SSD not performing as advertised

[nikana]

Hey everybody. New here, and hopefully you can help me!

I recently got this SSD

http://patriotmemory.com/products/groupdetailp.jsp?prodgroupid=219&prodline=8&group=Pyro%20Solid%20State%20Drives&catid=85

My write rates are only hitting like 170MB and my reads are at about 430.

This is a fresh install of windows, and I did enable AHCI when before I installed the drive. I also installed the latest firmware.

I do have another 640 gig hard drive installed for storage, but Im not sure if that will affect anything.

The main reason why I wanted this drive was for the write rates because I do a lot of HD video editing.

Any help would be amazing!


Here is a benchmark

 

[alvine]

are you using SATA III port on your motherboard to connect the SSD?

 

[Dereck47]

Patriot does not state in its drive specs which benchmark software they use for their advertised Read/Write speeds, but most SandForce based SSDs use ATTO benchmark software, not CrystalDiskMark.

Benchmark with ATTO and see what results you get.

 

[nikana]

Looks like that program you suggested had much better results

 

[danraies]

You're definitely using SATA III. SATA II is capped at 3.0Gb/s or 375MB/s. 416MB/s wouldn't be possible on SATA II.

Those are pretty good CrystalDiskMark numbers for SandForce. My bet would be that when you test with ATTO like Dereck47 says you'll get teh 500MB/s or 550MB/s numbers that Patriot advertises, but in all reality it doesn't make much of a difference. Even if you squeeze the extra 15% out of your drive you won't notice a difference in practice - it will just be a little extra super crazy fast.

In case you're wondering, the difference between ATTO and other benchmark software is that ATTO tests compressible data which is where SandForce excels. Some other benchmarks don't use compressible data.

There are some tips in the Tweaks/Optimization section of the following Tom's sticky if you haven't already tried them:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/270102-32-useful-articles-part

 

[Dereck47]

The printscreen is to small for me to read your results.

ATTO benchmark software uses highly compressible data to test read/write speeds.
CrystalDiskMark benchmark software uses highly incompressible data to test read/write speeds.

SandForce based SSDs work best with data that can be compressed.

Unfortunate for you that HD video editing uses files that are highly incompressible so your drive is not the best for what you are doing.

 

[nikana]

what drive would be best then?

 

[danraies]

what drive would be best then?

A drive like a Crucial M4 or Samsung 830 or something else that doesn't use SandForce. Don't worry, though. SandForce drives work fine with incompressible data - it's just that they really shine with compressible data. You've seen the difference in the two benchmarks. Your drive is plenty fast in the CrystalDiskMark benchmark.

 

[nikana]

Best answer selected by nikana.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey