Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD not up to speed

etrain33

Honorable
Feb 24, 2013
20
0
10,510
I have scoured the internet for days trying to figure this out on my own, but alas, for the first time ever, after years of figuring out my problem on my own, I must ask for help....

I have just completed a fresh install of Win 7 HP on my SDD, and my speeds are not up to what I think they should be. I have what I believe to be all updated drivers, and all windows updates are taken care of. Additionally, I have tried numerous fixes.

I have tried to enable AHCI in registry and bios, but I cannot find the option in the BIOS(possibly the problem). I was able to change the Registry values, but I did not see any options to change to AHCI, RAID or IDE at all. This is where most answers seem to lead to, but I believe that it might not be the whole problem, i.e. chipset or bios drivers not optimal. Sony tech support was obviously no help as they kept referring to the SSD as a Hard Drive, and saying that "Sony does not recommend changing the settings in the BIOS" when I asked if that could be it.

The other weird thing is that I would have thought the computer wold default to AHCI as it is only about 1 year old, and certainly not going to be IDE right???

I used crucial system scanner to determine that my computer is indeed 6gb/s capable, and the speeds now are similar with 3gb/s speeds for a SDD

AS SSD SPEEDS:

Seq Read: 266
seq Write: 149
4k Read: 25
4k Write: 39

Computer:
Sony Vaio VPCSE190x
Intel Core i7-2640M CPU @ 2.80GHz
8GB RAM


THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to whom ever can figure this out.
 
Solution
AS-SSD uses highly incompressible data to test Read/Write speeds. Highly incompressible data is the hardest for any SSD to Read/Write.

Benchmark with ATTO software, which uses highly compressible data to test Read/Write speeds. Highly compressible data is the easiest for any SSD to Read/Write.

If your Read/Write speeds in ATTO are not above 300MB/s that confirms that your laptop only has 3Gb/s ports.
Yes, the chipset in your laptop (Mobile Intel HM65) is 6Gb/s "Capable", but that does not mean that Sony built that particular model with 6Gb/s ports. "SATA 6Gb/s" is a big feature, Marketing-wise. So if you don't see that advertised as part of your model's features then it's probably safe to assume that you only have standard 3Gb/s ports.

In AS-SSD, what information is in the box directly above the checkbox that says "Seq"?
No need to run the benchmark again, just open the program.
 
AS-SSD uses highly incompressible data to test Read/Write speeds. Highly incompressible data is the hardest for any SSD to Read/Write.

Benchmark with ATTO software, which uses highly compressible data to test Read/Write speeds. Highly compressible data is the easiest for any SSD to Read/Write.

If your Read/Write speeds in ATTO are not above 300MB/s that confirms that your laptop only has 3Gb/s ports.
 
Solution
Sony uses an Insyde bios that has limited configuration options. I suspect the default sata mode is ahci.

Yes, if your ssd is attached to a 6gb capable port, I would expect faster sequential speeds.

But, I would not worry about this at all. 90% of what you do will be small random reads and writes.

The sequential speeds are still 2x faster than any hard drive.


For your interest, I also installed a Samsung 840 ssd on my sony vaio.
I just ran as ssd and found results similar to yours.

Just sit back and enjoy what you have.
 
Its just hard for me to sit back and enjoy with that nagging feeling it could be better.....running ATTO now.

If it comes back under 300k speeds, is there something that I can do about the ports, or have i reached an "impass" in my quest for a solution.

Thanks
 


No, there's nothing you can do about the ports.

It's possible that you may get slightly faster benchmark results by changing your Power Plan in Control Panel to High Performance; but be aware that if you do that your battery life per-charge will be less than it is now.
 

I think not; try to think about something else that you have control over.
 
speeds get up to 267,365 for read and 284359 for write. So suspicions of a 3Gb/s port are confirmed i am assuming. What now, is there any way to just replace the port without replacing the whole motherboard?

Thanks again, at least I don't feel so bad about not being able to fix this myself.
 
My laptop w/Samsung 840Pro
Samsung 840 pro (i5-2410m, 840m dGPU, 8 gigs ram, Blu-ray ROM/DVDRW drive 17 in)
oge5a9.jpg


I find it deplorable that Sony would limit internal sata port to Sata II for a realtively high end i7 SB CPU. Then Not totally surprised if infact that is the case.

Not sure but Seq read/writes seem a little low for Sata II, would expect closer to the 300 mb/sec. However both driver and partition alignment look good. How do the 4k-64 thrd performance compare.
Also would make sure that your Laptop has the Latest bios update, and while at it, check FW on SSD (also listed with AS SSD)

PS DO NOT run repeated benchmarks back to back.
ATTO, I never use, but then I only have 2 SF22xx based SSDs (120 gig Agility III).
ATTO is a rather poor SSD benchmark, designed for old mechanical HDD. Unfornatuatly SF22xx loves compressable data (not real life OS/Program drive) and therefore Benifits from ATTO's use of highly compressable data.
As you can see This is not so much of a disparaty with marvel and samsung based SSD. Bottom line here is do not wast space on drive for ATTO.
 
NOPE, No 1080 P on laptop, 1600 on tablet, and 1080 P on 32" desktop

And I would press Sony on this, and as I asked did you verify that you have the latest Bios update as Newer Bios updates have corrected some of the problems with poor performance of SSDs on SB systems!!

My laptop is also over a year old, and a 1080 17" w/daul HDD bays, and Blu-ray ROM/DVD-RW were going for over a grand, Mine was a cheapy @ $750
 



you mean just complain/ask why they would not have 6Gb/s standard to see what i can get out of them?

I think I have newest Bios, from sonys drivers page for my comp at least, those optimal?
 
Yea, You may need to move up the food chain, The telephone assisatance, NOT Just Sony, really sucks. The vast majority here at Tom's appear more knowedgable. And Yes I've tried both Toshibia and Samsung "Chat" which are the same thing as Telephone, and they are no better. Forgot the issue on Tosibia, But samsung was on compatability problem using an (Crappy) Agility III when they first came out! - corrected by buying Crucial M4. problem was BUGGY SF22xx controller which took OCZ and Sandforce about 8 months to Correct.
 
I'm all about complaining and negotiating, I consider myself quite good at it tbh, but what is my goal? What am I hoping to get out of them? I usually like to go into these things with some idea of what I want so that I can put pressure on them. thanks
 
Try to push for a Bios upgrade - THAT is all it should take. Might hint at the fact you get a lot of questions on which laptop to buy. And it is difficault to recommend a brand that has rather poor support.
This is one of the reasons I do not recommend SONY, that and their past propritary (simular to Apple) approach.

Who knows, there may be somting in bios already that is bing over looked, dought it but possible.
 




Isn't it a port issue and not a Bios though? Even with some new Bios won't I always be limited by the speed of the port?

Agreed on the approach though, I am the go to person with tech questions in my extended family, friends, and coworkers network.
Thanks
 
From Dereck45's post "Yes, the chipset in your laptop (Mobile Intel HM65) is 6Gb/s "Capable",
So you have a Chipset that provides upto 2 SATA III (6) ports. it it up to how th Bios impliments communication with the Chipset.
Ref: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/chipsets/value-chipsets/mobile-chipset-hm65.html

There is ONLY one rational for limiting to Sata II and that is that mechanical HDDs do not saturate a sata II port. - BUT SSD were becoming popular MORE than a year ago.