I have some questions re setting up an SSD, I have:
# Samsung Evo 860 1TB SATA SSD.
# Windows7.
Initially I wanted to just add the SSD as additional storage to put DCS on.

Q1) In BIOS my storage mode is IDE, does the SSD *need* AHCI enabled to run with all it's features enabled - particularly TRIM function? (I believe with Windows7 I would have to reinstall Windows after enabling AHCI.)

Q2) I was going to:
# Upgrade the SSDs firmware.
# Enable Performance power profile.
Is there anything else I need to enable in windows to help maximise performance of the drive?

Q3) Does the choice of file system matter for an SSD in terms of performance?

Q4) I was going to disable:
# Windows search.
# Windows indexing service.
# System restore on the SSD drive.
Is there anything else I need to disable in windows to avoid unnecessary writes?

Edited March 25, 20206 yr by Djang0

Hi guys so once again I am setting up my system and I just wanted to check best practice running my SSDs for best gaming performance. All your thoughts are welcome.

• 2X Samsung Evo 860 SATA SSDs, one for Win10 and one for flight sims.
• Most recent firmware.
• Formatted with NTFS file system (OS drive has 3 partitions created by the Win10 installer).

Q1) Does the choice of file system matter for an SSD in terms of performance?

Q2) Enable drive provisioning, yes or no?

Q3) Best Samsung Magician drive mode?

Q4) Will using system memory as drive cache effect gaming with 16GB RAM?

Edited August 26, 20232 yr by Djang0