Windows experience index for data transfer rate

[tisi99]

Hello,
Ever since this WEI came on board, I have had the urge to improve upon my basic settings. I originally started out with a Dell 540. My lowest score was a 5.5 for computations or something like that. I upgraded my ram and it got better. But now for the longest time my lowest score is the data transfer rate. My first upgrade for that was an hdd with sata6 capability with 64mb cache. Made no difference. Then I installed a sata6 extension board (asus) to make sure there was enough bandwidth. Made no difference. Then I upgaded my mobo for the first time, but that changed nothing. Now, I have a Gigabyte Z77 mobo, with a 3570k cpu, 16gb ram and my WEI is still 5.9. What gives? The hdd is hooked up to sata6 connection. Everything else is really good except for this number. If anyone can shed some light on why the number has not improved I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

 

[Dereck47]

5.9 is the highest WEI score any HDD can get. You need a SSD to get a score higher than 5.9.

 

[Pyree]

You need SSD to get >5.9 for WEI for the HDD catagory. If you are not feeling the need to boot faster and start program faster, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[runswindows95]

WEI is a joke overall. It's not a true benchmark, or a way to measure how well a PC performs. If you can do what you want on your system, and it doesn't lag, then forget about WEI. Perfect example:

My system's WEI is 3.2 overall. Is it slow? Nope. Then again, all I do is heavy word processing.

 

[Pyree]

^+1

Benchmark is only relative to the task you need to perform.

 

[tisi99]

5.9 is the highest WEI score any HDD can get. You need a SSD to get a score higher than 5.9.

I also tried an ssd II, with the same results. I feel that my system improved by leaps and bounds, but being in the engineering field, I have to see the numbers corelating to the actual performance.
Thanks for the insight.

 

[Pyree]

So you can tell performance difference with the SSD in but the WEI is still stuck at 5.9? Did you rerun the WEI? What SSD do you have in there?

 

[tisi99]

So along the same lines, what would be the ideal ssd size to set up my pc with? I currently have a 60Gb ssd, into which I cannot install all the programs running in my pc. (a lot of it is school related, plus photoshop5). Would 120Gb suffice, or is it better to invest in the next size up?

 

[Pyree]

IDK. What is your current size of OS + all program? Do you have window restore turn off? Do you have hibernation turn off? Do you have pagefile decrease in size or moved to another HDD (if you have 2 HDD)?

 

[Pyree]

BTW, the last question was still unresolved. SSD with 5.9 WEI, I think you either haven't set the SATA mode to AHCI and/or SSD is not aligned properly.

 

[Dereck47]

I also tried an ssd II, with the same results. I feel that my system improved by leaps and bounds, but being in the engineering field, I have to see the numbers corelating to the actual performance.
Thanks for the insight.

Reset your WEI and see if that works. Go to C:\Windows\Performance\WinSAT\DataStore, delete all .xml files, and then re-run WEI. If that doesn't work then your only other option is a fresh Windows install.

 

[tisi99]

IDK. What is your current size of OS + all program? Do you have window restore turn off? Do you have hibernation turn off? Do you have pagefile decrease in size or moved to another HDD (if you have 2 HDD)?

To be honest, I am not sure. I don't know enough about this to look at every single detail. I know that w7 64bit takes up to 20gb, photoshop6 is at least 4-5gb, plus all the school related stuff, and everything else like the drivers and such. So why would anyone want to go with just a 64gb ssd? It is so easy to surpass the ssd's capabilities.

 

[tisi99]

The ssd is a Kingston V+100 ssdnow, 64gb, sata2. I purchased this before I knew about data transfer rates. The install on the ssd is a clean install, with no extraenaous programs hindering peformance. I am also not certain if AHCI was enabled properly. 🙁

 

[Pyree]

It is very easy to go over 64GB. But there are people who RAID them or use them in Intel SRT.

 

[tisi99]

It is very easy to go over 64GB. But there are people who RAID them or use them in Intel SRT.

I understand how RAID works, but am not sure about the intel srt. Also I have not heard of RAID with ssd, didn't think that was feasible.
So, basically it is best to get the biggest ssd that one's wallet allows? To ensure expansion?

 

[Pyree]

[strike]I just checked, there wouldn't be Intel SRT on the Dell 540. Intel SRT is using the SSD as a cache for the HDD.[/strike]

I would say it is best to get the SSD that will fit all of your program and OS installation + min 10% free space. So it is important to know what is your current usage. Use windirstat to find out. Remember, things like pagefile, hibernation and system restore should be removed or lowered before looking at the HDD usage.

Edit: I forgot you change your mobo. Yes SRT is available on Z77.