1. AHCI MODE AND NOT IDE PERFORMANCE

The performance increase between a computer in AHCI mode, as compared to IDE, is just over 15%. Most computers today are in AHCI, by default, but occasionally we encounter otherwise from our readers. Checking your BIOS does the trick but may be a bit difficult for some. The easist way is to check your SSDs properties in System devices.

Clicking on any of our photographs will bring up a higher resolution copy for your viewing ease.While on the Windows 8 Start Screen, type Control Panel and then select it. This is a small trick of Windows 8 many dont realize. Open Control Panel and look for IDE/ATA ATAPI controllers and select that. It will confirm that AHCI controllers are installed and working properly when each is selected by right clicking your mouse. Windows 7 still select Start Orb/Control Panel/IDE/ATA ATAPI controllers.2.ENSURE DRIVERS ARE UP TO DATE -PERFORMANCEEnsuring that your drivers are always up to date on your system is a given but most continuously overlook this. Where we wouldnt have recommended it a few years ago, today all of our systems are set to update all software and hardware drives automatically, and even then, we still try to check our motherboard manufacturers to see if new drivers had been released.

This is a bit different in the case of Intels Storage Manager where different versions provide obvious different performance results, sometimes even with older files, and one needs to check for the newest updates automatically. As well, newer Intel drivers allow for TRIM to be passed with SSDs in RAID, whereas older versions did not. At the time of this report, our system was on the Series 7 chipset with AHCO Storage drivers ver. 11.5 as can be seen above, again through Device Manager.3. CONNECT TO MOTHERBOARD INTEL PORTS -PERFORMANCEOf all of the issues we tackle with respect to poor SSD performance, having the SSD data cable connected to the wrong motherboard port is one of the most common. An Intel motherboard will always contain two 6Gbps (SATA 3) ports designated to the chip itself (which in our case is the Z77) as well as at least 2/4 other 3Gbps (SATA 2) ports. In most systems these days, their are also 2/4 additional ports that ar 6Gbps (SATA 3) and either controlled by Marvell or LAMD controllers.

The difficulty arises when the user connects the SSD to the SATA 3 Marvell/LAMD port, rather than the Intel port, and then encounters sub-spec performance. The two Intel ports are the top performing and should be used first and foremost. In the case of our Asus P8Z77-V Premium motherboard, the light blue ports are SATA 2, grey are Z77 SATA 3 and the four navy blue ports connect to the SATA 3 Marvell controller and can be used as secondary SSD connections or caching as Asus has labelled.The result on the left depicts the performance of our SSD connected to the Intel Z77 port while that on the right is connected to the Marvell port, both SATA 3 ports. Displaying this first hand seems to provide a better understanding we think.

4. SET PC POWER OPTIONS TO HIGH PERFORMANCEOnce again, this is one of those very simple things that leaves people stumped for days, only to hit the Forums and have someone suggest checking their Power Options right away. Most PCs are shipped with the Power Options set to Balanced. A new installation sets itself to Balanced. To get to Power Options, simply type Control Panel in at the Start Screen for Windows 8 users or click on the Orb in Windows 7.

While we are in Power Options, click on Change Plan Settings, go to Change Advanced PowerSettings, click on Hard Disk and change that setting to 0 or Never.5. TURN SYSTEM PROTECTION OFF CAPACITY/ENDURANCETurning off System Protection has always been a controversial optimization but it is simpy best for your system. We first learned this a few years ago after receiving a number of complaints from people that their performance was dropping significantly over time. These even included our peers and there were several reports published that condemned SSDs for their deteriorating performance over time. We did not experience that and needed to know why. In examining specific instances, a common characteristic was always that complaints were being received from users who has System Protection turned on, whereas we did not.

Wepublished an articleand, in time, received several e-mails with positive response. In our opinion, System Restore creates allocation points of backup data that is meant for a hard drive where the storage location was static. This is opposite an SSD that continuously moves data around and re-indexes to ensure equal wearing of all memory blocks. Not only did we form the opinion that System protection slowed the PC, but also, the increase in SSD writes has to be significantly higher. Turning off System restore is a main contributor to available user capacity increase and our opinion is that your PC is all the better for it.System Protection can once again be found in Control Panel by clicking on System and System Protection. When shutting it down (as it may already be by default), ensure you dlete the restore points for added SSD capacity6. TURN OFF PAGEFILE CAPACITY/ENDURANCEPagefile was created in the early days of Windows to compensate for softwares increasing need for memory as well as the significant cost of that memory. In response, Microsoft introduced Pagefile which created a 4GB (typically) file on your hard drive that acted as virtual memory. The problem with this concept always was that the information stored and removed from the Pagefile could still only be transferred as fast as the hard drive could accomplish. And then came SSDs and cheaper memory.Along with Windows 7 came a more effective way, within the OS, of managing active programs and memory became significantly cheaper with a typical system having 4GB of memory. Our recommendation to shut down Pagefile was originally made in 2010 when we were running MS Vista and had just upgraded to 4GB of RAM. We have since been through countless systems for business and bench use and have never experienced a problem after shutting down Pagefile. We realized some time ago that, even though the SSD that the Pagefile resided was fast, pure memory was ten times that of an SSD. Leaving Pagefile on just didnt make sense.

Once again, simply click on the image for a much better resolutionGiven our opinion, we have heard some state that there are programs that require Pagefile but we havent discounted our theory with any yet. As with any other optimization, try it, form your own opinion and return it to its original state if youre not happy with the end result. Very least, you gain about 4GB of user storage back.To get to Pagefile, go to Control Panel/System/System Protection/Advanced/ Performance and then click on Settings. Click on Advanced and Change, uncheck Automatic and select No Paging File and Set

7. TURN HIBERNATION OFF -CAPACITYMy Windows 7 system starts in 15 seconds and my Windows 8 range is from 8-10 seconds. Hibernation is not really feasible considering that about 2.5GB of storage is returned. Accomplishing this is simple. On your Start Screen, start to type Command Prompt and it will pop up. Right click on the icon and select Run as Administrator on the bottom. From there, type powercfg -h off, press enter and youre done. For Win 7 users, hit the orb, All programs, Accessories and right click on Command Prompt.

8. ENABLE OPTIMIZE DRIVES PERFORMANCEWindows 7 System Defrag is a totally different concept than Optimize Drives in Windows 8. DO NOT EVER schedule defragmentation of an SSD. In Windows 8, Optimize Drives is good. It seems that Microsoft has built storage identification right into the Windows System Assessment Tool (WINSAT) and the OS can recognize the needs of the storage medium, be it a hard drive or SSD.If it is a hard drive, a Defragmentation Schedule is set whereas, if it is an SSD, an Optimization Schedule is set where the TRIM command is sent to the OS, enabling the OS to search and wipe clean blocks of deleted files, on a regular basis. TRIM can be scheduled to run daily, weekly or monthly and we find Optimize Drives to be an extra step for system stability. Read more inour published article, Windows 8 Optimize Drives Sets Automated TRIM for SSD Health and Your Comfort.

Optimize Drives can be found by starting to type the name in on the Windows 8 Start Screen and then selecting the icon.

9. ENABLE FASTER BOOT THROUGH MSCONFIG PERFORMANCEThis selection disables the GUI start screen on boot, saving a few seconds during the boot process. Click the Windows key and R, and then type MSConfig. From there, select Boot, check No GUI Boot and save.

10. TURN OFF MULTI-BOOT SELECTION-PERFORMANCEThis optimization should be followed if more than one drive is used to boot separate systems in the same computer. For Windows 8 users, type Computer on the Start Screen and right click on the icon. Select Properties, Advanced System Settings, StartUp and Recovery, and then uncheck the Time to Display List of Operating Systems before clicking OK.

11. DISABLE DRIVE INDEXING ENDURANCEIndexing was originally intended to provide quick access to a file on a hard drive (9.2ms access time). When using an SSD (.02ms access time), indexing really serves no purpose but to increase the writes to the SSD , thus impacting on endurance, be it ever so little. Leaving it on will not hurt your system whatsoever but our belief with Indexing, as with many other Windows 8 activities, is that there is no necessity to leave it enabled if it serves no purpose.

Indexing is found after you right click on the specific drive in Computer. This can be reached in Windows 8 by typing Computer at the Start Screen, and in Windows 7, by right clicking on the Computer icon on the desktop and then right clicking on the specific drive.

12. DISABLE WINDOWS SEARCH ENDURANCEDisabling Windows Search is part and parcel to Indexing and you are not disabling the typical search function, but rather, you are disabling Windows Search indexing, thus reducing total writes to the SSD. Locating search is a bit of a different animal, however, as we need to jump into Windows Services to do it.

In either Windows 7 or 8 systems, press the Windows key and the letter S simultaneously. Once in the Services menu, scroll down to Windows Search, Stop the service, and Disable it.

13. DISABLE WRITE CACHE BUFFER FLUSHING PERFORMANCEOne can credit older Intel SSDs for the discovery of this optimization, however, it remains to be a point of discussion and is not consistent with every SSD. Some SSDs perform better with Write Cache Buffer Flushing enable and some run better with it disabled. Common sense dictates that, unless a much needed and significant performance advantage is gained, it is best to leave this selection unchecked for data safety.

One can check out Write Cache Data Buffering by once again going into the Device Manager, selecting Disk Drives, right clicking on the drive of interest and selecting Properties.14. DISABLE SUPERFETCH ENDURANCEThis is probably the most confusing optimization if we listen to Microsoft. Initially, having it enabled was the flavor of the day but then they seemed to have taken note of our SSD Optimization Guide and changed their tune. In Windows 8, it is enabled again. In doing a bit of background, the flavor today seems to be that it remains enabled for the ease of the system user, but does not function once the WINSAT identifies that the SSD is in use. This brings us right back to the mindset of why we want something enabled that has no job. It is like having a car with five wheels.The purpose of Superfetch originally, when it first appeared in MS Vista, was to allow Windows to manage the systems memory for smoother system activity. We spoke of something similar in Pagefile which we disabled. Basically, Superfetch (and Prefetch) stored the location of frequently accessed files in a trace file for quicker access, resulting in shorter boot times for the most part. In todays system, features such as Prefetch and Superfetch are disabled by Windows 8. We prefer the comfort of disabling it first hand, however.

15. DISABLING PREFETCH ENDURANCEFirst off. lets get back into Services by pressing the Windows key and S simultaneously, finding Superfetch and then stopping and disabling it. From there, we need to go into the Windows Registry to confirm all is shut down. Hit the Windows Key and R, type in Regedit and hit enter. From there follow this route:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters

Once your system has recognized that an SSD is running the show, Windows 8 should delete the Superfetch key automatically. We found that Prefetcher was still enabled in our systems and disabled it.16. CONFIRM TRIM IS FUNCTIONING PERFORMANCETRIM is notification from Windows 8 to the SSD that files have been deleted and blocks need to be wiped clean prior to new data being stored there. Unlike a hard drive, which only removes the index that provides a location to information when deleted and then simply writes over old information, the SSD has to have a clean area to store information. That is what garbage collection and Idle Time Garbage Collection (ITGC) do. TRIM simply informs the SSD that something has been deleted and it needs to TRIM the drive.Without this, storage of data would entail checking a spot for storage, realizing that it has old deleted info, moving good data from that block to a new location, cleaning that block and then storing the new data. This slows SSD performance significantly. ITGC wipes old data in the background during idle time. We are able to check whether the TRIM command is being sent to the SSD by typing fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify in a DOS screen.If it returns 0, this means that it is enabled and if it returns 1, TRIM is disabled.

This does a great jobin telling us whether the signal has actually been sent but it does not tell us whether TRIM is actually working or not. Until recently, this has been a problem with many users finding out that TRIM was not working in their new installation only after performance dropped significantly an to a visible level. Fortunately, a free utility called TRIMcheck was created and much of the testing conducted with the author onour own Forum Threadwhere its background can be examined and afree copydownloaded.17. UNDERSTANDING SSD DISKSPACEAs we explained earlier, SSD storage is a bit tricky as a block can contain both deleted and valid information, the valid information having to be relocated when the block has to be cleaned. This is all and well so long as that unused storage space is available for this movement and this also explains overprovisioning where SSDs may use a specific portion for this purpose. What happens when we are nearing a full SSD though?In simplistic terms, that valid data that may have to be relocated might be larger than available space and your drive slows significantly while some housekeeping is done. This is not at all a new discovery and has been around snce the first consumer SSDs were released back in 2007. To ensure top performance and endurance, it is best to leave AT LEAST 15% free at all times to accomplish this, depending on the capacity of the SSD. For a bit further elaboration, Kent Smith of LSI wrote thisexcellent blog postrecently.18. MOVE DOC FOLDER TO HDD CAPACITYKeeping in tune with the observing of SSD space above, Windows 7 and Windows 8 provide the ability to change folder locations, enabling your relocation of key folders to a hard drive. This is key for mass storage of such things as music, pictures and video.

Whether you are in Windows 8 or Windows 7, right click on the folder you want to move, search for the new location and Apply.

19. ADJUSTING CPU STATES PERFORMANCETHIS TWEAK IS NOT ADVISED FOR THOSE THAT ARENT CONFIDENT IN THEIR PC ABILITIES AND WE DO NOT RECOMMEND IT. IF NOT MONITORED PROPERLY, IT MAY RESULT IN HARDWARE DAMAGE OF WHICH WE CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLEThis last optimization will provide a significant performance boost, however, it is not readily available in any Optimization Guides that we are aware of and, in fact, discussion really isnt that prevalent considering the boost that can be obtained. It consists of shutting off C1E, C3 and C6 states through the CPU management console of your bios which shuts down regulation of the CPU. For overclockers, this is a common tweak and, in fact, many sites have also adapted this (unbenounced to readers) in order to achieve much higher low 4k random write performance. We also did this in a few of our reviews, achieving results such as this:

These results were obtained while conducting our Samsung 840 Pro SSD analysis some time ago. The difference is obvious. Shutting these states down mean disabling the CPU thermal monitoring, higher idle CPU temperatures and higher power draw. A great discussion and further examples can be found in ourForum Thread. Once again, because of the obvious drawbacks, we do not support this optimization and it is not used (but for one or two testing instances) on any of our site systems.20. THE SSD TOOLBOXThere can be many advantages to choosing the right SSD which provides the buyer with many choices. Of particular interest are Toolboxes from companies such asSamsung,IntelandOCZthat allow such things as automated firmware updates, secure erase, resetting, formatting, adjusting over provisioning, automated optimizations as well as banchmark testing of the drives. All companies update their toolboxes on a frequent basis and they can be obtained, free of charge, by clicking on the company name above. In addition, Samsung and Intel provide free data migration software.21. FREE BENCHMARK SOFTWAREThere is nothing better than free stuff and in the benchmarking world free software is everywhere. In our position, we elect to use much of this software as it provides the reader with a no cost comparison that can be done at home. Here are links to the free software that we are aware of:AS SSD|ATTO|Crystal DiskMark|Crystal Disk Info|Anvil Storage Utilites|CPU-Z|HD Tach|IoMeter|TRIMcheck|