Whether it’s SATA or NVMe SSD, getting the best performance out of your drives comes down to having the optimal settings. In RAID-Combine, two SSDs can achieve unprecedented speed
The ascendancy of the SSD is in full swing. Much has been spoken about the flash memory storage drive technology in the past, specifically about its limited capacities. But now, capacities of up to 1 TB have become available and becoming affordable. Also, midrange and top class SSDs have proven their durability, further reinforced by the manufacturers via their long warranty periods. Does this mean it’s time for you to setup, install the OS of your choice and start using it? Well, it’s not as simple as that. To achieve optimal performance and lifespan for an SSD, the correct settings are required. Therefore, in the first part of this article we will be showing you the settings for the common SSD types.
The biggest difference between the different types of SSDs isn’t readily apparent - what differentiates them is the data transport protocol used. Conventional AHCI drives can go up to 550 MB/s read speed, while the newer NVMe can hit a whopping 4,000 MB/s. NVMe drives also have much shorter response times and improved parallel access.
Each of the two protocols are available in different form factors. For AHCI, it can either be a classic 2.5-inch drive, or a M.2 module with the B-Key (has a notch on the left side of the slot). On the other hand, NVMe SSDs are usually M.2 modules with the M-Key (which has a notch on the right side instead).
In the second part of the article we will show you which is the maximum SSD performance currently possible. For this, we have connected two of the fastest SSDs in RAID 0 configuration.
But before trying to make a record, it is first necessary to get the optimal performance from one SSD.
Optimally Use M.2 SSDs
Fast and compact, SSDs using the M.2 form factor (22 x 80 mm) are ideal for notebooks. But M.2 modules are not compatible with all computers. Moreover, there are different protocols with NVMe and AHCI. You need to be aware of which is the optimal SSD for your PC. When it comes to desktop motherboards, desktop motherboards, the user’s guide or manufacturer’s website should have information on compatible M.2 SSDs. The M.2 slot for the Haswell/Broadwell platform onwards is usually connected to only two PCIe 2.0 lanes, which limits the speed to 1GB/s. Also, industry UEFI BIOS and drivers are not fully ready for NVMe drives back then, so AHCI-based M.2 or conventional SATA SSDs were still the more dominant choices.
From Skylake onwards, there are four PCIe 3.0 lanes available, which can ensure the full 4GB/s speed. If the PC is running on Windows 10, then everything falls into place for the faster NVMe-based SSDs. However, the USB and NVMe drivers for Intel Skylake are missing in the Windows 7/8 Installer and OS, which complicates the installation process. Another thing that requires attention during the setup process is which data transport lane/interface does the M.2 slot share with. For example, a M.2 or SATA SSD will slow down two of the SATA connections it sharing bandwidth with, or completely disable them. An M.2 NVMe SSD, on the other hand, will eat scrape bandwidth from one of the PCIe slots. To know more, you’ll have to refer to your motherboard’s manual, so that you’ll know where to connect your other drives or graphic cards without compromising the performance of any of your components.
As for laptops, it is often difficult to find out whether a M.2 SSD is compatible and if yes, which type. Laptop manufacturers tend to not disclose the relevant information, so you will have to search on the internet using model number or name of the computer and „M.2“ as search terms. If the same series with M.2 SSD is available, then you have to check the compatibility. Make sure to purchase an M.2 drive only when you have all the necessary information and have checked the installation slot. It will show the permitted length of the SSD module (42, 60, 80 or 110 mm - the form factors are called „M.2 2242, 2260“ etc.). When in doubt, choose an AHCI-based SSD for your laptop. They can be recognised by the fact that they also come as a 2.5-inch SATA form factor. For example, the Samsung SSD 850 EVO, Crucial MX300 or SanDisk X400 all have M.2 or 2.5-inch models.
Optimise OS For NVMe
For the latest NVMe SSDs, the OS makes it mandatory to have a compatible driver. Windows 10 has this driver so that the SSD can be installed and used without fuss. For the best possible booting speed and good performance, you must install Windows 10 in UEFI mode. In the Boot menu, select the UEFI mode of your installation medium (instead of USB or SATA).
When partitioning the system, pay attention to the fact that the installer creates a GPT partition table. If Windows 10 is installed in this manner, the options “Fast Boot” or “Ultra-Fast” become available. Both can reduce the boot up and login time to the OS by a few seconds.
NVMe SSDs are fully capable of working with the Windows 10 driver. These days, NVMe SSD manufacturers have drivers and software that allow you to unleash the full potential of their NVMe SSDs. This makes it imperative for users to select a NVMe SSD from a known manufacturer with good software support (like Samsung, Intel, Toshiba OCZ) and install their latest driver. If you’re on Windows 7 or 8, install the NVMe driver from the manufacturer during a re-installation.
Shifting To A NVMe Drive
If you want to mirror an existing Windows 7 or 8 system onto a new NVMe SSD, then first connect the old hard disk as a SATA drive to the new computer then boot from the same and make sure to install any missing drivers (motherboard chipset, WiFi, USB controller, etc.) using the Driver DVD or from the manufacturer’s website. If Windows needs reactivation, then do not proceed with this step. Instead, install the NVMe SSD and the NVMe driver first via the manufacturer’s website. You can now mirror the current operating system using the migration system of the manufacturer or an image software (like Acronis) on the NVMe SSD. As a precaution, check whether the partition that is setup is compatible with the block variables. If you don’t, you could be impairing the performance and lifespan of the SSD significantly. Activate Windows only when the computer runs on the NVMe SSD without any problems.
Speed Tips For Every PC
If you have recently installed Windows on the SSD, then everything should run optimally. But not if the system has been used for a long time, or has a lot of software installed in it. You might find some programs nested in the autostart and system services, slowing down the boot up process despite being a fast SSD. To clean this up, start the “System Configuration” of Windows and enable the option to “Hide all Microsoft services” on the tab “Services”. Next, remove the check mark for all services that have nothing to do with your antivirus software or unnecessary for the hardware. Repeat this under the “System Start” tab. Under Windows 10, this links to a tab on the Windows Task Manager, which then allows you to deactivate any program by right-clicking on it.
For SATA SSDs that are several years old, it’s advisable to check the status of the drive with the manufacturer’s software (e.g. Samsung Magician, Crucial Storage Executive, Intel SSD Toolbox) or with the tool SSD Life. Depending on the SSD, different SMART values will be shown here, providing you information such as the expected lifespan. You should also take note of parameters like “Reallocated Sector Count”, or things like Fail and Error rates. The values reduce with increasing use of maximum value (100 or 255) up to a threshold value (e.g. 10 or 0) from where onwards the SSD sets the operation. In theory, SSDs can also abruptly fail. SSDs with inconspicuous SMART values and drives with critical values (more than 20 to 30% decline than initial value), can still work for a long time. Nevertheless, such SSDs can be considered as prone to failures and so regular backups are mandatory. It is also worthwhile to set a benchmark (e.g. AS SSD) and compare the results with benchmarks of the same drives from the Internet. If your SSD is clearly slower or the system, in general, is unstable, then the SSD should be replaced as soon as possible.
On The Hunt For The Speed Record
What’s faster than one SSD? Two SSDs in RAID-0 combine. In this setup, the operating system will write and read the data simultaneously on both the drives, which should ideally double the performance. If you enable this hardware RAID configuration in the BIOS/UEFI and the cumbersome Windows installation yourself, you can achieve transfer rates similar to an entry level NVMe SSD by using two cheap SATA SSDs. We set out to pair two of the fastest NVMe SSDs currently on the market using this configuration and managed to set new speed records.
Set Up Turbo RAID
Before setting up a NVMe RAID, the first hurdle is the hardware: You need a motherboard with two NVMe slots. The other option is to pair them using the RAID function of the Intel chipset. You also need to set the system to boot in RAID. Having said that, the first option requires you to purchase pricey motherboards with Intel’s Z170 or the newer Z270 chipsets (which also require you to get a Kaby Lake CPU). For this test, we used a Gigabyte Z270X-Gaming 7 and two Samsung SSD 960 Pro. We had to activate the RAID mode of the SATA Controller first before we could connect the two NVMe drives to one RAID 0 via the menu option “Periphery | EZ Raid”, so that it has double the capacity of a one RAID 0 drive. Other than some firmware issues we had to resolve at the start, the RAID was ready after a few clicks. If we chose to install from within Windows 10, a copy of the Intel Rapid Storage driver needs to be loaded on to a USB drive. The system drive has to be selected during the installation, so we uploaded that using the corresponding button. After that, the Intel Raid should appear as the target disk. However, we went with the UEFI installation method instead, so the system automatically boots from the RAID-combine which can be used as a normal drive in the on-going operation. As the operating system now communicates only with the Intel RAID Controller (instead of directly with the SSDs), the NVMe driver from Samsung that unleashes full potential of the SSD 960 becomes unusable. This results in some performance loss.
RAID 0: Reality And Benchmarks
Our test system boots up in less than ten seconds, once we got the right UEFI settings. It runs amazingly fast when it comes to anything that deals with the fixed storage. For example, installing LibreOffice, in which more than 7000 files are written, took only 21 seconds on our test system. In fact, our benchmarks show how fast the RAID is and where its limits lie.
Instead of the theoretically possible 100% in increased efficiency compared to an SSD, we measured 20% more read and 32% more write speed. Using a rather impractical method, we did manage to get higher speeds. This involved installing the second SSD to a PCIe slot via an adapter card. Next, we booted the system from a third SATA SSD and paired the two NVMe SSDs with Samsung drivers under Windows into a single software RAID. This RAID surpassed the individual SSDs by 43% in read speeds and an amazing 82% in write speeds. However, it was not suitable as a bootable system drive.
Measurements with the simple but faster Atto benchmark have shown that even this combination is limited to a total of 4GB/s.
This is the current limit to the bandwidth of the so-called DMI connection between CPU and chipset. Our little test proves that with the extreme speeds that are now theoretically possible with NVMe SSDs, Intel needs to make it so that the PC platform is structurally robust enough to handle that kind of added speed in data transfers.
A generation back: Use SSDs with SATA II
A SATA SSD can provide noticeable increase in performance for computers of the Sandy Bridge generation and older - even if the computer only has a SATA II interface. A few points to be noted:
>No more than 300 MB/s. It’s not possible for any SSD connected via SATA II to get above 300MB/s. New SATA-III SSDs are backwardcompatible, but the old interface slows down the transfers to 3 GB/s minus overhead.
>The AHCI mode must be active in the BIOS. Older computers that use IDE mode cost SSDs to consume more power than they should. Boot up your system and go into the BIOS and search for the relevant setting, which could be something like “Peripherals.....SATA Controller”.
>Very old SSDs (e.g. Intel X25-E and older, or Samsung before SSD 470) do not support the TRIM command as yet.
Thus, the SSD retains the deleted data internally, which leads to severe performance losses after intensive use, usually when it comes to the write access. To make such drives faster again, you can back up the data, reset the drive to factory settings with the help of Live Linux and then re-install the data.