GA890GPA - UD3H + SSD, guide me through optimal install process + BIOS settings

[crzylgs]

Hi all, posting from work but i plan to re-build my system this weekend.

Spec is as follows:

GA890GPA - UD3H
AMD x4 965
2x2GB DDR3 1600 RAM
1 x Cruical 64GB SSD
1 x Sata CD/DVD
AMD HD 6870 (will be adding another for X-Fire after install)
Corsair 850HX PSU

Will also add 1-2 'traditional' HDs for data, not in raid, after inital install.

My reasons for the reinstall are:
- swapping out graphics card for x-fire 6870's
- some 'quirky' behavior from system / applications, basically when i was installing 1st time around i had trouble setting AHCI mode and ended up installing in IDE mode!

My plan atm is to:
- enable AHCI in BIOS.
- boot from Win7 x64 DVD
- spam F6 to load AHCI/SATA drivers.
- this is where some uncertainty creeps in... do i need to load all the drivers from the motherboard support page? There are seperate AMD AHCI drivers + Gigabyte SATA drivers...
- continue as usual win Win install + then load drivers through windows, chipset, gpx, sound etc etc.

Thanks in advance guys and girls!

[crzylgs]

Was in a rush posting my OP while finishing up at work.

Bit of an update:

My reason for making this post is because i am massively confused by the range of conflicting opinions i have encountered when researching the best way to set up an SSD on an AMD system.

These include:

- dont use AMD AHCI driver is cr*p, use the default MS one instead
- use the AMD driver because its not cra*p and gives trim support etc.
- dont' bother with ACHI at all just use legacy/IDE mode (miss out on TRIM support though???)

In summary i want the best performance possible for my system, that will be using a SSD for the OS + traditional HDs for data / programs etc. RAID is not going to enter the equation.

Thanks again.

[absic]

Hi there,

I can say from my own experiments with the AMD and Microsoft AHCI drivers on the GA-890FXA-UD5 with ordinary HDD's that the AMD Drivers were a fraction slower, however this should not be an issue especially if you are running an SSD.

Both the AMD AHCI Drivers and Windows 7 AHCI ones work OK and as I don't have an SSD I have stuck with the ones installed by Microsoft''s Windows 7 and have had no problems.

The best advice I can offer here is if you are going to run Windows 7 then just go with the Microsoft drivers as that is what I would do. If you are really concerned and wish to find the best solution you can run some tests then load the AMD AHCI Drivers and run the tests again to see which actually perform better for your own system. CrystalDisk Mark (download from here: http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDiskMark/index-e.html ) is a good piece of free software for testing read/write speeds.

[crzylgs]

Started attempting my rebuild... and i've remembered what was really f**king weird last time!

If i set SATA mode to 'AHCI' in BIOS, then restart with just the SSD plugged in (DVD drive plugged into SATA 5 = IDE mode) the maching hangs after the initial MEM test on the detecting drives part. It only sees the DVD drive.

If i power off and try again, there seems to be a 50% chance that i'll be able to enter BIOS but, the SSD is not detected :S

Can anyone make any sense out of that? Because i cant :S