Intel X-25M - Benchmark Feedback

[mrCAMPO]

Hi Folks,

Just installed Intel X-25M 80GB SSD into my new i7 MacBook Pro. 4Gb Ram. Stored SSD in Optibay and 500GB HDD in default position.

Repaired permissions and PRAM'd for safety net.

Confirming that below benchmark numbers are positive? A bonus if you have the same machine and SSD results Again I'm happy with the snappiness and speed of the SSD, just postings my results essentially.

 

[cyclical]

Have you updated the firmware? Here's my X-25M G2 160GB (from this thread):

 

[MBHockey]

xbench is useless unless you run it many, many times and take an average. any other short benchmark would be also.

don't put too much stock in xbench results for drives.

 

[mrCAMPO]

Have you updated the firmware? Here's my X-25M G2 160GB (from this thread):

Some of your numbers are much higher than mine.

I did download the software, burned image onto cd, then did the reboot to dos on my windows desktop. Firmware states that I'm running the latest version.

I'll hunt around if I can squeeze more speed in. I know I'm being fussy now lol.

FYI my boot time is ~20 sec.

 

[DeusInvictus7]

The 160GB has higher write speeds compared to the 80GB for the G2 Drives (100MB/s vs 70MB/s). That's why his overall score is much higher than yours, as Xbench gives very high scores for good sequential and random writes.

 

[rotobadger]

Here's my 17'' i5 MBP with Intel X25 gen 2 160GB drive:

 

[diablo2112]

Those numbers are low for the 80GB G2. Did you update the firmware when you installed the drive?

EDIT: I see you did. What is your firmware version? It still seems low, or perhaps you downloaded the wrong image for your drive?

 

[sn0warmy]

Here are my results for the 80GB G2 X25-M w/latest firmware.

 

[mrCAMPO]

Those numbers are low for the 80GB G2. Did you update the firmware when you installed the drive?

EDIT: I see you did. What is your firmware version? It still seems low, or perhaps you downloaded the wrong image for your drive?

I will check when I get home from work, but I simply just went to the Intel site and downloaded that .ISO here (http://downloadcenter.intel.com/detail_desc.aspx?agr=y&dwnldid=18363)
I thought it was a universal tool that lists the compatible drives as per what Intel showed on that page?

That was just one test on a fresh start up, so I might do some more tests tonight if it really is that consistent. I'm finding the SSD to be fast, but not night and day (currently)

 

[mrCAMPO]

Sorry guys, I should mention that I added this script, and was recommended by a guy on the notebookreview site. I'm a complete UNIX noob, but the script worked because of the same result as this:

Could this be the cause? And is there a way to reverse it if I stuffed it up by doing this?

Enable 'noatime'

Ready for an advanced one? Very briefly, normally OS X wants to write a tiny amount of data every time it reads something from the disk. This is in place for a reason, but no one can figure out exactly why, especially with the entire file system being journaled. This is a hold over from Unix and is yet another thing we can do to optimize the OS in general and the potentially the life of the SSD. It does take a few steps to set up.

First, Launch Text Edit, change the document type to Plain Text and paste in:

PHP Code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Label</key>
<string>com.my.noatime</string>
<key>ProgramArguments</key>
<array>
<string>mount</string>
<string>-vuwo</string>
<string>noatime</string>
<string>/</string>
</array>
<key>RunAtLoad</key>
<true/>
</dict>
</plist>
Save this file anywhere convenient. I used my Desktop. Open the Terminal and change to the directory where you saved it. If it was the Desktop use:

Code:
cd ~/Desktop. Then, change the owner of your file to the system:

Code:
sudo chown root:wheel myfile.txt.
Now, using the Terminal we want to move this file to the LaunchDaemons folder in System > Library

Code:
sudo mv myfile.txt /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.my.noatime.plist.
For those not familiar with *nix speak. The last command both moved and renamed the file, changing it to a plist type the OS can understand.

Reboot.

Once you are back, check the status in the Terminal:

Code:
mount | grep " / "You should get something like:

Code:
/dev/disk0s2 on / (hfs, local, journaled, noatime)

The original source here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/apple-mac-os-x/479350-ssd-optibay-install-mid-2010-15-unibody.html

 

[justinlund]

Could this be the cause? And is there a way to reverse it if I stuffed it up by doing this?

Enable 'noatime'

The atime is an attribute in which the last access time is recorded. Disabling this was a linux trick 5-10 years ago to increase system performance. I haven't seen much talk of this lately. Admittedly though, linux speed optimization really hasn't been on my radar screen lately.

While this may not be causing any issues, it's hard to know for sure unless you're really digging deep into some code. I would think that this could possibly affect spotlight searching, again, I don't know for sure.

If it were me, I'd remove it. You know what they say about opinions though!

 

[steffi]

I'm going to replace my X-25M G1 160 with the OWC tomorrow so I'll see what my XBench numbers look like tomorrow. If anybody's got the OWC Pro SSD RE drive I'd like to see those xbench numbers.

The atime is an attribute in which the last access time is recorded. Disabling this was a linux trick 5-10 years ago to increase system performance. I haven't seen much talk of this lately. Admittedly though, linux speed optimization really hasn't been on my radar screen lately.

While this may not be causing any issues, it's hard to know for sure unless you're really digging deep into some code. I would think that this could possibly affect spotlight searching, again, I don't know for sure.

If it were me, I'd remove it. You know what they say about opinions though!

 

[piwi]

Hi Folks,

Just installed Intel X-25M 80GB SSD into my new i7 MacBook Pro. 4Gb Ram. Stored SSD in Optibay and 500GB HDD in default position.

I want to try this but I'd rather not take the machine apart for no reason. Namely: Do you have sleep issues with this setup? I did the opposite, HDD in optibay SSD in the regular spot but I am concerned about screwing the HDD (no padding or SMS in the optibay).
I assume your OS and your ~/ are both on the SSD?