Well, after months of readin' and researchin' I finally did some purchasin'. For my new flightsim cockpit I decided to go fully the AMD route and see how she does. Here's the list - hope it all works together:CPU: AMD Phenom II Black Edition 6-core 1090TMotherboard: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD MotherboardRAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (7-8-7-24) Model F3-12800CL7D-8GBRHVideo: AMD Radeon 6970 (when released next week?)Hard Drives: (2)Western Digital VelociRaptor WD6000HLHX 600GB 10000 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" (2)Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000HLHX 300GB 10000 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU CoolerPSU: KINGWIN Mach 1 ABT-1000MA1S 1000W ATX / BTX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Case: CoolerMaster 932 HAF X Full TowerI saved so much money going with the 6-Core AMD rather than a 6-core Intel that at the last moment I purchased a solid state drive in case I start messing with FSX. This would be to put FSX on. Not to be used for the OS. Here's what I got:Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)So then I read some thread talking about "TRIM", and that I need it. Does this have it? Will this work ok? Thanks,Clutch

So then I read some thread talking about "TRIM", and that I need it. Does this have it? Will this work ok? Thanks,Clutch

Yes it has Trim, but you have to enable AHCI in the bios to use it. This will degrade your mechanical drive performance. You should do a clean install of the OS after you turn AHCI on.I am not an AMD user, not sure the current AMD ACHI driver supports TRIM. DO not unstall the AMD AHCI driver untill you confirm that it supports Trim. If not use the Generic MS AHCI driver.

GaryWhat reference do you have to say that TRIM only works in AHCI mode? I was under the impression that it was developed for IDE mode and ACHI driver support was added later? I still think that there are issues for SSDs in AHCI/RAID configuration wrt TRIM.RegardsPeterH

GaryWhat reference do you have to say that TRIM only works in AHCI mode? I was under the impression that it was developed for IDE mode and ACHI driver support was added later? I still think that there are issues for SSDs in AHCI/RAID configuration wrt TRIM.RegardsPeterH

Good call, yes TRIM is available in IDE mode but W7 will not detect it automatically unless in AHCI mode.I am not aware of any issues with SSD and AHCI mode, most recommend AHCI mode with SSD. Do you have any references that indicate the issue?only issue I know of is the mechanical drives will not like NCQ.Edit:probably best to check with the specific manufacturer to see if AHCI is recommended or not. But then how do we enable TRIM? Need to find out if the SSD comes with firmware TRIM support that will work in IDE mode.

Good call, yes TRIM is available in IDE mode but W7 will not detect it automatically unless in AHCI mode.I am not aware of any issues with SSD and AHCI mode, most recommend AHCI mode with SSD. Do you have any references that indicate the issue?only issue I know of is the mechanical drives will not like NCQ.Edit:probably best to check with the specific manufacturer to see if AHCI is recommended or not. But then how do we enable TRIM? Need to find out if the SSD comes with firmware TRIM support that will work in IDE mode.

Edit 12/12/2010http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=901&type=expertPeter you raise a good point. I do see that OCZ has a conflict issue when using AHCI. Not sure if this issue is limited to OCZ or not. SSD's are still very new in the FS environment, I see some reviews of SSD performance back tracking on previous published results noting their test methods may have been flawed. Still the majority of information available seems to favour AHCI mode with SSD.This is why I am still sticking with my mechanical drives. I know how they work and there are no surprizes. Cutting edge is great but I think I will sit the SSD bandwagon out untill the community figures out how the heck they are supposed to be setup.

I have no idea what you guys are talkin' about but it's waaay over my head, ha! Don't I just install it, add a SATA cable and format it if needed? :Nail Biting:

I have no idea what you guys are talkin' about but it's waaay over my head, ha! Don't I just install it, add a SATA cable and format it if needed? :Nail Biting:

You need to accomplish 4 basic tasks to use your drive:1) Establish what you are going to use the drive for. If OS, need to figure out where you will locate the page file.2) Disable automatic defragmentation and never defrag the SSD.3) Establish how you intend to set TRIM control.4) FormatIf it was me I would run this http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922976 Then set AHCI mode in the bios and use native W7 Trim control. W7 will automatically detect the SSD and set TRIM. This is the easiest method and most recommended method. Next to a clean install with AHCI already set.Your alternative to using the W7 native TRIM control is to try the latest AMD CAT 10.x AHCI drivers however I have no experience with these and unable to comment.