OCZ Vertex 2 - SSD settings/tweaks

[-JJ-]

I am about to order single OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTX100G (100gb) SSD, which has SandForce SF-1200 controller, and since I am new to SSD’s I wanted to know the basic tweaks/settings that should be applied.

• Windows Indexing Service - OFF
• System Restore - OFF
• Windows Defrag - OFF
• Use Large System Cache
• Ntfs Memory Usage
• Disable 8.3 Filenames
• Disable Date Stamping
• Disable Boot Tracing
• Windows Prefetcher ?
• Windows Superfetch ?

What am I missing ?

Bios settings: ACHI or IDE mode ?

OS: Win 7 x64.

[SteveRo]

looks like you have all the usual suspects for tweaking for SSD
if you are installing single SSD on ich9 or 10 I reco you instal under ahci (just set ahci in your bios before installing).

[Ao1]

I am about to order single OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTX100G (100gb) SSD, which has SandForce SF-1200 controller, and since I am new to SSD’s I wanted to know the basic tweaks/settings that should be applied.

• Windows Indexing Service - OFF
• System Restore - OFF
• Windows Defrag - OFF
• Use Large System Cache
• Ntfs Memory Usage
• Disable 8.3 Filenames
• Disable Date Stamping
• Disable Boot Tracing
• Windows Prefetcher ?
• Windows Superfetch ?

What am I missing ?

Bios settings: ACHI or IDE mode ?

OS: Win 7 x64.

The only “tweaks” I do nowadays is turn off system restore and turn off Windows features that I don’t use. (Games, tablet, media centre etc). I only do those tweaks to save on storage space. I’ve seen zero difference in benchmark scores (or real life) in all my experimenting with every OS tweak under the sun. De:banana::banana::banana: (if you use SSD) should be off by default so the tweak would be to put it back on (not advisable).

Tweaks to save writes are also a waste of time imo. Tweaks, whether they are for performance or write saving are a hangover from early Gen 1 drives. They did very little (if anything) to help problems on the G1 drives and the newer gen driver perform in a different league.

Bottom line is for the most part they don’t do any harm but they don’t do any good either and you loose functionality.

You defiantly want AHCI mode.

[-JJ-]

Thanks.

Does the fact that I am planning to use already installed OS (currently on couple regular hdd’s in raid 0), by creating an image of the OS with Acronis, and „recover” it on this new SSD, change anything in regard of AHCI setting?

[Ao1]

If you create an image without first tweaking the registry to enable AHCI you will blue screen when you try to boot in ahci mode. Google for AHCI registry tweak and you will see lots of sites showing you how to do this. TBH I would rather do a fresh install than install from an image made on hdd.

[-JJ-]

If you create an image without first tweaking the registry to enable AHCI you will blue screen when you try to boot in ahci mode. Google for AHCI registry tweak and you will see lots of sites showing you how to do this. TBH I would rather do a fresh install than install from an image made on hdd.

I will try this: http://www.ithinkdiff.com/how-to-ena...-installation/

Not sure though about the sequence of actions.

1. Enable AHCI in OS;
2. Change bios settings;
3. Boot the OS and install the AHCI drivers;
4. Restart;
5. Clone the OS;
6. Change current hdd raid to single sdd;
7. Recover the cloned OS on single sdd.

Right ?

[Ao1]

That sequence is correct. Once you have changed the OS to enable AHCI however when you next boot in ahci mode windoze should try to install the achci drive automatically and you should be good to go.

If it was me I would do a fresh install. I know it takes a lot of effort in comparison to an image but you don't always know what you are copying over from a hdd image. It might for example be misaligned. Nothing you could not fix and no reason not to do it but I would prefer a clean install.

EDIT: Don't forget that the partition image size of the hdd is (most likely) going to be different to the capacity of the SSD. If the capacity of the SSD is smaller than the hdd partition image size you are copying over it will not work. If it is larger you will have an unused empty partition that you can simply extend later.

[-JJ-]

Thanks. I will do a fresh install!

[Sam_oslo]

Thanks. I will do a fresh install!

Yeah, good idea. I was just thinking why he is not doing a fresh OS-install.

You've listed almost all tweaks you need, but here is a good good "Windows 7 Ultimate Tweaks & Utilities" with good explanation on OCZ forum.

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/fo...-amp-Utilities

[-JJ-]

Just got my OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTX100G (100gb, firmware 1.11) SSD and I ran few benchmarks after installing fresh OS with all neccesary apps.

OS: Win 7 x64,
ACHI mode, write cache -on, write-cache buffer flushing -off


BTW, shall I turn off or on write-cache buffer flushing on the device ?


update: hdtach result updated with new 1.23 firmware.

[flamenko]

AS SSD and CDM are killers for this typr of testing because they don't mix well with their compression methods. AS SSD...get rid of. Crystal... Change the test type to 0Fill and it will mimic the ATTO score you see.

[-JJ-]

Thanks for the info. I see that I missed out on few things considering what's said in your optimization guide. Why should Superfetch and Prefetch be disabled ? Is it so that superfetch and prefetch does not make any sense due to the fact that the access time is so low with SSD ?

[Ao1]

AS SSD and CDM are killers for this typr of testing because they don't mix well with their compression methods. AS SSD...get rid of. Crystal... Change the test type to 0Fill and it will mimic the ATTO score you see.

If the purpose of benchmarking is to see if you can get the max manufactures specs based on unrealistic real life workloads then I would agree. In real life you will never be writing 100% compressible data, so the truth is that real life performance will be in-between AS SSD and CDM 0fill.

[Ao1]

Thanks for the info. I see that I missed out on few things considering what's said in your optimization guide. Why should Superfetch and Prefetch be disabled ? Is it so that superfetch and prefetch does not make any sense due to the fact that the access time is so low with SSD ?

From teh AS SSD benchmark it looks like you are using the default Win 7 AHCI driver. I would recommend you update to the latest RST driver.

Regarding your other queries:

Will Superfetch be disabled on SSDs?

Yes, for most systems with SSDs.

If the system disk is an SSD, and the SSD performs adequately on random reads and doesn’t have glaring performance issues with random writes or flushes, then Superfetch, boot prefetching, application launch prefetching, ReadyBoost and ReadDrive will all be disabled.

Initially, we had configured all of these features to be off on all SSDs, but we encountered sizable performance regressions on some systems. In root causing those regressions, we found that some first generation SSDs had severe enough random write and flush problems that ultimately lead to disk reads being blocked for long periods of time. With Superfetch and other prefetching re-enabled, performance on key scenarios was markedly improved.

On newer SSD's Superfetch should be turned off by default by Win 7.

Should the pagefile be placed on SSDs?

Yes. Most pagefile operations are small random reads or larger sequential writes, both of which are types of operations that SSDs handle well.

In looking at telemetry data from thousands of traces and focusing on pagefile reads and writes, we find that Pagefile.sys reads outnumber pagefile.sys writes by about 40 to 1, Pagefile.sys read sizes are typically quite small, with 67% less than or equal to 4 KB, and 88% less than 16 KB.
Pagefile.sys writes are relatively large, with 62% greater than or equal to 128 KB and 45% being exactly 1 MB in size.

In fact, given typical pagefile reference patterns and the favorable performance characteristics SSDs have on those patterns, there are few files better than the pagefile to place on an SSD.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/e7/archive/2...rives-and.aspx

[-JJ-]

From teh AS SSD benchmark it looks like you are using the default Win 7 AHCI driver. I would recommend you update to the latest RST driver.

After installing Intel Rapid Storage TEchnology 9.6.4.1002. I am getting even better scores however my boot time slowed than a lot. From nothing to about 20-30 seconds loading time at the windows screen. Why is that ?
As soon as I removed Intel Rapid Storage TEchnology 9.6.4.1002 it boots just fine with no pause whatsover.

[-JJ-]

getting to the sollution:
I had Vertex 2 OCZ 100 GB as system disk and WD VelociRaptor 300 GB as storage HDD. When I install Intel Rapid Storage TEchnology 9.6.4.1002 and ran both of these, my boot time slows up a lot, however when i uninstalled Intel Rapid Storage TEchnology 9.6.4.1002 and then disconnected WD VelociRaptor 300 GB and installed Intel Rapid Storage TEchnology 9.6.4.1002 with only Vertex 2 OCZ 100GB hooked up again the boot went back to what it was.

So I cannot have such a setup (Vertex 2 OCZ 100 GB (system disk) and WD VelociRaptor 300 GB (storage)) while usingt RST ? Why is the WD VelociRaptor 300 GB (storage) slowing down the boot time ?
__________________
MOBO: GA-P55A-UD4
CPU: i7-860 @4,11ghz (1,360v vcore) cooled by TR U-120 Extreme
RAM: Corsair Dominator GT DDR3 (2x2GB) @1960Mhz (7-7-5)
HDD: Vertex 2 OCZ 100 GB (system disk) and WD VelociRaptor 300 GB (storage)
VGA: Saphire Vapor-X HD 5870 Rev. 2 (@950/1300)
SOUND: Creative SOUND BLASTER X-Fi Xtreme Music
PSU: Zalman ZM850-HP

[bro20000]

Here mine vertex 2 60Gb all tweaked! [IMG][/IMG]

[flamenko]

Thanks for the info. I see that I missed out on few things considering what's said in your optimization guide. Why should Superfetch and Prefetch be disabled ? Is it so that superfetch and prefetch does not make any sense due to the fact that the access time is so low with SSD ?

Exactly and that is the same reasoning behind many tweaks; the specific function becomes moot and we need to ask ourselves why we are leaving on something that is serving no purpose. I have been saying this with respect to pagefile since Vista first came out and still run into some opposition which is mainly those who have never ventured to experience this first hand. I have never had a problem though and see a drastic change in peoples thoughts on this over the last 3 years.

If the purpose of benchmarking is to see if you can get the max manufactures specs based on unrealistic real life workloads then I would agree. In real life you will never be writing 100% compressible data, so the truth is that real life performance will be in-between AS SSD and CDM 0fill.

I agree with you entirely. Unfortunately, manufacture testing relies on programs like ATTO to verify their high scores for posting in their specs. The consumer then is always wondering why they are getting lower scores than advertised and we end up trying to explain how the scores are obtained as we see here.

[Ao1]

Here is a quick take on SSD optimisations. SSD tweaks can either:

1. Speed up the system
2. Save Space
3. Reduce writes

The only valid OS tweaks imo are ones that reduce space. Turning off Win 7 feature you don’t use frees up loads of space. Only installing features you actually need is another great way of reducing space. Office is a good example. Do you really need the full suite installed?

Disable System Restore

Disabling system restore saves space and for that reason it is worth doing, but you need to make sure you back up regularly. The Win 7 system image facility is free and fast in this regard.

Disable Drive Indexing

I find searches are just as quick with this on or off. By switching on Indexing on a drive with 42.6GB used capacity it increased the used capacity by 15.5MB so the space it saves by switching if off is irrelevant. It does however increase writes, but that again it’s negligible. As there is no real benefit in search speeds it might as well be switched off.

Disable Disk Defragment Schedule

This is disabled by default in Win 7.

Turn Off Windows Write-Cache Buffer Flushing

You really don’t want to do this on an Intel drive. It will significantly reduce write speeds and increase wear. This is because Intel drives (along with most other SSD’s) use DRAM to convert small random writes to sequential writes to reduce wear and speed up the write operations. Sandforce drives have no DRAM. Instead they use data compression to reduce writes so it would be logical that disabling write write cache would not have the same affect, but I don’t have a Sandforce drive to know this one way or the other.

Turn Off Page File

Most pagefile operations are small random reads or larger sequential writes, both of which are types of operations that SSDs handle well so why disable?

Turn Off Multi-Boot Selection

This makes zero difference unless you have more than one OS installed.

Turn Off Hibernation

Worth doing as it frees up space.

Power Settings

It’s ironic that SSD uses less power than a HDD yet you end up using sheds load more power when you use this tweak. For Intel based drives it makes zero difference. I’ve read that some SSD’s need high performance settings to be able to run garbage collection in the back ground and people leave their PC on all night on full power to allow garbage collection to work.

Disable Windows Search and Superfetch

This will be done automatically in Win 7 if the SSD is fast enough.

Enable Faster Booting Sequence (Msconfig)

SSD boot fast anyway so this has little benefit and you end up looking at a black screen instead of the boot up screen. (Looking at a black screen also seems longer even if it actually slightly less less time that looking at the boot up screen)

Disable Recycle Bin

It’s better to manage the size of the Recycle bin than disable it. Managing it can be to simply monitor it and empty it when gets too big or you can limit its size by right clicking over the Recycle Bin icon and select properties.

Verify TRIM

There is no way to check if TRIM is working. fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify only tells you that the OS is sending the TRIM command and it does this by default, so unless you have disabled it there is no need to check it.

Wait To Kill Service Timeout (Decrease Shutdown Time)

I don’t think this is a specific thing you need to do as an SSD optimisation.

Disable ClearPageFileAtShutdown and LargeSystemCache

I’ve seen zero benefit with this tweak.

Disable Superfetch and Prefetch

This is disabled by default if the SSD is fast enough.

NTFS Memory Usage and NTFS Disable Name Creation

I’ve seen zero benefit with this tweak, but more info can be found here on what this actually does.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l...35(WS.10).aspx

[Sam_oslo]

...
So I cannot have such a setup (Vertex 2 OCZ 100 GB (system disk) and WD VelociRaptor 300 GB (storage)) while usingt RST ? Why is the WD VelociRaptor 300 GB (storage) slowing down the boot time ?

That's a good question.
It is good idea to disconnect all HDD when you are installing w7 too. When i tried it with HDD connected, it made a 100MB "System Reserved" partition on my HDD
I'm wondering why they insist to involve the HDD into this.

[Ao1]

getting to the sollution:
I had Vertex 2 OCZ 100 GB as system disk and WD VelociRaptor 300 GB as storage HDD. When I install Intel Rapid Storage TEchnology 9.6.4.1002 and ran both of these, my boot time slows up a lot, however when i uninstalled Intel Rapid Storage TEchnology 9.6.4.1002 and then disconnected WD VelociRaptor 300 GB and installed Intel Rapid Storage TEchnology 9.6.4.1002 with only Vertex 2 OCZ 100GB hooked up again the boot went back to what it was.

So I cannot have such a setup (Vertex 2 OCZ 100 GB (system disk) and WD VelociRaptor 300 GB (storage)) while usingt RST ? Why is the WD VelociRaptor 300 GB (storage) slowing down the boot time ?

I don't know why that would happen but OCZ warn users to use the latest Intel RST driver:

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/fo...2-and-Agility2

[-JJ-]

flamenko, Do you have any idea why does to the boot slow up when in addition to OCZ Vertex 2 100GB SSD (firmware 1.11; latest intel rapid storage driver) a WD VelociRaptor 300 GB is connected ?

With default Win 7 x64 AHCI driver, instead of latest IRS driver, the boot is fast with both OCZ Vertex 2 100GB SSD and WD VelociRaptor 300 GB connected.

[Ao1]

I agree with you entirely. Unfortunately, manufacture testing relies on programs like ATTO to verify their high scores for posting in their specs. The consumer then is always wondering why they are getting lower scores than advertised and we end up trying to explain how the scores are obtained as we see here.

There is a good white paper that sets out why HDD benchmarks (like ATTO) are a waste of time for SSD that can be read or downloaded here

They simply test the wrong parameters and for the most part are not in the slightest bit indicative of the performance that can be achieved in real life.

Also testing on a freshly formated SSD (which is the 1st thing most people do) gives unsustainable and unrealistic performance data.

[flamenko]

Again, I agree totally which is why I now make sure that performance testing software (ie vantage) is used in reviews. Its actually a two sided coin where it is not fair to base an end opinion on a simple Crystal 0Fill score because it is not indicative of the true performance yet, its not right to exclude this method because comparing a compressed/non-compressed ssd in ...oh lets say ATTO... is also not a true representation because the non-compressed (Intel) looks so much better when it actually is not the case. For example, if I put the OWC beside the Intel in AS SSD tests, the Intel cleans house. People would wonder why anyone would buy the OWC. Now, if we go and put these through the wash in PCMark Vantage x64, It shows a totally different picture. Actually, the true picture shown in simulated true to life testing is closest resembled through an ATTO test of both drives.

Its really a damned if you do and damned if you don't story. At the end of the day though, we still have countless number of people wondering why there SandForce SSDs are getting such poor AS SSD and Crystal scores... Oh and thanks for the article....I eat thats stuff up.

[Ao1]

flamenko, Do you have any idea why does to the boot slow up when in addition to OCZ Vertex 2 100GB SSD (firmware 1.11; latest intel rapid storage driver) a WD VelociRaptor 300 GB is connected ?

With default Win 7 x64 AHCI driver, instead of latest IRS driver, the boot is fast with both OCZ Vertex 2 100GB SSD and WD VelociRaptor 300 GB connected.

If its any consolation the problem has also been reported with Intel drives, so it looks like it's a RST driver problem.

(Not really a fix but if you have another controller on your mobo you could put the hdd on it as a workaround until the driver gets sorted out).

bro20000: any chance of reducing the size of that image?