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Just installed my 2 SSD drives.. :)

timinireland

timinireland

macrumors member
Original poster
Well I have installed my 2 OCZ Vertex 120GB drives...

Who needs brackets.. Just throw them in there and tie them up with some cable ties.... Happy days... lol 🙂

Boot time from the chime to fully loaded 17s

I love my new iMac.. 🙂

4933387364
 
XBench results after one test.. Good? Bad?.


Results 420.33
System Info
Xbench Version 1.3
System Version 10.6.4 (10F2056)
Physical RAM 4096 MB
Model iMac11,3
Drive Type Untitled RAID Set 1
Disk Test 420.33
Sequential 317.71
Uncached Write 634.31 389.46 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 478.06 270.49 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 136.81 40.04 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 620.20 311.71 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 620.88
Uncached Write 248.64 26.32 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 825.56 264.29 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 2665.66 18.89 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 1198.92 222.47 MB/sec [256K blocks]
 
For comparison here is my x-bench results for the stock Seagate 1TB drive:

Disk Test 70.13
Sequential 191.97
Uncached Write 201.33 123.62 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 196.22 111.02 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 149.69 43.81 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 244.30 122.79 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 42.90
Uncached Write 13.24 1.40 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 280.68 89.86 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 111.39 0.79 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 192.47 35.71 MB/sec [256K blocks]
 
So this is the new 27"? How are you running RAID? Software? I'm not as up on the new 27" as I should be.
 
I'm not running RAID0 (yet) but it is software RAID easily configured in the OS. The new 27" iMac's have 3 SATA ports now. That give you the option to run two SSD drive buy 1)using the extra SATA port, or 2) removing the stock HDD or Optical drive. It's a toss up on which drive to leave out.....I'd like to leave both out and send the 3rd SATA port outside the chassis somehow for an eSATA port.....
 
timinireland said:
Yes its a new 27" imac and my SSDs are running in software RAID0
Click to expand...

Hi, can you explain how you set this up, was it in HDD slot or Superdrive or both, question is and can you link the SSD drives with out having to use two Sata slots on the IMac's motherboard.

I want to consider this configuration but only use the Superdrive slot and retain my 1TB HDD for music, movies etc.

Also I currently run a 120G vertex drive in MBP and am delighted with the performance, did you ever run as a single and if so will I see a noticeable difference, so many people claim that they are fast enough on their own and the extra cost for Raid is not worth it for the perceptional jump in performance you gain.

I appreciate it that the benchmarks state the facts but for me it is down to what I can see and when I moved to SSD from Hard Drive the jump was massive.

Cheers
 
mikeezero said:
Hi, can you explain how you set this up, was it in HDD slot or Superdrive or both, question is and can you link the SSD drives with out having to use two Sata slots on the IMac's motherboard.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Its not possible to run 2 SATA drives off one port. What I did was to remove my HDD, and plug one into that socket, and the other into the other SATA socket that is now present for an SSD. The Superdrive still remains, as it uses the 3rd SATA.
Then i put my 1TB HDD into an external FW800 enclosure.
 
Benchmarks

timinireland said:
Whats the standard benchmarking program people use on the Mac?

XBench ?
Click to expand...

There are three benchmark tests available for Macs:

-Xbench (a bit old now but covers disk i/o so still valuable)
-Cinebench (worth a look just to see how the machine goes)
-Geekbench (basically how powerful your cpu/memory is but still cool).
 
timinireland said:
XBench results after one test.. Good? Bad?.


Results 420.33
System Info
Xbench Version 1.3
System Version 10.6.4 (10F2056)
Physical RAM 4096 MB
Model iMac11,3
Drive Type Untitled RAID Set 1
Disk Test 420.33
Sequential 317.71
Uncached Write 634.31 389.46 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 478.06 270.49 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 136.81 40.04 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 620.20 311.71 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 620.88
Uncached Write 248.64 26.32 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 825.56 264.29 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 2665.66 18.89 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 1198.92 222.47 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Click to expand...

Just as a follow up to this post, here are Xbench results for one SSD installed.

Results 287.96
System Info
Xbench Version 1.3
System Version 10.6.4 (10F2056)
Physical RAM 8192 MB
Model iMac11,3
Drive Type OCZ-VERTEX
Disk Test 287.96
Sequential 270.30
Uncached Write 410.87 252.27 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 325.55 184.20 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 147.26 43.10 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 399.69 200.88 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 308.08
Uncached Write 104.94 11.11 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 537.70 172.14 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 3047.19 21.59 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 789.76 146.55 MB/sec [256K blocks]
 
timinireland said:
Well I have installed my 2 OCZ Vertex 120GB drives...

Who needs brackets.. Just throw them in there and tie them up with some cable ties.... Happy days... lol 🙂

Boot time from the chime to fully loaded 17s

I love my new iMac.. 🙂

4933387364
Click to expand...

Is there a DIY guide you followed, or did you just go by the info found here? Im interested because I have a 128gb SSD drive on its way, and will be doing this upgrade soon.
 
Disk Test 400.29
Sequential 223.43
Uncached Write 302.95 186.01 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 299.37 169.38 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 115.35 33.76 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 385.72 193.86 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 1039.16
Uncached Write 1498.56 158.64 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 519.29 166.24 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 3542.27 25.10 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 1026.76 190.52 MB/sec [256K blocks]

I just installed a single 240gb Vertex 2 drive. It looks like with your raid configuration, you're a lot faster than me in the Sequential test, but a lot slower in the Random test. I don't know how much of that is because of the raid, and how much is because the SSD I'm using is a newer generation than yours are.

EDIT: Also, I don't know how these tests work on a technical level. Maybe my random score was high because it was less random than yours, since the OS was the only thing written to the drive when I ran the test?
 
Here are some of my Xbench results:

2 Corsair Force F120 SSD in RAID0:

128kb Stripe size:

Disk Test 391.87
Sequential 230.72
Uncached Write 470.57 288.92 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 437.58 247.59 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 91.41 26.75 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 503.05 252.83 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 1299.73
Uncached Write 1660.64 175.80 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 747.36 239.26 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 2811.70 19.92 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 1279.30 237.38 MB/sec [256K blocks]

32kb Stripe size:

Disk Test 395.06
Sequential 232.15
Uncached Write 490.98 301.45 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 414.09 234.29 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 88.15 25.80 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 697.52 350.57 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 1324.61
Uncached Write 1406.64 148.91 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 796.05 254.85 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 2813.07 19.93 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 1434.41 266.17 MB/sec [256K blocks]


Unfortunately I decided I really need to be able to run Bootcamp which I was unable to make work with Software RAIDO as others have done w/ Mac Pro's having more than 2 drives. I reverted to a Single SSD for OSX and plan to use the other SSD disk for Bootcamp. (unless I decide to sacrifice the optical drive to add a 3rd SSD for Bootcamp and then go back to RAID0 OS/Boot drive....)

Here are the single Force F120 results:

128kb Stripe size

Disk Test 311.82
Sequential 193.34
Uncached Write 253.15 155.43 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 258.72 146.39 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 99.19 29.03 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 358.15 180.01 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 805.32
Uncached Write 733.67 77.67 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 450.58 144.25 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 3105.64 22.01 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 941.08 174.62 MB/sec [256K blocks]
 
Here are the results from my single Crucial C300 256GB.


Results 412.21
System Info
Xbench Version 1.3
System Version 10.6.4 (10F2061)
Physical RAM 4096 MB
Model iMac11,3
Drive Type C300-CTFDDAC256MAG
Disk Test 412.21
Sequential 262.64
Uncached Write 377.59 231.83 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 323.08 182.80 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 141.99 41.55 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 409.19 205.66 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 957.53
Uncached Write 836.97 88.60 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 595.58 190.67 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 2922.32 20.71 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 1040.16 193.01 MB/sec [256K blocks]
 
This is mine:

System Info
Xbench Version 1.3
System Version 10.6.4 (10F2056)
Physical RAM 12288 MB
Model iMac11,3
Drive Type C300-CTFDDAC256MAG
Disk Test 401.99
Sequential 255.32
Uncached Write 367.89 225.88 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 325.33 184.07 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 134.50 39.36 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 409.90 206.01 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 944.64
Uncached Write 817.31 86.52 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 591.62 189.40 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 2891.87 20.49 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 1025.83 190.35 MB/sec [256K blocks]
 
Damn, those RealSSD numbers are amazing!!! I looked very hard at getting one of those but was worried about the lack of Trim support in OSX and no background garbage collection on the RealSSD drives. How do you guys plan to manage performance going forward?
 
wirelessness said:
Damn, those RealSSD numbers are amazing!!! I looked very hard at getting one of those but was worried about the lack of Trim support in OSX and no background garbage collection on the RealSSD drives. How do you guys plan to manage performance going forward?
Click to expand...

These drives do have background (firmware level) GC. I am not sure why there is a rumor on this site to the contrary.

Going forward? I am trying to decide if I buy another one and raid 0 them. Not for the boost in performance, just because I would love to have a 512GB system disc.
 
symbology said:
These drives do have background (firmware level) GC. I am not sure why there is a rumor on this site to the contrary.

Going forward? I am trying to decide if I buy another one and raid 0 them. Not for the boost in performance, just because I would love to have a 512GB system disc.
Click to expand...

The rumor was started by Anantech. They were pretty clear about it not being a good option for Mac users. If that's not true, I'm kinda pissed because the RealSSD is a smoking drive that I left off my list for that exact reason.

I experimented with my two F120 drives in RAID0 and in Single Drive mode. The speed is noticeable but not really necessary for what I typically do. I went back to RAID0 because of the boost in speed and double the volume size as well.
 
wirelessness said:
The rumor was started by Anantech. They were pretty clear about it not being a good option for Mac users. If that's not true, I'm kinda pissed because the RealSSD is a smoking drive that I left off my list for that exact reason.

I experimented with my two F120 drives in RAID0 and in Single Drive mode. The speed is noticeable but not really necessary for what I typically do. I went back to RAID0 because of the boost in speed and double the volume size as well.
Click to expand...

If you go back and read that review they basically exploited the "slow" GC process of these and highlighted the benefit of the Sandforce controller which does GC on the fly. Under normal and even heavy use the C300 GC works great. Run tests by hammering the drive and filling it up 100% with a bunch of random writes, erase and do it again, well yeah..... The C300's GC will not keep up with that while a Sandforce controlled drive would be fine.

For most normal users the GC on these drives is fine.

If you move a lot of files in and out of your file system (all the time) and never let the GC keep up, then you might see an issue.

Well, at least this is they way I see it after doing plenty of research. Time will tell If I do get slow write performance over time, I will just have to manually clean the drives. I am not expecting to have to do that though.

I also liked having the Sata 6Gb/sec port to "future proof" the drives.
 
One last thing.... while I don't think it will be an issue, it still could be. The GC process on these drives is somewhat slow and needs idle time on the disk.

With your Sandforce drives you will have similar concerns once the controller's Duraclass takes over the drive.
 
Good explanation, and that was my arguments when i decided to got for C300.

But I would like to add another tip:
- Sandforce "trick" to get great speeds are based on data compression on the fly, before saving it to flash

If you work with high compression data, the performance just drop considerably. That will be my case.

I'm also considering the dual ssd in a near future, since i've already prepared my iMac:
- removed HDD
- add a left angle sata cable (red)
- add a y-cable sata power
- add an 3,5 -> dual 2,5 adapter that fits like a charm on the 3,5 bay.

So, the next step is buy another C300, remove glass and lcd, insert ssd on tray and close: 10 min process 🙂
 

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