early adopter, you have traveled uncharted on an adventure of discovery...... and in doing such, you have done a service to us all. Now we all know for sure! Best of luck with this.....

 

The motherboard tracings from the chipset SATA III pins to the primary slot carries both of the SATA III connections allowed by the chipset.This is true of the GT70 and GT60.

The barebones 16F3 and 1762 are the same.

The GX60 is probably wired the same also.

I haven't seen any testing of the MSI Super Raid adapter in the barebones Whitebook models probably because the adapter is not available for purchase,nobody with both a GT70 and barebones has tried it and the resellers may not be allowed to post information about it.

The next Intel platform,Haswell,is speculated to have 6 SATA III connections allowed by the chipset so theoretically both internal bays could allow Super Raid along with SATA III for the optical bay and eSATA ports in future Haswell models if MSI so desires.

 

Thanks guys for the support. I just wish I found out about the lack of SATA3 port before purchasing this $250 SSD. That said its still superfast.
I guess I have to either buy 2x128GB mSATA SSDs or continue using this. We`ll see.

So a fair warning to anyone who might stumble upon this thread: All other models except GT70 0NE that doesn`t have the Raid0 card have a free SATA3 port for your SSD.

 

Seems to me you need to get together with a gt60 owner wanting super raid, then swap adapters.

 

The gx60 uses an amd chipset so all the ports are gen3.

There are also 256gb m4 msata drives.

 

Is this the case for the 1762 barebone built from the GT70?

 

Are you saying that a SATA III SSD inside a caddy in the GX60 optical bay will perform at SATA III speeds?

The secondary internal SATA drive bay is also SATA III?

 

No the gt series are intel based and have the 2 port limitation.

This is one more reason we are hurting from amd not having a really competitive product.

The amd gx60 offers all sata gen3 ports and the integrated graphics is far superior display option wise. Imagine if the cpu was of i5 level even.

 

Sorry,I typed GT60 in error;I meant to type GX60 as my previous post asks now.

Optical Bay SATA III in the GX60?

"Imagine if the cpu was of i5 level even."....this could just be the beginning of an AMD lineup?

 

Yes so the gx60 super raid version has:

2xgen3 msata
1xgen3 2.5" sata
1xgen3 optical sata

The non super raid has

2xgen3 2.5" sata
1xgen3 optical sata

 

Thanks a lot for the info!

 

need help guys please

i recently install OCZ vertex 4 256GB
it is installed normally, everything is correct
when i run any SSD benchmark, it is detected that the connection is SATA 2
i moved it to the upper side (hdd slot above the battery), still it is SATA 2
then i check in the bios, that my drive is running in RAID, while i am not running in RAID (i am using only 1 hard drive currently, which is the OCZ vertex 4)
when i change the drive to AHCI, it just won't start so i was doing a fresh install again
after windows is finished installing, it will boot up and come back to the first page when i want to install windows again, while actually the windows is already installed??tried again and it keeps repeating the loop
i set back my drive to RAID, then it works properly, but in SATA 2
please guy, i need your help, especially from the seniors here

 

Try these steps and see if they help you. I thought it was as easy as breaking the Raid by setting "AHCI" in SATA mode in BIOS and doing a fresh install on the Vertex after...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/658595-official-msi-gt60-gt70-owners-lounge-51.html#post8564869

 

man, this thing is driving me crazy. a fatal weakness or i should call failure on MSI
i was thinking of flashing the NON Raid bios to my gt60.
i assume, mine and yours are different, coz i came from raid 0 of HDD, not the mSATA RAID 0(which is located at the same HDD slot), so i MUST have an empty HDD slot for SATA 3 right?

 

Are there only certain SSDs made to run on GT70s? I would think that Samsung would be one of them.
I was planning to install the same drive on my GT70.

 

All SSD's work.

 

Depends what GT70 you have.
0NE does not have any SATA3 where you can plug your 840 in to since its occupied by the raid card which only takes mSATA.

0NC and 0ND however have a normal SATA3 interface where you can plug in your 840 instead of the raid card

But like jaug says, all works except you get like half the speed on SATA2

 

Oh that way yes, thought he meant like "certain" SSD's work, not types like mSATA

 

Seems like backwards technology getting only half the speed.

 

but why my gt60 which has only RAID 0 of normal HDD, can't make the SSD work (in SATA 3) after i removed both the harddrives and replace it with the SSD
in the bios my SATA is always in RAID, can't change to AHCI

 

i fixed it man. hehe. now it's being read as SATA 3
what i did (might be different in gt 70)

1.flash original BIOS (non-raid SKU)
2.fresh install windows (it has to be or it will continue the loop of reboot), drive will be set AHCI automatically
3.after finish installing, it will restart by itself, QUICKLY remove the DVD you used to install the windows (otherwise it will keep doing the same loop of windows installation)
4.when you come into completing installation page, insert the DVD again (it still contains some data needed for completing installation)
5.then rate your WEI, HDD will be 7.9
6. for the case of gt 70, maybe you need to replace the SATA adapter to a normal one instead of mSATA raid, the slot above battery is always SATA 3. i am not sure about yours though. anyway
hope you can solve the problem. and yeah, damn MSI for doing this without telling

 

What IRST version you're using? I tried to use the 11.7.0.1013 but it stuck while doing benchmarks. Now I'm using 11.6.0.1030.

 

It's been my experience that the Intel RST version 11.2.0.1007 yields the best benchmarking scores.
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=21407

For the best benchmarking results enable write caching in the Intel RST panel and then disable speed stepping in bios.Next select the high performance power plan in Windows.If you happen to have a bios where you can turnoff cstates,do so,but probably your notebook bios doesn't have that option.

“Write caching” in a storage device refers to the use of high-speed volatile memory to collect write commands sent to data storage devices and cache them until the slower storage media (either physical disks or low-cost flash memory) can accommodate them. Most devices that use write caching require that power be supplied continuously.

 

Is it necessary to load first the IRST driver during win 7 installation?

 

If you want it to run at SATA 3 6gb/s, Then yes.

 

There's new version of AS SSD for Christmas.

version 1.7.4739.38088

Alex Intelligent Software - Downloads

 

This reminds me, I wonder if the aggressive LPM setting in the unlocked will have much of an impact.

 

My Samsung 840 pro is not working properly with IRST. The system crash and after a few seconds it will detect as SATA2, but there's no problem with MSACHI driver. I just update the bios to E1762IMS.10R. It's kinda weird.

 

I`d like to use this opportunity to thank Gentech PC for being so nice as getting hold on a SATA3 interface for me. I switched it out with my mSATA card and now my 840 PRO is just FLYING. Thank you Ken

 

Are you using IRST driver or just the MSACHI? Have you tried updating latest firmware for your 840 PRO?

 

I think I`m using IRST driver. I`m not sure. Why and how do I find out? AHCI is enabled in BIOS
I have the latest firmware installed on my 840 yes

 

Hey Cloudfire,have you tried benching with the new Anvil Storage Utility RC6?
http://www.ssdaddict.com/apps/AnvilBenchmark_RC6.zip

RST Installed?
In Device Manager>Storage Controller>Driver
or
If you have an Intel RST Icon in the Taskbar then an iRST is installed.

Right click on the icon>open app>Help>About = RST version info.

 

Thanks. Yes I have IRST installed. It says: Version 11.0.0.1032
Haven`t tried the Anvil benchmark though. Looks neat

 

I can't use the IRST driver, after updating the BIOS and SSD firmware. After doing several benchmark, the IRST driver is switching my SATA3 port to SATA2 connection(6GBPS to 3GBPS) but I don't have any problems with MSACHI driver. Weird! Btw, anyone here already used modified bios from SVET to maximize ssd usage? What bios features that can help to maximize the SSD usage?

 

Nothing other than enabling AHCI.
Software wise you need to disable "SuperFetch", Defragmentation and "indexing service".

I reckon you have tried uninstalling IRST and installing it again? Perhaps tried older versions? Any gains from MSAHCI vs IRST?

 

It's been my experience removing the iRST takes a few reboots after using a good uninstaller program and then going into device manager and uninstalling the storage controller driver.

My bios set to raid but with all drives as non member disks.After the iRST removal I have the driver version listed as 8.6.2.1315 in device manager>Storage Controllers>Driver

After the thorough RST removal and viewing in Anvil Storage Utilities RC6 my Storage driver is listed as iaStorV on Windows 7 x64

 

Damn I just put cruical m4 on the lower left side where bay was empty didn't realize that was sata 2 port, also why windows 8 wont recognize in disk management cruical m4 when i can see it in BIOS?
GT70-0NC-494us model.

 

This thread is extremely relevant to my situation, but I'm having a bit of trouble following what the solution is. Here's my background:

I purchased a GT70 0NE-452US with 128GB SSD and 1TB HDD 5400 rpm. The 128GB SSD is too small for me, and the 1TB HDD is too slow, so I decided to upgrade to a 256 GB SSD and bought the Samsung 840 Pro. I opened up my computer thinking it would be an easy install, and was surprised to see this strange thing called mSATA. I also couldn't figure out how to install the 840 Pro in the HDD slot (which, as I now understand, is SATA2 anyway).

I'd like to achieve one of the following outcomes, in order of desirability:
1) Replace the 128GB SSD with my Samsung 840 Pro.

2) Increase the default mSATA memory from 128GB to 256GB. I noticed there appeared to be two slots right next to each other, and the 128GB drive only occupied one of them. Is it just a simple matter of buying another ADATA chip and installing it in the other spot? Will this create a new drive on my PC, or will it upgrade my C drive from 128GB to 256? In this case, I'd just return the 840 Pro (which I hope I can still do... I opened it, but obviously haven't used it).

3) Replace the 1TB HDD with my Samsung 840 Pro, and have it run at SATA3 speed.

Which of these outcomes are possible, and how would I go about achieving them? I should also mention that I'm running Windows 8. Thank you so much for the help! This is very important for my work, and has been very confusing so far.

 

ADATA msata raided shd loose to the 840 pro stand alone on 4k read and iops, but win on all others, it all comes down to your preference though, if u have the money i'd advise you to get a pair of plextor m5m s with the, raided it beats the 840 pro by mile but hey the 840 pro is the best stand alone ssd so yea its all up to what u want, on the otherhand if you can find the OEM msatas i'd advice you returning your 840 pro and get the msata version it, its the PM841
Samsung shows off OEM versions of the Series 840 SSDs | Hardware.Info United Kingdom
it runs at near identical speed to the 840 pros

 

forgot to mention that all 3 outcome is possible, outcome 2 requires a bit of computer knowledge on raiding ssds Guide How to switch to RAID 0 - without reinstalling!!
3 is straight forward but your SSD sacrifices a lot of speed and 1 is just getting your hands on the SATA board for the GT70 which isn't difficult as I know some online retailers does sell replacement parts for the GT70, except for the raid board, if your really planning on outcome 1 some people out there will buy the raid board at a good price because its not found anywhere in the US

 

I decided to go with option 2. It seemed like too much trouble to start removing/installing different parts, and I'm able to return the 840 Pro anyway. I opted for a Mushkin Atlas Deluxe 240GB. I might get another one later and set up RAID, but for now I don't think I need two. I'll sell the 128GB chip my computer came with on ebay or something.