Let there be RAID!!!! Building Raid-0 with a pair of 80GB Intel SSDs

I've been messing with SSDs for a few months now and recently picked up an 80GB Kingston Rev-2 of their M-series, with about 99% certainty that it would be an exact copy of my current X25mG2.
The good news, it is an exact copy like I had thought; the bad news, it shipped with 02HA firmware (the bad Intel firmware). But I simply flashed to 02HD just like my current Intel drive and all is good. The Kingston drive IS an Intel drive; even the mobo bios recognizes it as Intel. I saved $50 buying the Kingston.
If you're interested in the drive, here is an egg link for it: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m_re=kingston_m-series-_-20-139-072-_-Product

It is these two drives that I'll be using to build up a Raid-0 configuration under Windows 7 Pro. Not sure if I'm going to clone my current drive and copy it back to the RAID or do a complete re-install. I'll figure that out as I go.

I'll also be using one of these little handy 2.5" to 3.5" Silverstone adapters that just happens to hold two SSDs.

A couple of pics:

First, the goodies I'll be using.



Second, SSDs mounted in the adapter and ready to install.

I decided to go ahead a build a new O/S. I had quite a bit of trash and none of it important. Unfortunately for me, that great deal on Windows7 Pro that everyone got in on with their .edu email address. Well the key doesn't work if you click the button to do a clean install from a new disk. The workaround? I completely installed the first time, but didn't choose to input a key. Then when it finished, I reinstalled again, choosing clean again, then input the key as usual. It worked this time - had to search for that solution on Google. Basically the software wants to see a version of Windows on the drive, it doesn't care if it has been registered or not.

But before all of that, there is a little work to do in the bios. First, I had to change the harddrive configuration to RAID, then restart, then hit Ctrl-I to enter the RAID config screen.
So here's the Intel Matrix screen - nothing fancy here. Just two disks plugged in; notice the Kingston and Intel model numbers are exactly the same. Raid0 selected, with a 128k stripe.

The great thing is there are no Raid drivers to install and Windows 7 automatically configures a 100MB partition. Simply select the new Raid0 array and hit the install button.

After the install was complete, I installed the drivers for my wireless card, installed the video drivers, pulled some drivers off the CD for my Asus board and called it good.

In the end, I'm very happy with these Intel drives. I've got a pair of Corsair P-series drives, 128GB each, that I considered using for this build, but I decided against it at the last minute. Maybe I'll use them in my laptops or put them up in the classifieds. The P-series from Corsair are also excellent drives, with a Samsung controller and 128k of cache. While the indilinx bench a bit faster, the Samsung controllers are a bit quicker with actual programs - likely due to double the cache of Indilinx-based drives.

And what you've all been waiting for, the ATTO screen capture highlighting the speed of this RAID0 configuration. Keep in mind that I have not performed any tweaks on the O/S for SSDs at this point.

Keep in mind the 80GB Intel M-series has speeds of 250read/70write



Best of all, I built everything up with my rig still overclocked.

I'm not sure, but it seems like your write speeds are way off? Maybe the specs on the Intel just aren't great on the writes? I'm using two 30gb OCZ Vertex in RAID0 and I'm not getting the same read speeds, but the write speeds spank your Intel RAID.
230read /135write specs


IDEA! do you have enable write back cache ENABLED in Matrix manager?

Yeah I already knew I wasn't going to touch the write speeds of some other SSDs, I was going for max read speeds since it better suits my needs, but with emphasis on small writes. I almost never do large file writes, and the smaller writes is what helps performance overall. Benchmarks are whatever...I'm going for actual usability.
If I wanted fast writes, I would have installed the two P128 Corsair drives that are spec'd at 200/220..

The previous ATTO run was performed without any additional tweaks to optimize performance, but I have another result post-tweaks.

Interesting what write back cache does for my transfer rates. With it enabled, I have some really nice transfer rates with small sized transfers, but the larger sized transfers are a bit slower. With write back cache disabled, my small file transfers are slower and my large size transfers are faster..

I'm sticking with write back cache enabled simply because I prefer faster small writes than larger.
I am getting curious about putting my P128's in Raid0, just to see how they perform. At least the build only takes about an hour to complete.

Dito, the Intel X25m only has a rated speed of 80mb/sec for the read. Hes hitting almost 180mb/sec at certain points in his benchmark. I know my X25 hit like 88mb/sec on the writes, so thats about right.

My OCZ had writes of like 160mb/sec, hence the reason your writes are so much more. OCZ writes rape the Intel, however IOPS and 4k writes on the x25 tear apart the Vertex.

Like Matt said, its all preference in what you want/need it for.

The x25m is spec'd for 250 read and 70 write.

Do you need a dedicated PCI-e x1 RAID card to use these SSD's to their max potential in RAID 0 or does onboard suit you just fine?

I've always heard/read endless debates between onboard RAID and PCI-e RAID in terms of performance (Just like Onboard Sound versus Sound Card)

Oh, I suppose a dedicated Raid card might perform a bit better, but not worth the additional cost IMO.

Meh thats what I figured - the main advantage I see to a PCI-e RAID Card is the ability to "Swap" it between different Motherboards without losing your RAID

i'd LOVE to see your Corsair P128 in RAID 0!

Miltz said:

i'd LOVE to see your Corsair P128 in RAID 0!

Click to expand...

Thats what she said last night

LOL!! Thinking about doing that this weekend, so stay tuned!

Long German winters make for lots of computer playing time..

Weird inconsistent write speeds yes? The summit I have does almost 145MB across the board after 64k IIRC (I will post a SS when I go home for lunch if you want). POint is the roller coaster ride in writes...

Are they setup as ACHI?

EDIT: Forget it. I see now why you did that... Still though. I would be much happier the other way around (400mb read 300 write), but Im sure our uses differ.

qq Matt.

For overall OS responsiveness i should go with the Vertex since they have higher write speeds, correct?

What are you aiming for since you prefer higher read speeds?

For random writes, the vertex doesn't have higher write speeds, the Intel's do.. If you write a lot of data, then I suppose the Vertex and other indilinx controller based SSDs are better, but for day-to-day use, there aren't any drives better than Intel (that's just my opinion).
You really can't go wrong with any of them.. I'd go for the best performance at the best price. If you want to run Raid, then I'd go Vertex since they have FW 1.5 out, and it supports Garbage Collection under RAID. I'd like to get a 160GB Intel, but not sure I want to pay $500 for it..
Most of the SSDs are all about the same when it comes to responsiveness, but you'll do more reading than writing with an SSD. Vertex's are nice, and I imagine their prices will drop quite a bit when Vertex 2's are released in just a few weeks.