AHCI mode with Intel 510 120gb ssd question

[reality99]

Hello, I have been running Windows 7 64bit on this SSD for a while and its worked fine but I've recently seen more info about how I should switch from IDE to AHCI through bios to optimize performance as it enables NCQ. I've done some research but wanted to get a direct answer from my questions instead of generalizing from what I've read. I'm running i7 2600k, Intel 120GB 510 series ssd as OS and program drive, plus 2 additional SATA drives for data/backup. It's my understanding I can't just switch from IDE->AHCI in bios without either editing the registry or reinstalling Windows 7.

Will switching to AHCI cause any issues with running my 3 separate drives/or will I have to find different drivers other than what come with my mobo (MSI Z68-GD65(B3))? Or will I have to install any additional Intel drivers for my ssd? I'm still not exactly clear on how AHCI works and if it will cause me any troubles, I've read stories about people having major issues after switching to AHCI then still having problems just going back to IDE. Thanks for the help!

 

[jwcalla]

The only peculiarity that I noticed was that my drives were listed in the "Eject Hardware" system tray icon when using the MS AHCI drivers (since hot-plug capability is a feature of AHCI). I think there's a workaround (registry fix) if that bothers you much, and it also seems that using the Intel drivers doesn't expose that feature if you'd prefer to use them.

I also had to switch from IDE to AHCI and did the registry fix to make that happen. At the time I had a second HDD in the machine and experienced no troubles. Since then I now have 3 SSDs (only 1 is formatted with a Windows filesystem) and still have no troubles.

 

[reality99]

The only peculiarity that I noticed was that my drives were listed in the "Eject Hardware" system tray icon when using the MS AHCI drivers (since hot-plug capability is a feature of AHCI). I think there's a workaround (registry fix) if that bothers you much, and it also seems that using the Intel drivers doesn't expose that feature if you'd prefer to use them.

I also had to switch from IDE to AHCI and did the registry fix to make that happen. At the time I had a second HDD in the machine and experienced no troubles. Since then I now have 3 SSDs (only 1 is formatted with a Windows filesystem) and still have no troubles.

Awesome, thanks for the response. I unplugged my data drives and went ahead and did it via the registry edit instead of formatting since I did that about 4 hours ago.

Improved my WEI for HDD from 7.1 to 7.8! Never knew it could make such a difference.