SSD with evga 680i

[n0x1ous]

So I have been wanting to get an SSD for my main PC. (getting a bit long in the tooth, but you can see the specs in my sig) I've read all of Anand's SSD articles and have been reading all about the different controllers etc.

I settled on a Mushkin Callisto Deluxe 60GB (Sandforce 1200 based) but now see that AHCI isn't supported on the 680i. I can't remember how I happened across that, but I hadn't initially worried about that, because I was under the impression that AHCI has been around for a while. Anyway, sounded like something to do with Nvidia not wanting to pay intel another license for their sata controller or something so they used their own.

My question is, what are my options to get this thing working at its max? I lose TRIM and some performance with no AHCI, but some users have suggested that after installing the Nvidia storage drivers, that uninstalling them through device manager will load a standard MS driver, that lets it work at full potential.

Any 680i owners able to confirm any of this?

If it can't be used to its fullest, I may just throw it in my HTPC instead, as I'm not ready to build a new gaming machine yet.

the HTPC has a Gigabyte G41M-ES21.....guess I better double check AHCI support on that as well! Anyone know for sure on that one? Not at home right now so can't check my BIOS at the moment.

 

[nenforcer]

Well I've never owned an SSD and not an expert on this but I do own a nearly identical setup to your Gamer rig.

The bad news, it is true is that no nVidia chipset supports AHCI.

The good news, however, is that TRIM isn't dependent on AHCI but rather the OS and Windows 7 supports it even when the BIOS is set to IDE/Legacy mode.

I believe the only things you lose out on from lack of AHCI are stuff like NCQ, Native Command Queing, and the ability to hot swap drives.

There are some threads in this forum discussing this from which I draw from. You could probably search and get some more details.

 

[n0x1ous]

Well I've never owned an SSD and not an expert on this but I do own a nearly identical setup to your Gamer rig.

The bad news, it is true is that no nVidia chipset supports AHCI.

The good news, however, is that TRIM isn't dependent on AHCI but rather the OS and Windows 7 supports it even when the BIOS is set to IDE/Legacy mode.

I believe the only things you lose out on from lack of AHCI are stuff like NCQ, Native Command Queing, and the ability to hot swap drives.

There are some threads in this forum discussing this from which I draw from. You could probably search and get some more details.

Thanks man. I did find some stuff on here and on benchmark reviews that does confirm that TRIM works in IDE mode. They also noted that the performance difference between IDE and AHCI mode varried depending on the controller.

Unfortunately, Sandforce is the most heavily favored towards AHCI, but oh well, it will still kill my old Raptor. Looking forward to the upgrade.

Thanks again!