Best program for diagnosing and benchmarking a new SSD ?

[ahmadka]

Hi guys ... So I'll be getting my first ever SSD soon (1TB Samsung 840 EVO). But before using it in my laptop, I intend to place it in a 2.5" SATA HDD enclosure and run some tests on it. I want to test for ANY sort of errors problems, etc. because if there are any issues, it's preferable to return the item now rather than face headaches later .. Second, I also want to run some performance tests to benchmark the drive to make sure it's performing as well as it should.

So what programs are best for such testing ?

EDIT: I don't suppose it will damage an SSD in any way if I put it in a 2.5" SATA USB 3.0 2.5" HDD enclosure, will it ?

 

[mikeymikec]

I'd test it after installing AHCI/chipset software in the laptop because that's where it's got to work, but if you really want to do your way around, I'd quick format it, then run chkdsk driveletter: /f /v /r on it, check the SMART readings with say CrystalDiskInfo (if you don't have this, download the zip not the installer), run a benchmark with say ATTO, and stop there.

Otherwise the way I'd do it is to do those same tests after I've set it up in the laptop, after all, you're probably going to want to benchmark it in the laptop to make sure it is working ideally in there (ie. you're going to end up benchmarking twice).

It won't damage an SSD by plugging it into a HDD enclosure that can handle 2.5" HDDs unless it's a weird enclosure AFAIK.

 

[corkyg]

Also, don't get carried away with benchmarking. That causes more wear and tear on a SSD than normal usage. In a way, it is like a dog chasing a car. What does it do when it catches the car?

 

[mikeymikec]

+1 regarding excessive benchmarking. If the system performs as expected (e.g. bootup within 15 seconds), and a single benchmark shows results within expectations, don't benchmark it any more unless you have a good reason (ie. you're experiencing patchy performance and you want to check it's not the SSD).

Feel free to post an ATTO benchmark graph here, I've got plenty to compare it with.

 

[ahmadka]

Got it ... Won't benchmark too much .. But for the 1-2 brief benchmarks that I want to run, which program is best ?

 

[ahmadka]

Also which program is best for detecting SSD errors ? Don't think this has also been mentioned so far ..

 

[mikeymikec]

I've made two suggestions already...

 

[Z15CAM]

Getting back to the Op's Title of this thread either ATTO or AS SSD and I don't recommend you run these Benches too many times in respect to excessive SSD Silicon ware writes.

 

[ahmadka]

Thanks guys. Are ATTO and AS SSD some software ?

For diagnostics, any software suggestions apart from CrystalDiskInfo ?

And what's the general consensus on whether it's okay to put an SSD inside a 2.5" HDD enclosure ?

 

[bigboxes]

ATTO Disk Benchmark software & CrystalDiskInfo for disagnostic info. That's all you need. Run them and post them here.

 

[Z15CAM]

ATTO Disk Benchmark software & CrystalDiskInfo

I agree: but I do like AS SSD.

 

[ahmadka]

EDIT: You may ignore this post and go directly to the one below. Laptop used for testing here didn't support SATA III, so speeds were lower.

Alright, so I got the SSD (1TB Samsung 840 EVO), and I decided to skip the enclosure idea, and ended up plugging it directly into my laptop (Took out the HDD temporarily while I'm testing out this SSD).

I ran both ATTO and CrystalDiskInfo.

Regarding CrystalDiskInfo, I couldn't find any tests that it carries out to verify SSD integrity. Can someone tell me what to do within this software ?

Regarding ATTO, I ran the test with the default parameters, and the max r/w rate is reported to be about 275 MB/sec .. Isn't this drive capable of reaching about 540 MB/sec rate, at least in benchmarks ? ... Maybe I need to change the benchmark parameters ?

CrystalDiskInfo:

ATTO:

 

[ahmadka]

I think I may have figured out why the speeds were lower before .. The laptop I was testing it on (a 4 year old Sony VAIO) didn't support SATA III, so speeds were limited.

I have now put the SSD in a HP laptop (a 2 year old model) whose Chipset is said to support SATA III, however Samsung Magician software says it "cannot detect" if the laptop supports SATA III or not.

Based on the pictures below, although the speed rates are now much closer (although still a little lower) than what this SSD is supposed to feature, the Random Read/Write (IOPS) stats are still significantly lower than what they should be.

As the IOPS is still very much lower than what's to be expected, is the drive faulty or something ?

All pictures below were generated AFTER doing 'Performance Optimization' and 'OS Optimization' (to Maximum) in Samsung Magician utility software.

Here are the screenshots from the HP laptop:

CrystalDiskInfo:

ATTO:

AS:

Samsung Magician:

 

[h9826790]

For the 840 Evo, make sure it's firmware revision is EXT0CB6Q before you do anything. If not, upgrade it by yourself, otherwise it may has performance issue few months later.

 

[ahmadka]

For the 840 Evo, make sure it's firmware revision is EXT0CB6Q before you do anything. If not, upgrade it by yourself, otherwise it may has performance issue few months later.

I was already aware of that so that's the first thing I did.

 

[mikeymikec]

Based on the ATTO readings, I'd guess that the laptop has a slow CPU in, possibly an AMD one. The ATTO readings are a little lower than expected at the low end (but not to the point where I'd say that anything is wrong), but they end up pushing SATA 6Gbps in exactly the way I would expect.

 

[ahmadka]

Both CPUs are Core i7s .. One is about 4 years old, and the other is about 2 years old.

Any possible solutions ?

 

[mikeymikec]

Any possible solutions ?

I think you're chasing after a potentially non-existent problem. I tried that AS SSD benchmark on my 256GB 840 PRO and got lower readings than you did, furthermore, when I first benchmarked my drive I got significantly lower readings at the low end on ATTO than I did about nine months later, despite the fact that I hadn't altered anything relevant on my setup.

The only thing I would check is that I have the most up-to-date Intel Rapid Storage drivers and leave it at that.

Furthermore, I've never bought an EVO so I don't know exactly what to expect from them on ATTO.

If the system is quick to boot, reliable and is nicely responsive, then the SSD has done its job IMO.

 

[John Connor]

And what's the general consensus on whether it's okay to put an SSD inside a 2.5" HDD enclosure ?

Good thing you didn't use the external option as you would have been limited on USB speed and more than likely SMART data would not have been read.

Hard Disk Sentinel is a good testing tool or the free version of HD Tune.

 

[Z15CAM]

Obliviously some members on thisThread know nothing about DOS.

OOP's wrong thread, my apology - Should have posted else where ;o)

 

[razel]

Everything looks fine at this point. The IOPS does say 'up to' and your laptop may not be able to get it up to max IOPS. If that answer doesn't satisfy you, I'd reboot into Safe Mode, change your power profile to maximum performance, plug the AC cord in and benchmark there.

Chances for the no detection is probably from the Intel SATA driver. I usually skip that myself since the standard MS ones are great, but if it's already installed I leave it alone.

 

[RaistlinZ]

OP, your drive looks fine. I think you're looking too hard for an issue, as if you want there to be a problem. All tests show it's 100% health and honestly, performing like it should.

The drive is fine. Let it go.

 

[ahmadka]

Totally forgot about this thread

Okay thanks guys. Without having done anything else, I noticed that when the laptop charger was connected, the IOPS jumped up to about 68K ~ 70K, but when I disconnected the charger, they dropped again. Don't know what's the reason for this as the laptop was in max performance, but this might be some sort of a reason.

I'll try installing that Intel Rapid Storage Driver, but other than that I think you guys are right - the drive seems fine and I should just move on

 

[razel]

I noticed the same with Ivy Bridge+ ultrabooks. My work ultrabook caps it's CPU speed at 2 Ghz off the battery, but when plugged in it will ramp up to 2.9 Ghz when it is cool enough. It doesn't happen with all Ivy Bridges. I suspect it's only the lower power envelope (U or Y) versions. Regardless, good news is your SSD is running fine.

As for the Intel driver, back in 2009, the Intel SATA drivers seemed too aggressive with throttling power that changing the power profile from Balanced to High Performance affected benchmarks. They have fixed it since. If you are still having issues with drive detection in the Samsung utility, you may want to use the default MS SATA drivers, not the Intel ones. But if the Intel drivers are already installed, then try to update it 1st before reverting back to MS stock.

 

[corkyg]

Totally forgot about this thread

Okay thanks guys. Without having done anything else, I noticed that when the laptop charger was connected, the IOPS jumped up to about 68K ~ 70K, but when I disconnected the charger, they dropped again. Don't know what's the reason for this as the laptop was in max performance, but this might be some sort of a reason.

I'll try installing that Intel Rapid Storage Driver, but other than that I think you guys are right - the drive seems fine and I should just move on

Check your power management settings, By default, some lappies lower performance when on battery power.