Improving SSD performance

[jnjroach]

I think the danger here is not all SP3's use the Samsung SSD....

 

[Nicola]

I'm not convinced. The wording of what I have read does in fact sound like it's for a spinning disk. Modern SSD drives do wear leveling and Windows does maintenance in the background. Sounds like hocus pocus.

True, bat the issue is not related to wearing an whatever Windows might do in terms of maintenance.
The issue with Samsung SSD firmware is that the cells that have been written long time ago have a slower read speed.
Since the wearing leveling manages the way data writes are distributed and Win maintenance cleans cells that are deleted, you see there is a case.

 

[wditters]

I think the danger here is not all SP3's use the Samsung SSD....

Most laptop manufacturers are mixing a number of OEM SSD brands for reasons of production continuity, and when they (if at all) decide to upgrade the firmware of any of those SSDs, they have processes in place that prevent you from flashing the wrong firmware

 

[GreyFox7]

My concern is this getting a life of its own like throttling, where long after the issue is gone (if there is an issue) there will be people doing stuff unnecessarily with placebo effects and making rash claims using unscientific means.

 

[ctitanic]

I think the danger here is not all SP3's use the Samsung SSD....

The screen shots are showing Samsung

 

[Nicola]

My concern is this getting a life of its own like throttling, where long after the issue is gone (if there is an issue) there will be people doing stuff unnecessarily with placebo effects and making rash claims using unscientific means.

The thing is: Samsung 840 EVO SSD have this bug and I recently updated the firmware+refreshed the data using the Samsung tool on my laptop (not SP3).
The fact that SP3 SSD is affected by the same bug is to be proven BUT I run a test before, I refreshed the data with the tool and run a test after.
These are the results:

- before the refresh:

- after the refresh:

Now, to be honest, this is not exactly what I would expect from this bug (the first graph should look different) but it's definitely not a placebo effect

 

[jnjroach]

The screen shots are showing Samsung

But those running Hynix SSDs who try this will get errors and frustrated....

 

[Nicola]

But those running Hynix SSDs who try this will get errors and frustrated....

No error should be given, since the tool is agnostic (actually it's even for mechanical HDD).
They would (probably) not see any improvement as well.

 

[GreyFox7]

The thing is: Samsung 840 EVO SSD have this bug and I recently updated the firmware+refreshed the data using the Samsung tool on my laptop (not SP3).
The fact that SP3 SSD is affected by the same bug is to be proven BUT I run a test before, I refreshed the data with the tool and run a test after.
These are the results:

- before the refresh:
View attachment 4256

- after the refresh:
View attachment 4257

Now, to be honest, this is not exactly what I would expect from this bug (the first graph should look different) but it's definitely not a placebo effect

Mixed results notwithstanding it should be examined but the danger is others not so careful or knowledgeable getting off track. Which is why a quick investigation and response from MS would help nip this in the bud before wild speculation and misinformation proliferate but that's the nature of the Internet.

 

[leeshor]

Agree, but there is an issue with Samsung SSD

If so then I don't have an answer. I have installed dozens Samsung EVO drives in new systems and as replacements over the last several months and haven't seen a problem. There was a firmware upgrade for the Pro 250 about 2 months ago but I don't know what that upgrade addressed. There hasn't been one for the EVO in some time.

If the drive is in fact a standard EVO drive the Samsung Magician should run and when executed will tell you if there is a firmware upgrade, on the fly. However, if it is an EVO drive it could be an OEM version so that may not work.

The Magician software has an OS tuneup component that can be run at any time. I;m not certain what it does but I typically run it once every 6 months for the systems I support that have Samsung SSDs installed.

 

[leeshor]

True, bat the issue is not related to wearing an whatever Windows might do in terms of maintenance.
The issue with Samsung SSD firmware is that the cells that have been written long time ago have a slower read speed.
Since the wearing leveling manages the way data writes are distributed and Win maintenance cleans cells that are deleted, you see there is a case.

The Samsung controller/firmware does garbage collection, which sounds like what you are talking about. That makes a previously used cell ready for the next write without having to go clean that cell first. It does it when the system is idle.

 

[Jesse San Nicolas]

If so then I don't have an answer. I have installed dozens Samsung EVO drives in new systems and as replacements over the last several months and haven't seen a problem. There was a firmware upgrade for the Pro 250 about 2 months ago but I don't know what that upgrade addressed. There hasn't been one for the EVO in some time.

If the drive is in fact a standard EVO drive the Samsung Magician should run and when executed will tell you if there is a firmware upgrade, on the fly. However, if it is an EVO drive it could be an OEM version so that may not work.

The Magician software has an OS tuneup component that can be run at any time. I;m not certain what it does but I typically run it once every 6 months for the systems I support that have Samsung SSDs installed.

Sadly, the Samsung Magician software does not recognize my SP3's Samsung SSD as being a Samsung SSD! Just wanted to tune my Samsung SSD for performance. I really love the Samsung Magician software though, but had to uninstall as it's useless on the SP3.

Wonder what kind of SSD speeds the hynix SP3's are getting compared to my nerfed Samsung SSD.