6 replies to this topic

[Springbok82]

Hi all,

 

I have read many forums but never taken part so please go easy on me .

 

My question sounds straighforward and you may think "NOT AGAIN!" but I assure you it is relevant as I have found hardly any answers and only confusing outcomes on other forums. So here goes:

 

I'm currently on an X58 system:

Asus Rampage III Extreme

I7 930 @ 4GHZ

EVGA GTX680 Superclocked Edition

12gb Corsair Vengeance (installed yesterday, upgraded from 6gb Corsair GT)

Crucial M4 128gb SSD (running off Marvell Controller, seems to be doing okay last year or so)

Windows 7 installed on SSD

1 TB Samsung spinpoint F3

27inch Dell U2711

 

This is where my dilemma comes in:

 

I purchased a Crucial M4 256gb to run my games off (obviously after a clean install of Windows 7). I have not installed this yet as I am afraid of the SSD degrading over a shorter time due the "marvelous" Marvell Controller issue. Ideally I want Windows 7 running off the 128gb, games running off the 256gb, and all the other stuff on my F3. This would be perfect except I'm not sure how I would arrange these drives for the best performance. Would running both SSDs off the Marvell cause slower performance?

 

This comes to the upgrade questions:

 

1. Is it worth it to upgrade from an old dragon like this to a newer architecture mainly for the peace of mind that my SSDs will work and perform at their best without any headaches?

2. The highest function for the machine is Gaming and watching Bluray movies, then browsing and mucking about. So if an upgrade is the best, what would be more future proof, Z77 or X79.

3. My budget is kinda limited...

 

This is not a general "should I upgrade now" question, but it mainly relates to making full and better use out of my SSDs and opening up a future upgrade path.

 

I have looked at either the X79 with 3820 which is a little more than the Z77 with 3770k.

 

Bear in mind, if I can still use the SSDs in my current rig at maximum without having to "sidegrade" then that would be good. Im just annoyed that the legendary X58 is crippled by this SSD/Marvell flaw. Then I wouldn't be buggin you guys with this question! However newer tech is never a bad thing. And NO, buying a card/controller for the SSDs is not an option I want to look into.

 

Sorry for the long post, thanks in advance for any help!

[IVIYTH0S]

Honestly, to get a whole new platform just for the extra bandwidth for a new SSD is a waste of time. Solid state (since you already have a good one) to solid state changing doesn't often net much noticeable performance increases unless you run benchmarks more then just use the drive daily for what it's really for.

[Springbok82]

Thanks for the response. Trust me, I'm over benchmarking! So that's not important. I just want all the parts working in harmony. The ideal solution is this: As mentioned above, I already have an SSD 128gb, I'm not swapping it for the 256gb. I'm ADDING the 256gb so that I will have 1 SSD for windows, 1 for gaming. I fear that this is where the performance issues will crop up due to the marvell controller. I guess I could just use the 256 for windows and gaming, but I would like to keep windows on its own, clean drive and optimize/tweak the drives individually. Does it matter?

 

So is Marvell such a crutch that I would need to look to another architecture? Do you think the really world performance would be that visible, or not? In addition, my question of the correct drive configuration has not yet been answered. Should I trust Marvell or just pop it in the Intel controller? Perhaps this is shifting towards the Drives forum.

 

Sorry....

Edited by Springbok82, 10 February 2013 - 09:56 AM.

[Waco]

Why not run them off of the Intel controller?

[Springbok82]

The Intel Controller is SATA II. Again, would this make any real world difference? Would I notice that the drives aren't operating at full spec. Perhaps someone who has taken the plunge and changed platforms due to this can shed some light on this.

[Waco]

You'll never see the difference except in benchmarks. Day yo day use will be the same if not better.

[Springbok82]

Thanks, I will definitely give it a try. Thanks for the input!

 

With regards to the drive setup I will move to another thread. Cheers!