*TERRIBLE* "Write" speeds w/2x Samsung 850 Pro Internal SSD (RAID-0).. HELP! (+pics)

[lip5016]

http://imgur.com/a/5p05u

Hello.. I was really hoping somebody could help me out with this, as I'm pretty much starting to lose hope..

I've attached as many relative screenshots as possible, to make it easier to quickly see what's going on.

I've got 2x brand-new, Samsung 850 Pro 512GB SSD's installed inside my MacBook Pro.. One inside the hard-drive bay, and one inside the Optical Bay (SuperDrive Bay), using an OWC Data-Doubler..

I've got these drives configured using Disk Utility, into a RAID-0 striped configuration..

The drives are rated @:

Sequential Read: 550MB/s
Sequential Write: 520MB/s

So "theoretically", I should be achieving approximately close to double these speeds (since that's the basis behind RAID-0 configurations)

Both SSD's are connected internally via SATA-III (6Gigabit Link + 6Gigabit Negotiated Link Speed).. Both in the hard-drive bay, as well as in the Optical Bay (confirmed in pictures)..

I'm getting *EXCELLENT* "Read" Speeds, yet *HORRIBLE* "Write Speeds.. to the point that the RAID-0 software configuration is not even achieving *near* the "Write" Speed of even one of these drives.. let alone 2 of these drives in RAID-0..

I've tried contacting Samsung directly regarding this issue, but since they don't exactly get along with Apple, and even more-so, dislike anything that has to do with "RAID" configurations, I was left with practically no help on that end..

I've tried contacting Apple, who said that I'm pretty much on my own, in terms of support, since they don't exactly get along with Samsung either.. and don't provide much of any support whatsoever, when it comes to third-party, hardware components that are not upgraded directly through Apple themselves.. (aka no support for user-end personal upgrades)

Both of these drives are *Brand New* directly out-of-the-box, shipped from Amazon, as "new, un-opened" items..

About This Mac:

System Report (Detailed):

The rest I will go on w/bullet-points, for easier reading purposes:

Freshly installed, OSX Mavericks 10.9.5
-Both SSD's individually formatted GUID
-then created into RAID-0, striped configuration
-16K block size .. the minimum selection available (I work with many small files)
-all done using OSX Recovery Assistant + OSX Mavericks full installer, loaded onto externally connected hard-drive
-both showing up as "Online" in Disk Utility
-"Repair Disk" and "Repair Permissions" ran on every single thing possible within OSX Recovery Assistant's "Disk Utility".. everything showing as perfect
-install of OSX Mavericks 10.9.5 completed without any issues whatsoever

Cindori TRIM Enabler 3.3
-*Purchased*, fully-upgraded, installed properly
-TRIM Enabler showing 100% clear, working "status"
-TRIM Enabler settings all set via direct, specific instructions provided by Samsung support

OSX Hardware Tests:
-Basic Hardware Test (quick) = No Problems Found
-Extended Hardware Test (long) = No Problems Found

OSX Disk Utility (after bootup):
-"Repair Disk" and "Repair Permissions" ran on every single thing possible .. everything showing as perfect
-both RAID slices showing as "green" and "Online"

PRAM:
-Manually reset

SMC:
-Manually reset

Physical file-copy tests (aside from benchmarks):
-Proving terribly slow performance (not anywhere near the copy+paste speed of even 1 of the SSD's, let alone 2 of them, exact same model and size, configured RAID-0)


I apologize in advance if there's a lot of pictures to go through, however, I know how much of a pain in the ass it can be to troubleshoot these sort of problems, let alone, try to help somebody else troubleshoot these problems while not physically being there in person.. I tried to provide the most comprehensive troubleshooting steps I've taken thus far, as to hopefully make this thread as fruitful as possible, and eliminate any unnecessary steps that have already been taken..

I've tried re-formatting and re-installing OSX Mavericks 10.9.5 several times now, hoping that maybe one of them would allow the RAID formation to work as it should, yet none so far have proven successful..

If you have any time to look through and read this thread, I can't tell you how appreciative I'd be for your help and any advice possible that you can give me.. I do large amounts of audio processing, producing, along with many other taxing system processes, so I'd really like to get this RAID-0 configuration working as it should be..

Please do not waste your time by bashing RAID-0 or writing an unhelpful, opinionated comment that does not move this process forward.. I understand the risks of RAID-0, I run daily backups, as well as having an Apple Time Capsule running in full-force, all day long.. My data is well backed-up, and I understand the risks.

If anybody has dealt with this sort of issue before, please, give me any advice that you can.. I tried to put in the most effort possible with uploading and embedding all of these photos, as to not waste your time and to hopefully make this troubleshooting process as smooth as possible

Thank you all so much in advance!

 

[joecool99]

mystery indeed. seems you did all standard i can think of.

 

[stapoz]

I'd not really believed the Blackmagic tester. I've got very similar SSD (500/550 MBps - http://www.cnet.com/products/sandisk-extreme-2/) and my results by the tester are on the pict. I have TRIM on, and everything (system, apps) works extremely fast, so no reason to worry about what the tester says

 

[macproraid]

Probleme solved?

<snip>

Hello, hope you're well, i would like to know if you finally solved your problem? cause i have the same problem and there is no way to have a solution... and i don't really know what else can i do... please let me know

thanks a lot

 

[chrfr]

Hello, hope you're well, i would like to know if you finally solved your problem? cause i have the same problem and there is no way to have a solution... and i don't really know what else can i do... please let me know

thanks a lot

SATA 3 SSDs do not work reliably at full speed in the optical bay of 2011 Macbook Pros.

 

[macproraid]

SATA 3 SSDs do not work reliably at full speed in the optical bay of 2011 Macbook Pros.

Hello, please find attached my mac infos, i have a Mac Pro 2012 5.1 OS X with Yosemite software (you can see the whole infos attached, with one Sonnet Tempo SSD PCIe Driver Card and 2 Samsung hard drive 840 Pro, in raid 0. I put them 1 year ago and everything was working fine, now the speed test result are really bad and the number is very low (see attached a screen capture from the last test i did) i don't know what to do... and i don't know which can be the problem, please let me know

thanks in advance

 

[oksnr]

Did you ever find a solution to the problem.

I've got two 850 Pro Samsung SSD drives as well, setup on RAID 0 in a 3,1 mac pro. Getting really inconsistent and slower than expected speeds.

Thanks!

http://imgur.com/a/5p05u

Hello.. I was really hoping somebody could help me out with this, as I'm pretty much starting to lose hope..

I've attached as many relative screenshots as possible, to make it easier to quickly see what's going on.

I've got 2x brand-new, Samsung 850 Pro 512GB SSD's installed inside my MacBook Pro.. One inside the hard-drive bay, and one inside the Optical Bay (SuperDrive Bay), using an OWC Data-Doubler..

...

Thank you all so much in advance!

 

[lip5016]

Did you ever find a solution to the problem.

I've got two 850 Pro Samsung SSD drives as well, setup on RAID 0 in a 3,1 mac pro. Getting really inconsistent and slower than expected speeds.

Thanks!

I'm still operating my MacBook Pro w/the 2x Samsung 850 Pro 512GB SSD's (internal).

After going through about half a dozen re-formats (no exaggeration), testing everything possible, I've come to the conclusion that the Samsung 850 PRO's do not work properly in RAID formation on a MacBook Pro.

After a fresh RAID-0 install, I get exceptional speed ratings (about 1000megabyte+/sec read and read/write), but gradually reduces to essentially garbage after a week or two (write speeds of like 200megabyte/sec).

This same thing keeps reoccurring, no matter how many fresh installs and reformats I do.

Sucks too because for the speed I was getting, I really wish that it could have stayed consistently that fast, instead of always dropping down to utter ******* after a few days/weeks.

For the record, this has been tested using both BlackMagic Disk Speed Test, Cindori TRIM Enabler, and a few others, all reporting back same findings.

Either way though, I have to say the 850 PRO's are still exceptional drives, even without being placed into RAID formation (mind you, I've never tried RAID-1, only RAID-0). When they are *not* in RAID formation, they consistently show about 520megabyte/sec read/write speeds, even months later.

These speeds are great, and even though RAID-0 is aggressively-fast, it's not worth it since those speed test results drop DRAMATICALLY after a week or two.

Another thing I should mention is this:

DO NOT UPGRADE TO OSX YOSEMITE!

The reason for this is that OSX Yosemite does not allow for third-party TRIM software, due to the new kext signing implementation. When using Samsung 850 PRO's, it's recommended by Samsung (and the internet) that you should use Cindori TRIM Enabler with these drives for optimal performance.

OSX Yosemite does not allow for Cindori TRIM Enabler to work, as explained in this link:

https://www.cindori.org/trim-enabler-and-yosemite/

This essentially means that I will be forced to stay on OSX Mavericks for as long as I want to properly use these Samsung 850 PRO SSD's.

Either that, or hope that Apple has a change of heart, which is unlikely going to happen.

 

[m4v3r1ck]

*TERRIBLE* "Write" speeds w/2x Samsung 850 Pro Internal SSD (RAID-0).. HELP! ...

Trim Enabler DOES work on Yosemite! As long as you keep in mind that when you do an update, to first DISABLE TE, reboot, update, reboot, ENABLE TE, reboot and you're up-and-running with TE again!

That's my routine!

Cheers

 

[oksnr]

Thanks for the follow-up. I really don't want to stay on Mavericks so thats probably not an option. I experienced the same thing you did. Really fast speeds that degraded, even with a fresh formatting and installation. I've tried 3 times now.

I used to have 1 850 pro on a solo PCIe card and it was great, really fast and most importantly consistent.

The RAID 0 setup I have now with the Velocity Duo x2 is all over the place and write speeds are terrible.

I think I'll put one of my 850 Pro drives in my macbook pro and then go back to just one in my Mac Pro.

Thanks again.

I'm still operating my MacBook Pro w/the 2x Samsung 850 Pro 512GB SSD's (internal).

After going through about half a dozen re-formats (no exaggeration), testing everything possible, I've come to the conclusion that the Samsung 850 PRO's do not work properly in RAID formation on a MacBook Pro.

After a fresh RAID-0 install, I get exceptional speed ratings (about 1000megabyte+/sec read and read/write), but gradually reduces to essentially garbage after a week or two (write speeds of like 200megabyte/sec).

This same thing keeps reoccurring, no matter how many fresh installs and reformats I do.

Sucks too because for the speed I was getting, I really wish that it could have stayed consistently that fast, instead of always dropping down to utter ******* after a few days/weeks.

For the record, this has been tested using both BlackMagic Disk Speed Test, Cindori TRIM Enabler, and a few others, all reporting back same findings.

Either way though, I have to say the 850 PRO's are still exceptional drives, even without being placed into RAID formation (mind you, I've never tried RAID-1, only RAID-0). When they are *not* in RAID formation, they consistently show about 520megabyte/sec read/write speeds, even months later.

These speeds are great, and even though RAID-0 is aggressively-fast, it's not worth it since those speed test results drop DRAMATICALLY after a week or two.

Another thing I should mention is this:

DO NOT UPGRADE TO OSX YOSEMITE!

The reason for this is that OSX Yosemite does not allow for third-party TRIM software, due to the new kext signing implementation. When using Samsung 850 PRO's, it's recommended by Samsung (and the internet) that you should use Cindori TRIM Enabler with these drives for optimal performance.

OSX Yosemite does not allow for Cindori TRIM Enabler to work, as explained in this link:

https://www.cindori.org/trim-enabler-and-yosemite/

This essentially means that I will be forced to stay on OSX Mavericks for as long as I want to properly use these Samsung 850 PRO SSD's.

Either that, or hope that Apple has a change of heart, which is unlikely going to happen.

----------

I tried trim enabler and it didn't improve anything for me.

Also, I don't want to disable for reboots. My luck I'll forget that and then its just a headache.

Thanks for the info.

Trim Enabler DOES work on Yosemite! As long as you keep in mind that when you do an update, to first DISABLE TE, reboot, update, reboot, ENABLE TE, reboot and you're up-and-running with TE again!

That's my routine!

Cheers

 

[m4v3r1ck]

*TERRIBLE* "Write" speeds w/2x Samsung 850 Pro Internal SSD (RAID-0).. HELP! ...

Did you ever find a solution to the problem.



I've got two 850 Pro Samsung SSD drives as well, setup on RAID 0 in a 3,1 mac pro. Getting really inconsistent and slower than expected speeds.



Thanks!

What PCIe slot# are you using? Slot # 1/2 is the way to go for the DUO x2 in a MP 3.1! Assuming your GPU is in slot #1, so slot #2 is best choise! What are your benches now in BlackMagic or AJA?

Cheers

 

[oksnr]

I am using slot 2. I have my video card in slot 1.

Black Magic is attached The theme here is inconsistency and generally really terrible write speeds. I have seen up to 700MB/s read and write speeds, only very shortly when I first formatted and installed Yosemite.

Thanks for the help.

What PCIe slot# are you using? Slot # 1/2 is the way to go for the DUO x2 in a MP 3.1! Assuming your GPU is in slot #1, so slot #2 is best choise! What are your benches now in BlackMagic or AJA?

Cheers

 

[m4v3r1ck]

I am using slot 2. I have my video card in slot 1.



Black Magic is attached The theme here is inconsistency and generally really terrible write speeds. I have seen up to 700MB/s read and write speeds, only very shortly when I first formatted and installed Yosemite.



Thanks for the help.

Perhaps you should put both SSD's in the SATA2 HDD bays and first BM test them seperately to rule out individual SSD failures, and them softraid them in RAID0 while installed there. And run the BM test again for the RAID0 to check consistancy in read/write speeds?

Cheers

 

[oksnr]

Although time consuming, that's probably a good approach to try and find the issue. Thanks for the help.

Perhaps you should put both SSD's in the SATA2 HDD bays and first BM test them seperately to rule out individual SSD failures, and them softraid them in RAID0 while installed there. And run the BM test again for the RAID0 to check consistancy in read/write speeds?

Cheers

 

[m4v3r1ck]

Although time consuming, that's probably a good approach to try and find the issue. Thanks for the help.

Perhaps an overkill, but "don't forget to backup!" ;-)

Good luck and please report back with your benches.

Cheers

 

[oksnr]

Instead of highjacking this thread anymore than I already have, I'm going to continue my test results and other questions over on the thread I originally started that describes my problems.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1876655/

I have an interesting question about my card version if you get a chance. Thanks all.

Perhaps an overkill, but "don't forget to backup!" ;-)

Good luck and please report back with your benches.

Cheers

 

[mandy2tom]

Hello.. I was really hoping somebody could help me out with this, as I'm pretty much starting to lose hope...

sign on as a single user, reboot wait for sound hold “command-s” and use the command "fsck -fy" which will trim unused blocks. then type reboot to exit

what will work to speed up ssd on an encrypted drive is
“secure erase free space” in disk utility
it writes 0’s 250gb took 30 min
back to full speed

----------

sign on as a single user, reboot wait for sound hold “command-s” and use the command "fsck -fy" which will trim unused blocks. then type reboot to exit

what will work to speed up ssd on an encrypted drive is
“secure erase free space” in disk utility
it writes 0’s 250gb took 30 min
back to full speed

 

[m4v3r1ck]

*TERRIBLE* "Write" speeds w/2x Samsung 850 Pro Internal SSD (RAID-0).. HELP! ...

sign on as a single user, reboot wait for sound hold “command-s” and use the command "fsck -fy" which will trim unused blocks. then type reboot to exit
what will work to speed up ssd on an encrypted drive is

“secure erase free space” in disk utility

it writes 0’s 250gb took 30 min

back to full speed

----------

Anticipating the OP feedback on this! Thanks for sharing your workaround.

Cheers

 

[Tonitest]

I experienced same problem on my Macbookpro8.1 15" early 2011 / Mac OS 10.10
I believe the problem is the build in SSD controller chip's mechanism to optimize SSD TLS wearing cycle that lead to the problem. Which was report as known issue as EVO 840
Ref:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2887255/samsung-promises-yet-another-fix-for-slowed-840-evo-ssds.html

I have Samsung 850 EVO 250G as my Mac OS disk and org. Mac 320G disk docked at the DVD-RW bay.
Luckily I FIX the poor read/write by that way:
1. backup my data in SSD into my old mac harddisk
2. Follow the Apple support doc. to create a new partition on my Mac OS SSD (Samsung EVO 850", i.e. one disk with 2 partitions with equal size (~125G each)

Note: I pick "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" for new partition format.
https://support.apple.com/kb/ph5845?locale=en_US

Open Disk Utility, in the Utilities folder in Launchpad.

1. Select the disk where you want to create a new partition and click Partition.
2. Select an existing partition in the Volume Scheme list, and click Add (+).
   Disk Utility splits the partition into two, leaving the data from that partition in one of the new partitions. If the partition is less than half-full, Disk Utility creates two partitions of equal size. Otherwise, it creates one partition large enough for the data, and another partition with the remaining space.
   
   
3. Resize the partitions as needed.(optional)
   You can drag the dividers between the partitions in the Volume Scheme list, or you can select a partition in the Volume Scheme list, and then enter a value in the Size field.
   
   
4. Choose how to format the partitions that will be erased or created.
   For each new partition, select it, enter a name, and then choose a format.
   
   
5. Click Apply.

After the disk partition completed, I reboot the macbook and found the performance of disk is back to normal.

Wish this help.
Toni

 

[crazeazn]

Would i encounter similar problems with a 2012 mac mini? I'm debating which SSDs to purchase to run RAID 0

 

[sketcg34]

You may be experiencing this issue:
http://blog.macsales.com/11895-2011-macbook-pro-sata-problems-resolved

I had the above problem on my Early 2011 MBP. Basically on some of the 2011 MBPs there is no way to run a 6GB/s drive in the optical bay. You will experience spotty performance, spinning beach ball etc. But that article has all the details.

 

[khaidir77]

happening to me now..same thing.previously my write speed was 900++ now falls to 340..damn

and previously was

i did asked few Mac specialists here..they said most likely is my SATA CABLE problem...

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

@lip5016: iThink™ that your problem is, that Apple does not support RAID for SSDs (TRIM support, and so on). Starting with Lion and therefore CS (CoreStorage) Apple prefers "Fusion Drives". Such FDs should support RAID-like configurations and TRIM.

 

[khaidir77]

its ok.yeahh repaired and back to normal speed!!! before this when i did Benchmark Speedtest on my SSD RAID..my Write Speed dropped half frm previous speed but READ speed was ok...google n asked arnd for answers n solution..got mixed feedbacks..some say my SATA CABLE problem..some said the SSD..so i cloned the contents..reformat..etc..
Clean Reformat /Reinstall/Disk Warrior ......perfect!!!

Previously was like this

 

[xie bai]

1. I bought a 2nd hand HP Elite 8200 CMT pc because it has i7 2600, put 2 new Samsung Pro 120GB SSDs as raid 0. At first read/write 1020/940 MB/S. After testing virtual machines for some time and one day i found write speed dropped to 120 MB/S.
2. I tried all different ways in 2 days in order to regain the write speed of 940 MB/S but didn't work. I was gonna give up raid 0 and only use ARCH/IDE with 1 SSD to get read/write 520/470 MB/S until i tried this way:
3. F10 -> Ctrl + I -> Delete raid disk -> F10 -> Change RAID to IDE mode
4. Boot up with Windows 7 disk -> Select Repair Computer -> Go to Windows Command Prompt
5. Select disk 0 -> Clear -> Create Primary Partition -> Format disk 0 NTFS (not quick mode)
6. Select disk 1 -> Clear -> Create Primary Partition -> Format disk 1 NTFS (not quick mode)
7. F10 -> Change IDE to RAID mode -> Ctrl + I -> Create raid disk -> Install Windows 7 again
8. Now the read/write speed is back to 1020/940 MB/S.