2 Patriot 64GB SSDs on RAID 0 via Areca ARC-1220 = Still Studdering Problems!

I'm new to the forum, but not new to tweaking my computers hardware and software and keeping up to date with the latest toys. I've searched around for my problem in the forums and couldn't find anybody with this exact issue, so thus why I'm posting. However, I'm in an interesting spot and need some advice because I have some time right now to get most of my money back and redo the entire process.

I originally purchased 2 Patriot 64GB SSD's and put them on my Intel Matrix Raid 0 Motherboard (see full system specs below). I did all the tweaks available on the OCZ Forums and elsewhere (except Microsoft Steady State because when I enabled it, I had serious windows problems and had to go backwards immediately to a restore point). However, things were running pretty good for a good month or two. However, since I'm running Vista 32 and max'd out to 3.3 Gigs of usable RAM, I can't run all my writing without a page file because I'm a heavy multi-tasker (not on games, but other things that apparently require a massive amount of 4k reading and more importantly writing). I started to run out of RAM and then my Patriot's started freezing and stuttering and then realized what everybody was talking about with the Jmicron controllers. At this point, I figured, well the hell with it, let's order that Areca ARC-1220 I've always wanted anyway.

(Keep in mind; I still have some time left for a full refund on that card since it's locked to 256MB of RAM, but it does have the Intel IOP333 so I want to keep it if it makes sense).

So, I get the card, reformat and reinstall Vista 32 on the Patriot's on a RAID 0 (4k Stripe) with write back cache enabled. Now, I'm thinking, this is a going to be a dream come true since the Areca should take over the issues of the stuttering and bring up my 4k writes. (If I'm wrong here, please let me know because I was under the assumption a good RAID card would solve this issue).

Now, I have the Patriot's running on the Areca and after a few days, I'm running into the same problem. My 4k writes are killing me again and this time I kept the page file on with almost no tweaking. Believe me, the number of writes went up with the Areca-1220 largely and all my other reads and writes are LOONEY FAST but it's still not good enough for me with my heavy usage and I’m pretty sure at this point, it’s the JMicron that’s causing this studdering, but is it?.

Note: I did all the benchmarks with all the tools and toys (ask for any screen shot and I'll post it).

So I'm once again running into the same problem again. This is the end of me and my Patriot Drives and more importantly, the JMicron controllers. The Patriot’s are going on Ebay unless I get some impressive ideas (without ordering an Areca card that supports a 4GB SO-DIMM).

Here's what I'm going to do this week after this post is finished with all replies (but if I'm not going to fix my 4k writes and/or studdering this way, let me know now and please advise).

I'm going to purchase 2 new Samsung 64GB SLC's from NewEgg that just came out 2 weeks ago for a reasonable $175 each and redo the entire process keeping the Areca ARC-1220.

Should this solve my problem for good and keep me running without any studdering or freezing?

Or should I just wait for the new Intel X25-E to come out with the 64GB models at a reasonable price break (which I don't foresee anytime soon) and while waiting, keep the Areca ARC-1220 and put 4 WD Black drives on it?

Any advice would be appreciated because this next purchase better keep me running happy. I can’t keep reinstalling Vista and my all my programs for idiots that can't design a decent controller for SSDs.


Thanks Again!


P.S. - Anybody know how the new Corsair SSD is doing compared to a Samsung SSD? Same controller?, Better?, Same?, ???



System Specs:

Windows Vista Home Premium (32-Bit)
Intel DG965OT Motherboard w/ G965 Chipset
Intel Q6600 (Stock)
4GB of Kingston RAM - DDR2-800 (Stock)
2x Patriot 64GB SSDs on an Areca ARC-1220 - (4k Stripe) - (O/S Installed)
1x Seagate 1.5TB - (Storage)
1x Hiatchi 1 TB - (Storage)
1x Lite-On 20x DVD Burner
1x Sony 16x DVD Burner

The stuttering issues are inherent to the JMicron controller, moving to a different SSD with a different controller, such as Intel, Samsung, or Indilix, eliminates the problem. While some may never see stuttering on the JMicron drives because they have a lighter workload, others like you who take the drives to task can easily bring out the problems which is why I never recommend JMicron SSDs. Getting another brand avoids the hassle of gambling on your performance.

The Corsair SSD is a rebadged previous generation Samsung drive (90/70 read/writes).

The Samsung SLCs should be fine for you, but another option if you're willing to spend a bit more cash is 2 64GB OCZ Vertex drives which should give you better performance.

I would try one last thing though before you give up on the Patriots and try a larger stripe size. This thread at OCZ forums seems to suggest you need one much larger than 4k for optimal performance. Let us know if that fixes your problem...

RAID cards are not a fix for the stuttering issue, more of a bandaid. The problem is still there but the power of the RAID card is able to overcome the issue for most users. But for heavier workloads, such as yours, will still bring out the issue. The only fix is getting a set of drives with a good controller. The Samsung drives would be fine. The new OCZ Vertex and any of the Intel drives would also do the trick.

the controller simply isn't good enuff.
the raid card doesn't help as when the buffer is filled, the stuttering appears.

vertex, intels x25m drives are good substitute.
Intels are the best ones tho

AnExile: Read this. http://anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3531

Yeah, I figured the stuttering issues were inherent to the JMicron controller so it's outta here (but before I pull them out, I'm going to take your suggestion and do a rebuild for each striping level - [it takes about 45-55 minutes on low 20% for migration] - and take screen shots so I can show anybody who’s interested as well as for my own future troubleshooting with the Areca ARC-1220). So, if requested, they will be posted.

However, just a note, I did previously before this post, tried out an 8k and 16k stripe and settled with 4k because it only got worse and all my benchmarks just went downhill. The Areca ARC-1220 does not have any issues with giving me high sequential reads and writes or 512k reads or writes with a 4k stripe. See the “4k Stripe” screen shots attached below for the amazing speeds but look at both so you see where under 250MB of RAM – (on the Areca) (100MB File) it flies, but after 250MB (500MB File), it's drops. It's mainly the 4k reads and writes that were killing me (and before I had the Areca ARC-1220 it was even worse) and obviously now it's the JMicron controller that's holding me back for my heavy multi-tasking needs with regards to my stuttering/freezing issues.

So, before I make this next purchase I've now done another few hours of research (from some good suggestions) and now I'm got me stuck on what to replace these Patriot’s with. Ok, take away me purchasing any of the Intel's because I don't want to go over $500 total for 2 drives running RAID 0 with my needs of about 75-80GB's for the O/S and install of my usual programs as well as my heavy workstation multi-tasking requirements.

Should I get two (2) of the Samsung "SLC" based 64GB SSD's OR two (2) OCZ "MLC" Vertex 60GB SSD's for a new RAID 0 on my Areca ARC-1220?

What am I going to walk away with for the best performance of my heavy workstation needs? I can't find any great benchmarks on the Samsungs because they are too new (or not enough reviews and posts for me to make a good judgment call) and of course, everybody is raving about the OCZ Vertex SSDs.

Look at the power of the Areca before it runs out of RAM!




Now it's out of RAM and ...

Grieg said:

AnExile: Read this. http://anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3531

Click to expand...

Thanks for the article. Clears everything up and then some. Those last few pages were new news to me.

Now I'm just stuck in the middle of which 2 new drives to buy (see my last post) that aren't Intel (since I can't come with up any reasonable cost effective solution with their current models and specs for my specific needs).

Thanks for creating this thread AnExile.
I just bought a Dell PERC 5/i with 512MB cache (flashed to LSI of course) and was planning on testing it with some cheap JMF602 SSDs that people are trying to get rid of.
I use my rig mainly for Photoshop and occasionally some light HDV video editing so I guess 512MB should be ok.

If even things don't work out I still need the RAID card for my 4x1TB RAID5 array anyway. I just couldn't stand the ~55-60MB/s write speed which was from ICH9-R software RAID.

Hey wuzy,


Well, I'll be honest, you got a good raid card (and you should keep it if your happy with the specs) but if I were you, even with the 512MB cache, I wouldn't touch any of the JMicron SSD's (even version JMF602b). I can burn through 3 gigs of memory in a matter of minutes after a start up or reboot (but remember, I have really high multi-tasking requirements).

I'm gonna sit tight for a month (since I actually have a brand new build sitting here just on stock speeds without any SSD or RAID upgrades that is dying for my attention) that will consume enough time for me to wait for the OCZ Summit's without going nuts.

This is just my opinion because when I run FireFox even for just for a small 15 tabs, I can push over 200MB's on that process alone. Then god forbid you need IE (and version 8 is only more of a memory hog) because Firefox can't load a page correctly, it's all over. Then your music is skipping or has just stopped and your browsers are "Not Responding". It's like having an improper Apache httpd.conf runway setup and it all spirals down to where are willing to go back to regular SATA II platter drives just for piece of mind. I lived and worked in a FreeBSD enterprise environment for over 11 years, so I've gotten used to tweaking my hardware and software to the *T*, but more in a Unix environment then Windows). You'll hit your 512MB and then the JMicron will kick in and knock you down (unless of course before, you decide that it's time for a barbecue)

However, if you truly only going to use it for things that you know will fall under the 512MB of cache, then go for it. But if your also running a 64-bit O/S you might be able to save the day if you have a ton of RAM installed. If not, then maybe wait a little longer until the OCZ Summit's come out (end of this month from what I've read) and grab the Vertex's at a lower price on Ebay since then they have already been dropping in price for anticipation of the Summit's release by the end of this month.

I've just about finished my research tonight and I'm done with this thread (unless anybody has any more questions or screen shots requests).

I've already ordered an HighPoint RocketRAID 4320 to replace my Areca ARC-1220 and the Patriot's were sold today on Ebay for the "exact" same price I paid (not counting Ebay or PayPal fees) so they are being taken down today (Friday) or Saturday at the latest for shipment.

I'm going to pick up at least two (but I'm thinking 3 to 4 now) OCZ Summit's the day they arrive @ NewEgg (depending on the pricing that actually arrives) and with that HighPoint, I should be hitting new high's (even higher then the Intel X25-E's if all the benchmarks I've read are correct).

The minute they are installed and running, I'll of course create a post with all the screen shots for everybody to analyze.

If you have any questions or needed a particular screen shot from a particular benchmark tool, drop me a PM.


Till the next new thread ...

wuzy said:

Thanks for creating this thread AnExile.
I just bought a Dell PERC 5/i with 512MB cache (flashed to LSI of course) and was planning on testing it with some cheap JMF602 SSDs that people are trying to get rid of.
I use my rig mainly for Photoshop and occasionally some light HDV video editing so I guess 512MB should be ok.

If even things don't work out I still need the RAID card for my 4x1TB RAID5 array anyway. I just couldn't stand the ~55-60MB/s write speed which was from ICH9-R software RAID.

Click to expand...

Yeah I've never used the J-Micron stuff myself I leave it turned off in the bios.

THats a good RAID card on the Areca, somehow Id think something else is up myself, but havent tried using SSD's yet myself I'm letting em mature a bit here.

The fact they can top out a RAID card over design and even overheat them seems to be an issue at the moment, and the stuttering issue, I'm still researching them myself atm I guess, but the Areca cards from what I've read are suposed to be some of the most compatatible ones for them.

If I was going to try out any SSD's in the future I'd go OCZ myself, Im kinda an OCZ fanboy I guess for memory items

Yo! I found your post.

On that ARC1220, make sure you also have READ AHEAD CACHE [Disabled] too. Also, I think a 64, 128, or even 256k stripe will work best for you. I use 64 but a lot of people say 128 stripe w/128 partition alignment works best for them. I think your 4k stripe size with those SSDs are the BIG problem.

In your MRAID ARC software, what does your RAID Set Hierarchy screen look like? Here is mine, although I think I need to change my block size vs. stripe size. I think my block is a little TOO small at only 512bytes: