Best AMD AHCI performance with Windows Update AMD driver?

[mikeymikec]

My system spec

This is a topic that I've had a casual interest in from before my SSD purchase, ie. comparing AMD AHCI performance to the MSACHI driver.

Since I replaced my old 7200.12 disk (SMART problems culminating in it not resuming from hibernation properly) with my current Samsung 840 PRO 256GB and WD Black 1TB, I revisited the topic, mainly because of the odd readings I got with my WD Black.

I've noticed weird stats from the WDB 1TB in various systems before (usually that it didn't seem to perform as well as the WDB 500GB model), and on my system I was getting some equally dicky readings with ATTO.

ATTO result with the AMD driver I was using to begin with (1.2.1.349), note the readings at the low end:

Next up, ATTO result with MSAHCI (Win7 HP 64 SP1), improvement at the low end, I'd regard these as within expectations for a WDB (ie. I've tested quite a few WDBs in other systems):

Next up, ATTO result with the AMD driver from Windows Update (1.2.1.337):

I performed the same tests with my Samsung 840 PRO 256GB, but the differences were negligible.

 

[KingFatty]

So eyeballing those charts, it would seem that you've listed them in roughly the order of overall/average increasing performance, with the latest AMD AHCI driver being the best?

I keep forgetting where the AMD driver download is for the chipset stuff... is that accessible through their main link to drivers? That seems to only have video card drivers. Is there a way to navigate from the main AMD site to the chipset driver download? Everytime I seem to try, I can't navigate, and have to just waste time googling to try to get lucky and discover the obscure link? I think I'm missing it.

 

[mikeymikec]

If you look at the low end of the charts, the latest AMD driver isn't much good for HDDs (or perhaps just the 1TB WDB). I've gone for the 337 driver, which comes over Windows Update.

Taking the charts at face value, I'd rather get 4x throughput for small files than 5MB/sec more for the very largest. This would be especially desirable if I was using the HDD to boot from.

Driver download location:
http://support.amd.com/en-us/download

For motherboard drivers, for mine I look for:
Step 1: Integrated mobo graphics
Step 2: AMD 8-series chipsets (which my southbridge is)
Step 3: All 8-series chipsets

Which results in USB 3.0, AHCI and RAID drivers being served up.


If I go for perhaps the more logical path:
Step 1: Integrated mobo graphics
Step 2: Radeon HD integrated graphics (my board has a HD 4290 onboard which I don't use)
Step 3: Radeon HD 4200 series

I only get integrated graphics drivers.