Using an SSD Without AHCI

[Dieselhead]

Due to an upgrade, I've now got an extra SSD. The computer that I want to install the space SSD in does not have AHCI capability.

What sort of problems will I run into using an SSD without AHCI?

 

[razel]

No problems. You just won't get scaling disk performance as things get busy.

Are you sure it's not AHCI? Computers with no or non compliant AHCI support are usually pre-SATA. Which could mean that you have such a computer with a SATA card?

 

[Cerb]

Also, check to see what drivers may be available. Native/enhanced (typical names, IME) SATA modes are basically dead, but would often allow NCQ with pre-AHCI hardware/firmware, and vendor drivers. Some of them would support NCQ with the AMD, Intel, nVidia, Silicon Image (add-on chip), JMicron (add-on chip), etc. drivers.

Computers with no or non compliant AHCI support are usually pre-SATA.

Not so. AHCI was not commonly supported until around 2007, and you could still buy cheaper Intel and AMD boards with south bridges lacking AHCI support well into 2009, if not 2010. Bottom-dollar office boxes and <$60 mobos used old cheaper chipsets until 775 died, and I guess until the Geforce AMD chipset supplies ran out. I know I bought brand new Lenovos in late 2009 with no AHCI support, partly on account of using the ICH7, and still had to watch out for Geforce chipsets at the time.

 

[mikeymikec]

I don't have anything to cite, but I would try to have the computer in question having long periods of idle time, so that the SSD has time to run garbage collection.

I've got an SSD in my server that runs the first version of Windows Server 2008, which didn't include TRIM support. It runs 24/7. I haven't noticed any performance drop-off, but then it isn't worked very hard either.

--

I concur with Cerb. The first (definitely not low end) boards I saw with AHCI support were in 2007 (according to the dates on the manuals I downloaded at the time), the M2N-SLI is the first one I can think of that I used with AHCI support. My Athlon XP board from 2003 had SATA sockets on it.

 

[Dieselhead]

The MB is a Biostar G31-M7 TE, manufactured in 2009. It has the Intel ICH7 chipset which I have been told does not support AHCI.

When I temporarily installed the SSD in this computer, the SSD toolkit software came back as said this MB does not support AHCI.

 

[tidy]

.