OCZ Vertex SSD questions

[Wurmer]

Ok Guys,

I've just bought a brand new Vertex SSD 60 gig. I intend to put Windows 7 on it. Any thing I should know about before installing the OS ? any specific things to do ? Also, is there any thing to do about enabling the trim command or does it work by default ?

[Oversized Rooster]

Make sure the drive has firmware version 1.4 which enables TRIM to work when used with Windows 7. If you have 1.41 or 1.3 then those firmware versions don't have TRIM but they have garbage collection (GC) and they will still work perfectly with W7. If you run a RAID0 array one day, you'll need to have 1.3 or 1.41 loaded because TRIM doesn't work with RAID arrays.

[chrisk]

Originally Posted by Wurmer

Ok Guys,

I've just bought a brand new Vertex SSD 60 gig. I intend to put Windows 7 on it. Any thing I should know about before installing the OS ? any specific things to do ? Also, is there any thing to do about enabling the trim command or does it work by default ?

Yup just make sure you have 1.40 firmware. If you do, just install Windows 7 and enjoy.

[Wurmer]

Ok and how do I check the firmware version ? is this written on the drive itself ? if not how do I get this information ? Does GC works as the trim command and keeps my drive at its optimized performance ?

[Oversized Rooster]

If you don't want the hassle of flashing your drive, garbage collection works just fine. You have to leave your PC idling at the logon screen or BIOS occasionally (rarely in fact).

Open the Device Manager. Under the category Disk Drives, find your OCZ Vertex. Right-click on it and select Properties.

Click on the Details tab. From the combo box, select Hardware IDs and in the Value textbox you should see some sort of firmware version.

I found this picture on the Internet. You can see this guy's Vertex has some sort of 1.31 firmware (that's a beta I think).

[AkG]

Basically all you need to do is make sure it has the latest firmware (1.4) and is setup in your BIOS properly. 1.4 is the TRIM version. If you are like many people (myself included) you can run the ITGC (1.4.1) firmware as it is doesn't seem to have any performance hit like TRIM version does. You do not need to leave it idling at the logon screen or anything like that. During low I/O's (idling like when the screensaver kicks in, reading a long webpage, or basically doing very little with the system for a couple of minutes) the ITGC will kick in and clean the drive. It doesn't take as long as the original version did and works FAST. ITGC is very similar to TRIM except it doesnt happen in real time. This means that it can put off the clean up of the cells untill you are not using the system and thus not notice any slight slow downs TRIM can cause.

Another good way to check firmware is to download CrystalDisk Info. It will give details on your drives and it is a free download. :)

For TRIM to work some are saying you will need AHCI enabled in the BIOS. I would error on the side of caution and use this instead of IDE mode. Not much dif between IDE and AHCI mode so might as well be safe. ;)

There is one thing that you also need to do, when you have done everything else.....ENJOY! You got a kickass drive and it should make for one fast system regardless of which version of the latest firmware you use :)

[gingerbee]

um not to burst everyone's bubble but i have found that just letting 7 do everything the ssd's will still run slower then if you tweak it. ( like i have said before i do a lot of these tweaks now to systems with just regular hd in them. and i can see the difference in it's use.) jmo but i would also apply these tweaks you don't have to but it's up to you?

Windows 7 - Ultimate SSD Speed Tweaks

[AkG]

No bubble bursting here Gingerbee. But thats the last things which need to be done, and even then the dif will not be night and day on a Vertex. About the only thing I do for most SSD client builds (in which I use X25s or Vertex's) is hard disable defrag (should be off by default w/ Win 7 SSD install)....and maybe Indexing turned off. The rest is minor improvements at best. Now if the OP had a Agility (or god help him a Solid) then it would be very crucial to a great first time SSD experience :)

[gingerbee]

yup me too only indilinx for clients. like i said i prefer it this way but your right you don't have too. indexing,defrag and firefox temp or what every browser your using. have found opera to be a good 1 for not writing a lot. and the way i see it the less writes the better.

[Surk]

I just installed mine a few wks ago..FM 1.4>> did the Win7 tweaks above and had no probs>>run Wiper occassionally...works 100% fasssst