New Intel G2 SSD

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speedy523

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Hey everyone, just completed my new build with an intel g2 160gb ssd for the main drive :D

Also, sry for another intel g2 thread, its just thought it seemed different people had different views on a lot of different things, so i wasnt really sure which side to listen to

anyways, i wondering if there is anything else i should know about besides updating the firmware to 02HD. i checked crystaldiskinfo and did the cmd prompt and both said TRIM is enabled, so am i all set then?

Heres a quick benchmark i jus ran after installing windows and all my drivers:

2igdp4l.png
 
Limahl said:
If the Intel SSD toolbox lets you run the TRIM command manually, then you're fine.

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=18455
Click to expand...

ok, im running the optimizer and is working, its just taking a long time. so does this mean TRIM is working every time i delete something? im asking because when i was looking around i saw some posts where people said that when they ran the optimizer it completed almost instantly because win 7 was alrady running the TRIM command after every delete, so it didnt need to optimize anything
 
If CrystalMark's CrystalDiskInfo says TRIM is running, and the Optimizer runs, then TRIM is definitely working... Can't imagine why it'd be taking a while unless you didn't flash it as soon as you got it tho.

Other than that there shouldn't be anything else you need to do. If you performed a clean Win7 install it'll be properly aligned. If you wanna save a few GB of space on the SSD you could disable Hibernation (which will take up as much space as w/e amount of RAM you've got), that's the easiest space saving trick there is... But with 160GB to play with and only 2GB of RAM it shouldn't be a big deal. Why not upgrade to 4GB btw? Cheaper than a SSD, heh, and it makes a huge difference when Alt+Tab'ing out of games or multi-tasking in general...
 
Impulse said:
If CrystalMark's CrystalDiskInfo says TRIM is running, and the Optimizer runs, then TRIM is definitely working... Can't imagine why it'd be taking a while unless you didn't flash it as soon as you got it tho.

Other than that there shouldn't be anything else you need to do. If you performed a clean Win7 install it'll be properly aligned. If you wanna save a few GB of space on the SSD you could disable Hibernation (which will take up as much space as w/e amount of RAM you've got), that's the easiest space saving trick there is... But with 160GB to play with and only 2GB of RAM it shouldn't be a big deal. Why not upgrade to 4GB btw? Cheaper than a SSD, heh, and it makes a huge difference when Alt+Tab'ing out of games or multi-tasking in general...
Click to expand...

thanx, and its actually a new build not the one in the sig :D

and yup, the first thing i did was update my motherboards bios and the ssd firmware, then i installed windows 7.

and thanx for reminding me about hibernation, i actaully have 12 gigs of ram now so that wouldnt be good :p
 
The ssd toolbox's running time is dependent on how much space your restore points are taking up. This was to fix the issue with restore point corruption the previous version had. If you reduce the space allotted for restore points, it'll run much faster.

However, since you're running windows 7, you shouldn't even need to mess with the toolbox.
 
Not to hijack, but am I to understand that even the Intel drives being sold lately still need to be flashed for Trim to work?

I just built a system for a friend that included a 160GB G2 and assumed, after all this time, that these things were ready to go.
 
wrangler said:
Not to hijack, but am I to understand that even the Intel drives being sold lately still need to be flashed for Trim to work?

I just built a system for a friend that included a 160GB G2 and assumed, after all this time, that these things were ready to go.
Click to expand...

The drive should say the firmware on the sticker, you could check that and make sure it is the latest.
 
Define lately... :p There were drives shipping out 3-4 weeks ago that still didn't have the latest firmware, so I dunno. It doesn't hurt to check, just look at the box or dl CrystalDiskInfo. The firmware update doesn't wipe the drive anyway so it's not a big deal either way.
 
Got a 80GB X25M G2 from tigerdirect last friday (was on back order for a month before I got it). It did not have the current firmware, I believe it came with the first TRIM firmware released (02HA??). I updated no problem. Drive kicks ass btw.
 
The 02HA is the latest. The 02HD was the replacement after the drive bricking episode with the 02HA firmware. (Fine if the drive came with it, but many end users flashing to it bricked their drives.)

I flashed my last one, but it died a couple weeks later so I'm just leaving 02HA on this RMA'd drive.

This info was in a post here somewhere, and from what I gather, correct. (TRIM is working, drive is identical to last with both versions.)
 
so you saying if you have 02HA and flash to 02HD your drive will break soon????
 
02HD is the latest version.

Not 02HA.

02HD boosts the seq write speed on the 160GB drive to 100 Mb/s/
 
Guess I was misinformed.

Is there somewhere that lists the differences? I can't even find it on Intels site. (But that might be me.)

The site states: "This firmware will enable your SSD to deliver the best performance in your PC. Use this update tool to get the latest production firmware."

But no specifics.

The readme.txt states: "- Please refer to the RELEASE NOTES also located on the
download page for the specific firmware fixes for each
product family for each release."

Damned if I can find the release notes for my 80GB M. *shrug*
 
PClark99 said:
02HD is the latest version.

Not 02HA.

02HD boosts the seq write speed on the 160GB drive to 100 Mb/s/
Click to expand...

Incorrect, 02HA improved the seq write speeds. 02HD is basically the an updated version of 02HA with no performance difference. All it did was correct a bug in the upgrade process that *could* brick drives that had windows 7 installed on it already. Nothing else was changed.

If you've already on 02HA, there's no reason to go to 02HD unless you just want to be on the latest.
 
sorry to budge in thread but my intel g2 SSD will be arriving from newegg on monday.
would someone mind clearing this up for me?

this is the process i am understanding i need to do:
0. unplug all other hdd
1. plug in ssd and update firmware via bootable cd
2. install windows 7 on ssd
3. wipe old drive of os. (but dont know what to use)

is that it?
A. im understanding that if i do a fresh install of win 7, trim will auto run when my computer is idle, right? what does that mean exactly? like when im watching a movie idle or do i have to leave it on and walk away?
B. also if trim will work when win 7 is freshly installed, do i need to download the intel tool box to be able to run trim manually?
C. without trim how fast does the drive slow down? (i.e. 2 weeks or 2 years)
D.With windows running trim, is this something that will run its course and i never have to think about it or will i have to check up on it and run trim manually every once in a while?
 
First off, you don't need to wipe the OS off your old drive immediately if you don't want to. You can keep it intact as a safety net, just in case, or to slowly pull stuff from it which you might've forgotten... (config files, log files, w/e) As long as the SSD is first in the boot order of your BIOS you're always gonna boot off it so it doesn't matter what's on the other hard drive. Once you're sure you don't need anything from it simply go to the disk manager in Windows (or right click it) and format it, it's that simple.

Second, the great advantage of TRIM is that it happens dynamically as you delete anything, right there in that moment, not when the drive is idle. Other methods of sustaining performance (such as the advanced Garbage Collection that OCZ/Indillix drives do when TRIM isn't enabled) run when the drive is idle... TRIM is better tho because it happens instantly so memory pages from where stuff is deleted are ready to be re-used immediately w/o extra steps.

You don't really need the Toolbox for much if TRIM is working properly, it gives you some health info about the drive which you might be curious about but that's about it. Also, you can verify that TRIM is working properly by downloading CrystalMark's CrystalDiskInfo and looking for TRIM under 'Attributes'. As far as how fast performance would degrade w/o TRIM... That's really hard to answer as it depends entirely on how much data you're writing to the drive on a daily basis and how much free space you've got. could be 3-4 months, could be 10-12.

You don't really have to worry about TRIM running properly at all or anything, as long as you've verified it's working then you can forget about it (and that would just be for peace of mind more than anything, it absolutely should be working unless you install unnecessary drivers like Intel's RAID/SATA drivers). That being said, it's always advised that you never fill the drive up to capacity (tho the same is true of HDDs, to an extent). If you leave 15% empty it'll help improve and preserve performance as well. Basically, don't fill it up beyond 65GB if you can help it.
 
is there any way to copy over the registry to avoid reinstalling all programs?
 
Copying the registry by itself would be a recipe for disaster (I'm not even sure you could do such a thing successfully, there's a lot of DLLs and random crap that programs also depend on). A better approach would be to do an image backup of your current drive and restore it unto the SSD, but if your current install takes up more than 60-70GB of space then it's gonna take a lot of effort to trim it down to size and you're just better off installing from scratch... Unless you can simply move a few game directories to bring it down to size, image it, restore it, then put the game directories on a HDD and use symbolic links to tie 'em back to their original location (or re-install said game).

If you're gonna take the image backup approach you just have to be careful that the program creates a properly aligned partition or respects the existence of a properly aligned (manually created) partition. I know Ghost 14-15 would work no problem, as long as you're migrating an existing Win7 install which would already have the proper offset. I know you could also work around a manually created partition using DriveImage XML or Windows' own image backup tool.
 
Need info on install of intel 160 g2 drive. If use an Acronis image from my 500 gb or clone the drirve to the SSD will it be aligned properly or is there a software program to manually align the ssd drive. windows 7 ultimate.
 
how long does it usually take to install win 7 on this SSD? its been almost 40 mins on my pc and still not done.... does it automatically download updates during the install? its been stuck on "completing installation" and after it changes resolutions (installs display drivers on auto?), i cant move my mouse cursor.... wtf. comp didnt freeze because the dots next to the words is alternating..
 
You can manually create an aligned partition using the diskpart tool on the Win7 disc, the problem is Arconis may delete it and re-create it's own partition anyway (and it may or may not be properly aligned). I don't own Arconis TI nor am I familiar with it so I can't help ya there, I do know older versions won't handle this well, and I know Ghost 14 or later (along w/several other freeware tools I've mentioned) will work without issue.

You can just try it and see what happens, worst case scenario the partition's not aligned and you have to delete it and install everything from scratch or look into using an alternative product. At worst you lost 20 min. trying Arconis out...
 
i just got the ssd drive brand new. im doing a complete fresh install. can the partition be bad even though i delete, create, and format the partition in the win 7 setup?

im installing win 7 pro 64 bit.
 
I was replying to CHECKUP's post in my previous one.

AFAIK Win7 will always create a properly aligned partition from within the setup, w/o exception. I'm not sure what your issue could be but 40 min. does sound like too long for a Win7 install on a SSD. Have you used the disc before, is this an ISO that you burned? Could be a bad copy (which happens even w/retail discs).
 
yeah its a new iso burn. i guess i can try burning another disc and see if it fixed it.
 
nsx241 said:
Incorrect, 02HA improved the seq write speeds. 02HD is basically the an updated version of 02HA with no performance difference. All it did was correct a bug in the upgrade process that *could* brick drives that had windows 7 installed on it already. Nothing else was changed.

If you've already on 02HA, there's no reason to go to 02HD unless you just want to be on the latest.
Click to expand...

Impulse said:
Exactly.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the backup. I hate giving wrong info, but apparently I didn't this time. :) (Though I need to work on communication.)
 
Impulse said:
I was replying to CHECKUP's post in my previous one.

AFAIK Win7 will always create a properly aligned partition from within the setup, w/o exception. I'm not sure what your issue could be but 40 min. does sound like too long for a Win7 install on a SSD. Have you used the disc before, is this an ISO that you burned? Could be a bad copy (which happens even w/retail discs).
Click to expand...

i read something about disconnecting extra USB devices when installing win 7. I had my external drive connected during the install. I disconnected it + other USB devices (except mouse+kb) and it installation was quick! i guess stupid problems like this exists to piss you off........

thanks for you help though
 
Hmm, I forgot about that... I just do it out of habit now, with WinXP if I left my media card reader plugged in during setup it'd screw up drive letter assignment (the HDD would end up as H: or whatever) so I got used to unplugging stuff like that. :p
 
Impulse said:
If CrystalMark's CrystalDiskInfo says TRIM is running, and the Optimizer runs, then TRIM is definitely working... Can't imagine why it'd be taking a while unless you didn't flash it as soon as you got it tho.

Other than that there shouldn't be anything else you need to do. If you performed a clean Win7 install it'll be properly aligned. If you wanna save a few GB of space on the SSD you could disable Hibernation (which will take up as much space as w/e amount of RAM you've got), that's the easiest space saving trick there is... But with 160GB to play with and only 2GB of RAM it shouldn't be a big deal. Why not upgrade to 4GB btw? Cheaper than a SSD, heh, and it makes a huge difference when Alt+Tab'ing out of games or multi-tasking in general...
Click to expand...

I've never had to disable Hibernation on any of my desktop computers it was always done by windows and sleep was the only option available. I've only seen Hibernation available on laptops.

And I thought his sig is showing 12GB of ram.
 
Running this drive with win 7 without any problems. My drive benches good, and in win 7 performance I score a 7.8. I've ran the disk optimizer just fine about once a week. My pc does not feel as responsive as everyone raved about. Sure my pc is quick, but when I was on Vista 64 bit and my velociraptor, it doesn't feel any faster. Load up and shut down is quick, but not as quick as I thought it would be. For the money, this drive isn't worth it. If it came down to the mid $100 range, I'd say go for it.

Someone pointed out that this drive will never slow down even if you fill it up. But for about 1/3 the price you can get a western digital black that is pretty fast and just put your OS and programs on it and never fill it up either. I guess I just fell to the hype on this drive, just like the good ole velociraptor when it came out.
 
That's just you then, because I notice a difference on my rig when switching from Windows on my WD drive to my SSD. Just doing anything on the desktop even opening outlook the delays are noticeable...but I guess it depends also on what you are doing and how much you use the machine. I on a computer all day for work and that is on platter based drives so I notice these things.
 
Well I'm on a platter drive at work also with xp and it's slow as feck!. I guess going to a newer OS with superfetch vs. SSD doesn't make that much of a difference to me. My 1 Terrabyte Western Digital with Vista 64 bit was faster then my old XP with same hdd.

I do notice some programs open slightly faster like Soundforge I can't even read the screen, but for stupid things like bootup and shut down, the difference is miniscule at best.
 
ok sorry to interupt thread but ididnt want to start a whole new one for this question:

just got my G2 SSD. before i install, what are the things i need to turn off/on to make sure things run optimally?
i know:
1. Turn off drive indexing
2. turn off auto defrag
3. make sure trim is working

am i missing anything?
 
If installing a fresh copy of win7 it's automatically configured. Just check to make sure.
 
Makaveli@BETA said:
I've never had to disable Hibernation on any of my desktop computers it was always done by windows and sleep was the only option available. I've only seen Hibernation available on laptops.

And I thought his sig is showing 12GB of ram.
Click to expand...

He edited his sig later on, and Hibernate has always been available as an option on my desktop... Can't really remember if it was turned on by default, I think it might vary depending on whether you've got a UPS hooked up via USB or not as well, dunno. It's worth putting out there.

Corban227 said:
ok sorry to interupt thread but ididnt want to start a whole new one for this question: just got my G2 SSD. before i install, what are the things i need to turn off/on to make sure things run optimally?
i know:
1. Turn off drive indexing
2. turn off auto defrag
3. make sure trim is working

am i missing anything?
Click to expand...

No reason to turn off indexing entirely, just point it at your data drive instead, unless you're using Google Desktop or something else...
 
So I have an x25-m g2 coming in in the next few days or so, and what I wanted to do was just use some disk partition software to clone my current OS partition onto the ssd. Is that advisable? Are there any drawbacks to this? If possible I'd like to avoid reinstalling all my stuff, but if there's no way around it then I guess I have to do it. OS is Win7-64.
 
You can clone your install just fine, you just have to be aware of the partition alignment... Some programs will preserve said alignment (Ghost, Windows' own tool), others might not. It's just a matter of checking it once you've restored the image (partition offset is listed under the MS System Info tool), if it didn't work then simply try another program. I think you can manually create a partition and restore unto it w/DriveImage XML if all else fails, but Windows' own backup tool is probably a simpler solution. Either way the X25-M's aren't as susceptible to performance loss w/a mis-aligned partition (as other SSD), but it's worth doing right anyway.
 
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