SF SSD + Laptop = Poor Performance?

[jacc1234]

I just picked up my first ssd a G.Skill Phoenix Pro 120gb and installed it in my Vostro 1500 laptop. I did a fresh install of Win 7 and have the bios set to AHCI.

My laptop uses the ICH8M sata controller which seems to only operate at SATAI speeds although it claims to support SATAII.

The thing that is bothering me is the read speeds in HDTune are all over the place and I thought they were supposed to be mostly flat.

Here are my results from HDTune, can anyone shed some light?

Edit: I am using the latest Intel AHCI drivers if that makes a difference.

 

[sMiLeYz]

i got myself the same ssd during the deal and put it in a gateway lappy, no problems for me.

i have AHCI enabled in my bios, and TRIM on.


if your SATA controller only operates at SATA1 speeds then thats your problem right there...

 

[Loop2kil]

Bios update? It fixed my issues on my desktop...there might also be a driver update for that controller.

 

[jacc1234]

I have updated the BIOS and Windows 7 says trim is enabled. I am ok with the max speeds but am wondering more about the spikes on the graph. Is it ok if its not a uniform speed or does that indicate an issue?

I will probably be getting a new XPS in the coming weeks anyway so im not to worried, more curious.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[sub.mesa]

Some laptops are artificially limited to SATA 1,5Gbps for power saving reasons; not sure if you can change that.

 

[jacc1234]

I saw some forum posts where people were editing some bios or drives for the chipset I have but its not worth it for me.

Seems like the consensus is that nothing is wrong with the drive and the reason that the read speed is all over the place is because of my chipset being limited to SATA I.

 

[taltamir]

your average and min speeds are still way above anything mechanical...

 

[flamenko]

Try out Crystal.... On my system, HDTune is jumpy in the first few seconds as well... It doesnt affect the final outcome.

 

[Yellowbeard]

ATTO will give you the test results that you can compare with the original specifications.