How do I check if NCQ is enabled?

[tart666]

just got a new dell 8400 for the office, it came with

HARD DRIVE, 160GB, Serial ATA, 7.2K, 8MB, NATIVE COMMAND QUEUEING, SEAGATE

I re-installed win xp pro from scratch as soon as i got the dell, no need for their service center, now the hard drive is trashing pretty loudly, a lot louder than my previous seagates. I thought NCQ was supposed to make drive action a lot smoother, instead of the opposite.

In either case, is there a way to detect whether NCQ is actually enabled?

 

[montag451]

i thought it was a jumper on the back of some drives - i may be wrong = call me a fool

 

[Bozo Galora]

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=27&threadid=1457503

http://www.viperlair.com/revie...seagate/72007/p2.shtml

 

[tart666]

Originally posted by: Bozo Galora
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=27&threadid=1457503

http://www.viperlair.com/revie...seagate/72007/p2.shtml

i don't see how this tells me whether NCQ is enabled or not... am I missing something?

 

[Pariah]

If the controller supports it, it's enabled by the controller. If it doesn't, it isn't. Reinstalling windows won't do anything since windows has no idea what controller level command queuing is.

 

[SunSamurai]

sigh... if you bought your computer premade, you really have more preformance issues per dollar spent than NCQ.

 

[tart666]

Originally posted by: aeternitas
sigh... if you bought your computer premade, you really have more preformance issues per dollar spent than NCQ.

i think i got a way better deal than anyone on this board can build DIY, but that is beside the point.

So, there's no way to confirm from witnin windows that NCQ is in fact enabled and functioning? Is that the consensus?

 

[D1gger]

Originally posted by: tart666

Originally posted by: aeternitas
sigh... if you bought your computer premade, you really have more preformance issues per dollar spent than NCQ.

i think i got a way better deal than anyone on this board can build DIY, but that is beside the point.

So, there's no way to confirm from witnin windows that NCQ is in fact enabled and functioning? Is that the consensus?

Once in windows a quick load of Intel Application Accelerator will show you whether or not the drive is NCQ enabled.

Examples

 

[SunSamurai]

Originally posted by: tart666

Originally posted by: aeternitas
sigh... if you bought your computer premade, you really have more preformance issues per dollar spent than NCQ.

i think i got a way better deal than anyone on this board can build DIY, but that is beside the point.

So, there's no way to confirm from witnin windows that NCQ is in fact enabled and functioning? Is that the consensus?

If you really believe that, youre a fool.

 

[blackinches]

blackinches thinks that's a little harsh. good deals on dells are hard to beat especially if its only for office use.

 

[batmanuel]

If IAA shows NCQ as being off, then in order to get it working you're going to have to:

1. Go into the BIOS and enable AHCI.
2. Reinstall windows, making sure to download the ACHI drivers for the SATA controller from Intel's website, put them on a floppy and do the F6 thing when the Windows Preinsatllation Environment is loading up at the beginning of the install.
3. Load IAA after you install all of the drivers for your chipset.

Honestly, NCQ really isn't supposed to do much for performance/noise level on a desktop system under normal conditions. Unless you are doing any disk-intensive multitasking or some serious P2P filesharing, enabling NCQ is actually supposed to reduce your hard drive performance a tiny bit compared to when it is off.

 

[dblagent]

Originally posted by: batmanuel
If IAA shows NCQ as being off, then in order to get it working you're going to have to:

1. Go into the BIOS and enable AHCI.
2. Reinstall windows, making sure to download the ACHI drivers for the SATA controller from Intel's website, put them on a floppy and do the F6 thing when the Windows Preinsatllation Environment is loading up at the beginning of the install.
3. Load IAA after you install all of the drivers for your chipset.

Honestly, NCQ really isn't supposed to do much for performance/noise level on a desktop system under normal conditions. Unless you are doing any disk-intensive multitasking or some serious P2P filesharing, enabling NCQ is actually supposed to reduce your hard drive performance a tiny bit compared to when it is off.

Yep, What he said. I just finished building my pc w/ NCQ and it works fine, but you have to enable it before you start and load the driver from a floppy while installing windows. Good luck!

I'm running Media Center so NCQ should help me out a bit I hope.

 

[tart666]

Originally posted by: batmanuel
If IAA shows NCQ as being off, then in order to get it working you're going to have to:

1. Go into the BIOS and enable AHCI.
2. Reinstall windows, making sure to download the ACHI drivers for the SATA controller from Intel's website, put them on a floppy and do the F6 thing when the Windows Preinsatllation Environment is loading up at the beginning of the install.
3. Load IAA after you install all of the drivers for your chipset.

Honestly, NCQ really isn't supposed to do much for performance/noise level on a desktop system under normal conditions. Unless you are doing any disk-intensive multitasking or some serious P2P filesharing, enabling NCQ is actually supposed to reduce your hard drive performance a tiny bit compared to when it is off.

which version of IAA do you use? The only one i can find here is dated 11/13/2002. It's hard to believe it would support 915 chipset...

PS: I started here and that's the only results i got

 

[batmanuel]

Use the ones on this page. All of these drivers are 915-chipset specific and should work with your Dell mobo. Hopefully. It's hard to tell with Dells, sometimes.

 

[Mongoo]

aeternitas...

Beliefs are not foolish. Only when you think you know somehting do you become the fool.

 

[SunSamurai]

Originally posted by: Mongoo
aeternitas...

Beliefs are not foolish. Only when you think you know somehting do you become the fool.

Dude, what?s with your pseudo intellectual crap? I have built a better computer for less, and that guy says it can?t be done. It?s nothing to do with ?opinion?. Obviously that?s proof, and I theorize you and he make fool^2.

 

[Mongoo]

aeternitas...

Perhaps, but I therorize otherwise. Good joke though.

 

[Spicedaddy]

Originally posted by: Mongoo
aeternitas...

Perhaps, but I therorize otherwise. Good joke though.

So you're a therorist?

 

[Mongoo]

,

God knows I didn't get A's in spelling.

 

[w00t]

bios

 

[Bozo Galora]

this thread has now officially entered the Twilight Zone.

 

[tart666]

Originally posted by: aeternitas

Originally posted by: Mongoo
aeternitas...

Beliefs are not foolish. Only when you think you know somehting do you become the fool.

Dude, what?s with your pseudo intellectual crap? I have built a better computer for less, and that guy says it can?t be done. It?s nothing to do with ?opinion?. Obviously that?s proof, and I theorize you and he make fool^2.

dude, you are lying. You cannot build a better computer with same CPU for less .

How does it feel to be a liar, I just want to know?

 

[tart666]

Originally posted by: batmanuel
Use the ones on this page. All of these drivers are 915-chipset specific and should work with your Dell mobo. Hopefully. It's hard to tell with Dells, sometimes.

The only IAA I see is the RAID version, I will try it on Monday.

 

[nweaver]

One thing folks don't count when build vs. buy, you have to consider your time. This is very important for a business. My company pays (after benefits and stuff) in the neighborhood of 60-70 bucks an hour. So add 100-200 bucks for every PC, and the price point doesn't matter as much. Plus, if I am doing work for a customer, they cannot bill them for my time, which costs them even more. I would say that you need to remember that when talkign build vs. buy. For home, I always build. For work, I almost always buy.

 

[batmanuel]

Originally posted by: tart666

Originally posted by: batmanuel
Use the ones on this page. All of these drivers are 915-chipset specific and should work with your Dell mobo. Hopefully. It's hard to tell with Dells, sometimes.

The only IAA I see is the RAID version, I will try it on Monday.

There's only the one version, ASFAIK. The RAID edition moniker was added when Intel enabled RAID functionality in the southbridge with the ICH5R that was used with the high-end 865/875 boards. It will still work on a single drive system, only it just lets you check to see if NCQ is working and doesn't seem to do much else.