We made no other major modifications to our storage test system, since the hardware is still quite current. We stuck with our Supermicro X8SAX motherboard, based on Intel’s X58 chipset and LGA 1366 interface. We only equipped the system with three Corsair 1GB DDR3-1333 DIMMs, given that more memory won't aid in storage testing. The system runs a 2.66 GHz, quad-core Core i7-920.

We did make a couple other minor configuration changes. Windows Vista is being replaced by Windows 7 Ultimate to introduce TRIM support, and we installed an additional Highpoint SATA 6Gb/s controller. The latter uses a Marvell 88SE9128 chip and works at a gross throughput of 600 MB/s instead of the onboard controller’s 300 MB/s. So far, Crucial's RealSSD C300 is the only SSD that supports SATA 6Gb/s, but others are sure to follow soon. You’ll find test results on this Crucial SSD in the next part of this article.

 

Read Full Article here